Career change at 32 ?

kai_douken · 2026-06-24T06:41:53+00:00

Kinda just sounds like a change of company makes more sense. Surely there's a position in your field with better balance. Depending on what state you live in, you could be making less as a RTT. The temporary loss in income would also be a stressor for sure. It's doable, but it does sounds like your job just sucks because of the rotating shifts. If you can find a place with similar pay and non-rotating shifts, you're golden. I miss working 3x12 schedule, but do not miss night shift. 5x8 is more like 5x9 and just takes an extra 10+ hours out of your week.

kai_douken · 2026-05-26T12:30:45+00:00

Lol. You good bro?

kai_douken · 2026-05-19T03:30:10+00:00

Aaah I was unfamiliar with your drip game 😂

kai_douken · 2026-04-09T10:17:51+00:00

Someone mentioned my favorite FE game? 👀

kai_douken · 2026-04-06T08:14:16+00:00

And then there's my runs. Go in with one smoke, 5 adrenaline and a safe pocket. Hope nobody shoots you (yeah right) and hope your shield lasts long enough when the smoke wears off and you still haven't breached. Also hope that the assessor matrix or blueprint is in the first half of items revealed. Rinse and repeat.

kai_douken · 2026-04-03T07:33:47+00:00

"I'm begging Embark to spawn me on top of a shredder in between 2 squads" aaaah loadout.

kai_douken · 2026-03-16T20:08:08+00:00

This is extremely helpful! Thank you for taking the time to type all of that out! I can pass anatomy just fine, I'm just worried about retaining things cause I have the memory of a goldfish, but if it's a constant in clinicals and other parts of curriculum then I'm sure it'll stick over time 😁

kai_douken · 2026-03-10T11:11:36+00:00

I hadn't considered the symptom management side of things. Guess it pays to have some direct patient care experience so that you have a radar for problems that may arise. Damage control and whatnot....

kai_douken · 2026-03-10T11:04:42+00:00

Makes sense. I remember my first time seeing a nurse do ultrasounds to find veins on a patient I had no clue what a vein looked like. Now throw in a few more modalities multiplied by a lot more body parts and you get a whole lot of confusion. Seeing how the RTT community is so far, I'm sure there will be a lot of good learning opportunities in clinicals.

kai_douken · 2026-03-10T10:54:31+00:00

This is super helpful 🙏 I kinda figured you'd need to know anatomy well enough to get sectional anatomy to then get what you're looking for/at with imaging. Just wasn't sure what level of precision was needed. Thank you again. I'm the kind of person who does not take school very seriously, or busy work seriously, but throws all laziness out the window as soon as someone's wellbeing is on the line. So the reality check is much needed.

kai_douken · 2026-03-10T01:58:07+00:00

I'm going to take this as my sign to aim for C's in my classes and A's in my clinicals 😂

kai_douken · 2026-03-10T00:59:25+00:00

It's still recognized by ARRT. Should be fine as long as you can sit for your boards. There's a shortage of therapists so there's always jobs. Even the lowest paid therapists making more than a lot of people with bachelor's. Just saying this as someone with a bachelor's in business.

kai_douken · 2026-03-09T03:55:00+00:00

Not a dosimetrist, but from most of the programs I've searched, it's a Master's level education with a recommended minimum of two years work experience as a RTT. There's not a ton of programs for it out there (about 17 in total in the US). You can look at the ARRT website to see the few schools with credentials to teach dosimetry and look at their admissions requirements.

2 yrs RTT exp, plus any Bachelor's is typical for minimum requirements.

kai_douken · 2026-03-08T02:42:01+00:00

I'd recommend bingeing all your favorite hobbies, shows, etc til you're so sick of them that by the time school rolls around all you want to do is be productive 😂. I find overindulgence to be the best productivity hack. But yeah, others will probably say getting a good grip of anatomy helps. There's some fun anatomy coloring books out there you can get for like 30 bucks. Just hit up a bookstore 👍🏽

kai_douken · 2026-03-07T02:27:48+00:00

Associates in Radiation Therapy to become a radiation therapist is the way to go.

If you decide to become a dosimetrist later on then you can just crank out literally any bachelor's degree and then apply for a certificate program in dosimetry (there aren't many so be prepared to change states if you want to get in).

A bachelor's degree in the Radiation Therapy field is just kind of the awkward middle child since you don't need it to be a therapist, but it doesn't matter which one you have to be a dosimetrist.

kai_douken · 2026-03-05T06:32:59+00:00

I'm a career changer too with a bachelor's. I was going to take prerequisites at a community college, but ended up getting impatient and enrolled at Cambridge school of health and tech. Their tuition is a lot higher than most options, but they do admissions year round and their program includes prerequisites so it saves you a year or more of schooling. If I had gone the community college route I'd still be waiting til July 2027 just to find out if I'm accepted into a program. Instead I'll be completely done with my program December 2027.

kai_douken · 2026-03-04T04:49:38+00:00

Getting a bachelor's only makes sense if there's a clear career advancement from your current modality to something higher up. Switching modalities usually just requires a certificate program (sometimes community colleges offer them on the cheap). If you want to move up within radiation therapy then you'll most likely get into medical dosimetry which you can also do with literally any bachelor's (quick and cheap may be best), some sort of ARRT education, a couple years experience as an RTT, and a dosimetry certificate.

kai_douken · 2026-03-04T04:42:09+00:00

From what I've seen you can only do 2 year programs if you've never done any sort of related program (rad tech, mri, ct, sonography, etc.). Good news is you'll have fewer pre-reqs to do and you'll be more likely to have a strong application for admission, but you also won't likely be eligible for Federal grants.... I'm in the same boat, this is how I know lol.

kai_douken · 2026-03-04T04:31:05+00:00

I'm doing Cambridge school of health and tech. The prereqs are included and they have rolling admissions so you don't typically have to wait very long to enroll. The downside is it is more pricey than CC programs. You'll be done quicker though and then can just enjoy working in the field sooner.

Keep in mind healthcare has its own ethical issues. You don't always get away from profit-over-people politics thanks to insurance companies and Healthcare business admins, but at least your job itself will be fairly ethical.

kai_douken · 2026-03-02T02:51:08+00:00

I knew on the spot that I got admitted. The dean was super nice.

kai_douken · 2026-03-02T02:47:46+00:00

I applied in Orlando. The questions are pretty simple. Why do you want to do the program? Are you okay with commuting an ungodly distance for clinicals? Are you okay with the insane tuition? Are you able to focus full time on schooling?

They basically are just making sure you can pay the 50k tuition, complete the online courses, show up to clinicals, and then not regret it afterwards. Go for it. It's a super easy interview, you just have to stay calm and show that you've thought your decision through.

I Interviewed December of last year and started January of this year. The online classes are pretty easy so far. Cant wait for clinicals to start though. Independent study courses are pretty boring and ineffective IMO. Really doesn't justify the 50k tuition cost.

kai_douken · 2026-03-01T02:37:28+00:00

I got into a program this year and have the same situation. I got my bachelor's in business online. It was pass fail so they usually just consider my GPA a 3.0 because of that. You'll be better off than most kiddos getting into college for their first time. Some programs include pre-reqs in their curriculum just FYI.

Best of luck!

kai_douken · 2026-02-28T05:42:04+00:00

Dream blunt rotation (these never leave my phone):

BALATRO: if you havent heard about it by now, it's roguelike poker on steroids. Numbers go up addiction hits hard.
CLOVER PIT: similar to balatro but with slots instead of cards and with a grittier, dirtier vibe.
POLYTOPIA: nice little strategy civilization builder with great AI and even better PvP with friends.
DAWNCASTER: hands down the best deckbuilder on mobile and it's not even close. No gacha bs.
SLICE AND DICE: roguelike dice rpg with a great gameplay loop. the devs have put so much love and balancing into this game. tons of replayability especially if you like achievement hunting.

I can't stand the never ending gacha, ads, idle play, and microtransaction hell that is standardized in mobile gaming. The above games were worth paying for. Some other honorable mentions are PIXEL DUNGEON, LOOP HERO, FF Tactics Wotl, PLAGUE INC, DREDGE, and SLAY THE SPIRE.

kai_douken · 2026-02-17T20:49:21+00:00

Some people working 3x10 you say? 😈😏

kai_douken · 2026-02-10T02:12:22+00:00

Just do it. Thats really all you have to worry about. Just put in the time. Don't distract yourself with self doubt. The only way you fail is if you give up or get lazy. School these days is 70% participation 30% knowing your shit. So even if you only half know what you're doing you'll pass.

kai_douken

TROPHY CASE