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Do medical offices prefer for you to have more experience with a 4 year college? or does it not matter how long you do schooling? (Ultrasound technician)

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Alycia’s Answer

Hi Quincey!
I cannot speak for ultrasound technicians, but I've been working as a medical assistant at a gastroenterology medical office this past year. I've also been actively job hunting for the past two years and from what I've seen in the job descriptions, employers value certifications (in medical assisting, dental assisting, phlebotomy, etc) and prior experience (especially in that specific specialty) more so than college degrees. Many STEM undergraduate degrees are meant to be used to further your education, like for medical school, not for actual job application. A degree definitely makes you look more competitive as applicant though. Good luck!

Alycia

Alycia recommends the following next steps:

Just like Tori said, review as many job descriptions on UT to see the education requirements.
Look into certification programs, or roles that will train you on the job.
Get started as soon as possible to build experience!
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Tori’s Answer

Hi Quincey,

I can’t speak to what this role will require, however a good way to get information about what is required for an Ultrasound tech is to search job boards for that role.

Review at least 5 job descriptions for that role in the area you want to work. In the job description there will be education requirements. This way you’ll find a pattern in what these employers are requiring and what they prefer.

From there you can search the specific certification or degree program related to ultrasound technicians. You will find certification programs or university programs that will generally list how long the educational programs last.

That might help you narrow down what steps to take to move into that career path.
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Catherine’s Answer

Hi Quincey! In regards to medical imaging as a whole, usually you need at least an associates degree in one of the 4 main primary pathways/modalities (X-ray,MRI,Ultrasound or nuclear medicine). For me the school I went to offered a bachelors so that’s what I got. Some of the techs I worked with in clinic and some of the ones I work with now as an X-ray tech only went to community college and received their associates. It all depends on where you work too but for the most part the rate of pay might be different if you have a bachelors or an associate degree. A bachelors degree tends to get more an hour to start with. I also know different parts of the US have different requirements. California for instance is more strict about degrees involving ionizing radiation so they make any applicant take another exam on top of the ARRT exam we take after we graduate. My best advice would be look into the area you plan on applying to work in and see if there’s any schools around and what they offer first. They should be able to give you more specific guidelines and requirements for that area.
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Nia’s Answer

Experience and qualified will always be preferred. Organizations want to know you have the knowledge and that there will be minimal time getting you up to speed and working autonomously. Outside of what that each specific organization requires out of applicants, experienced is preferred and not always required.
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