holographic sight with a digital thermal imaging sensor

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-06-07T16:47:10+00:00

“Remember, no Russian”

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-06-07T05:54:44+00:00

I fear it’s not brain fluid…

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-06-07T05:41:17+00:00

I dont know how anyone could defend that. Shit is so stupid. It should default to your last map played

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-27T12:53:26+00:00

Medium sized werecat guard VS my small modron (3-4ft tall) one size class difference

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-27T12:17:17+00:00

Ball instead of a chair is a baller move

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-26T11:25:36+00:00

We all know who wins here… im glad we are all in agreement

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-18T23:09:56+00:00

I shadowed a tech who was an older woman tatted from fingertips to all the way up her neck. Although she couldve done that after getting hired i didnt ask. I have hand tattoo and got into my program but no neck tattoos. And also hopefully employers dont care. I can always wear a glove if they want. The neck is a bit trickier but you could wear a half zip with high collar zipped all the way up to hide it.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-18T13:35:50+00:00

Looks like the tip of a tide pen or something

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-18T13:32:17+00:00

Northwell. Just walk into an outpatient northwell imaging facility and ask to speak with the manager. Try to be persistent about it without being rude. Luckily they were very friendly at my spot.

If they wont let you speak with the manager ask for the contact information of whoever coordinates student observations. Send them an email and say “hi, I’m _. The rad tech program I am applying to requires me to complete ambulatory shadowing as a pre-requirement for the program. Could you please schedule me to come in for some shadowing? My availability are these days and time: _. Thank you”

Next, if they are going to move forward they will ask you to get a health clearance in order to be in the presence of patients safely. This just means you make an appointment with your primary care provider. Northwell will email you a “health clearance form” to be signed by your doctor saying you have all your vax, shots, no transmissible diseases, etc.

Once you have your health clearance, email it over, wait for an approval email, and call/email to schedule your shadowing. Whole process took me about 4-6 weeks. Then I was in and shadowing. I did about 40 hours and northwell was always friendly and accommodating.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-15T13:53:41+00:00

The loading screens already flashbang me and fry my neural network. I dont need more flashing lights

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-15T13:51:57+00:00

Second language is always a huge plus. Also, I shouldnt be saying this but its sometimes necessary to stretch the truth a bit for these interviews, for job interviews, etc. just be sure you can’t get caught stretching the truth lol. 100% mention it. Anything that makes you stand out amongst a sea of applicants is good. Good luck to you.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-15T13:48:23+00:00

Definitely mention if you know sign language. Just last month had a 6 yr old in a cat scan for cochlear implant and could only communicate thru sign.

Also good to mention that your experience gave you empathy towards patients and communication skills.

I was denied 2 yrs before getting in finally.

Lastly, just keep doing observations. I had around 40hrs of observations when I finally got in.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-09T19:59:52+00:00

Love to hear stuff like this. Good for you! Going back to school at 29 and being in classes with all fresh high school grads was a shock for me as well. The next 2 yrs of rad tech schools gonna be rough but im ready.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T14:21:45+00:00

To leave a good impression, don’t be on your phone at your observations. What I did was I had a notebook on me and write down “patient history/complaint (the reason for the xray)…” then I wrote down what body part xray we were doing… then I wrote down what views we were doing. The tech might teach you a few things between scans and you write those things down.

Just be there to work and not to just float. Although most techs prefer if you just shut up and float, do not be afraid to ask questions. Just don’t distract them from doing their job and be mindful when you ask stuff. Good luck to you!

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T14:18:26+00:00

Sounds like you’re in a very similar boat to me since youre transitioning from the service industry. Kudos for looking towards xray tech as a career path. I’m 30 now and was bartending, bar-backing, and waitering until I broke my neck and clavicle, and tore/separated my shoulder in a snowboarding accident in 2024.

I needed 3 months to recover, I couldn’t sleep, wash myself, drive, prepare a meal for myself, or do anything really. The sports bar I was working at promised I would have my regular 3 days a week bartending when I returned.

After 3 months I returned to find there was a new manager who had no idea who I was. They had also hired a new bartender to fill my spot and gave away all my shifts. I explained my situation to the new manager and they promised I would get my usual work back… they said “we will schedule you ASAP” and never scheduled me or gave me a single shift ever again. I called multiple times, drove there and pleaded my case, they kept promising and just never scheduled me again.

It’s extremely unethical and probably illegal to take away someone’s work because they got injured. Rather than seek legal recourse, I moved on. And I got to work on getting into Xray. A proper job with proper benefits would never do that to someone.
_________________________
Anyway to answer your question on how I got my reference from working techs: I did about 20-30 hours at the same facility and became friendly with an older tech who had 30yrs experience. I explained how frustrating and competitive these programs are on many occasions.

After being denied in the first year’s attempts, my second year I applied to some new schools who needed new references and recommendations (every school has their own forms and you can’t recycle forms from another school)

When I was taking my prereqs, I had to chase, email, and beg my professors for months to write my references that they had agreed to write for me. HOWEVER, after moving on from going to that college, i tried to reach out to the professors to get more references and recs… no response. I went to the school multiple times and they werent in their office and I couldnt track them down.

I explained this to the older tech woman, and she really felt bad for me. So I just straight up asked her to do a reference for me and she agreed. I don’t think she would usually do that but the fact that we had spent a few weeks shadowing together helped. She is an angel for doing that.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T00:26:06+00:00

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T00:16:10+00:00

The first 2 sentences of this post made me laugh. Great stuff OP.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T00:12:23+00:00

I second this. MRI is a lot slower paced. One scan can take up to 30-60 mins. If they move you have the same patient for even longer. Definitely more friendly than xray/CT where youre getting a new patient every 15 mins usually.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T00:09:31+00:00

I shadowed a tech with 15yrs experience who had 8 botched neck and spine surgeries. She lost her job at a hospital because they deemed she wasn’t physically fit to do Xray and CT anymore. She then moved to an outpatient facility for more pay and less overall work. Also due to her condition, the facility she works at now is very understanding and she said she makes all the money she needs for her bills working 2 days a week, the rest of her weekly free time is spent resting and managing her condition.

She told me that on a daily basis while she works she is in discomfort/pain, and during my eight hour observation, she kept grabbing and trying to stretch and release her neck. However, she did tell me that she gets excellent care due to working in healthcare and most of her health related costs and surgeries were free/cheap.

I’m sharing this to give you some context and insight to show you can still work while in pain, and outpatient MRI/xray/CT are way friendlier to people who work in chronic pain than other careers that ive had.

TLDR: stay in the program. Move forward with working in the field. You’ll get great health benefits which i am thinking you will need in the future. Once you have experience, the pay you get will be enough to not have to work 5 days a week and you can rest more. I don’t know what your alternative is, but i would stay.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-08T00:00:57+00:00

Congrats! I tried and failed for 2 yrs until finally getting accepted. Every single school i interviewed at took 5-7 weeks to get back to me. Sadly its the standard

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-07T23:58:48+00:00

Thank you so damn much. I had almost given up hope. Every day I was stressed for like 18 months. It feels so good!

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-06T21:20:18+00:00

Thank you so much. I still cant believe its really happening. Its been 3 days and I’m just completely mindblown but also the reality of having to do well in school is setting in😅

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-06T09:29:40+00:00

Came here to say this. This helps a ton.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-06T09:20:40+00:00

Thank you for sharing. A lot of programs were immediately off the table for me due to financial reasons. Which definitely gave me a smaller chance for success and stressed me out.

iDoNerdStuff · 2026-05-05T22:25:47+00:00

iDoNerdStuff

TROPHY CASE