How to Become a Radiologist 101
Are you one of the many people wondering how to become a radiologist? If so, you’ve come to the right place as I’m going to show you the fastest and easiest way to become a radiologist (or if you prefer, a radiologist technician or radiologist therapist). However, as with all medical careers, radiology requires a significant amount of dedication, schooling, training and experience. That being said, you can definitely jump into radiology within the next few months, although it will take many years before you start practicing (as radiologists are physicians and require the same schooling and hands-on training of a medical doctor).
While you should study up on how to become a radiologist, make sure that you already understand the fundamentals of radiology and know where the field as going. For most, radiology is a lifelong commitment and deciding to become a radiologist is a decision that should be made with care. That being said, the field of radiology is growing and a radiologist salary is one of the best of any medical specialty.
How to Become a Radiologist: Two (Very Different) Career Paths
Let’s say that you’ve already learned all there is to know about the field of radiology and are certain you want to learn more about how to become a radiologist. Before you begin your training it’s important to know the difference between a radiologist and a radiologist technician (also commonly known as a radiologist assistant). Important note: this is a common cause of confusion for people and causes many people to think that they can become a radiologist in a matter of a few years even though it requires more than 10-years!
Radiologists are:
- Trained medical doctors
- Licensed to practice medicine and prescribe medications
- A highly-paid specialty within the field of medicine
- Are well-trained with nearly a decade of education from medical school and a residency
- A typical radiologist salary is in the ballpark of $300,000
On the other hand, radiologist technicians are:
- Work as assistants to radiologists
- Allowed to work after receiving a bachelor’s degree (and in some cases just an associates degree)
- Well-paid compared to other allied health care professionals (although they make significantly less than radiologists)
- Can usually begin their career within 2-years after starting their education
Obviously, only you can decide which job seems like the best fit for you. Many people who are passionate about radiology start as a radiology technician and work their way up towards a radiologist. However, if you’re someone who wants to be a doctor, then it makes more sense to learn all there is to know about becoming a radiologist.
While the jobs and training may be completely different, many of the skills required of radiologists and radiology technicians overlap. For example, both careers require problem solving and analytical skills in order to transfer the information that comes from an image to a diagnosis for a living, breathing patient. Also, you’ll need to have a firm grasp of science, particularly physics and chemistry.
So how long does it take to become a radiologist? Between getting your bachelor’s degree, attending medical school and completing a residency, it takes most people at least 10-years to start their career as a radiologist (although this can be shortened if you already have a BS under your belt).
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s delve into the nitty gritty of becoming a radiologist.
How to Become a Radiologist: Undergraduate Education
Like all doctors, aspiring radiologists need a bachelor’s (4-year) degree in a field of biology. Many choose simply to study biology as this degree tends to make one well-prepared for medical school. Classes you’ll take as a biology student include microbiology, biochemistry, anatomy, human physiology and pathophysiology. If biology seems a bit too general for your liking you may want to consider getting a bachelor’s degree in nutrition or nursing as these tend to cover similar courses but may better prepare you for the clinical-oriented world that is medical school. You’ll also want to see if your university of choice has a pre-med track that can often better-prepare for for medical school than a generic degree.
If you already have a bachelor’s degree in a science (a BS), you may be able to apply to medical schools right away. However, if you have a BA, you’ll need to take the basic science courses that medical schools expect their students to have under their belt on day 1.
How to Become a Radiologist: MCATs and Medical School
Possibly the most stressful step in your journey to becoming a radiologist is applying to medical school. In addition to sifting through the hundreds of medical schools in the US, you’ll also have to study for your MCATs –the standardized test that all pre-med students need to take. Because you’re already looking to enter the field of radiology, you should do your homework and find schools that have a reputation for producing well-trained radiologists. Some of these schools include the University of Iowa, Pima Medical Schools, Stanford and Tufts Medical School.
The best way to maximize your chances of entering a well-respected medical school is by getting good grades in your undergraduate coursework and acing your MCATs.
Once there you’ll learn in-depth about medicine, disease and physiology. In addition to the courses that medical students take (such as nephrology, pediatrics and epidemiology), you should opt to take electives that focus on radiology and diseases that are commonly diagnosed and treated with radiology (oncology –the study of cancer — is a must).
Medical school training for radiologists is usually 3-4 years, with 2-years of classroom studying and 2 years of hands-on training in a hospital setting.
How to Become a Radiologist: Your Residency
Choosing a radiology residency may feel like applying to medical school all over again! After all, you’ll again be vetting many different medical schools and weighing the pros and cons of each. Once there, you’ll transition yourself from an general physician to a radiologist by treating real patients, attending radiology-focused classes and seminars and participating in research studies. Most residencies are 4-years, such as UCLA’s highly respected radiology program, however some are only 2-3 years.
How to Become a Radiologist: Certification and Practice
To practice medicine in the US, you’ll need to become board certified (by the time you enter your residency, however, you’ll probably already have this step out of the way). You’ll also need to get your radiology certification through the American Board of Radiologists or other reputable radiology organizations.
The day you become certified you can officially say that you’re a radiologist! But that doesn’t mean that your career path has to end there. There are several exciting and growing sub-specialties in radiology (which makes sense if you consider the amount of different technologies used in radiology). For example, let’s say that you’re particular fascinated with PET scans. There are several teaching hospitals around the globe that can teach you advanced techniques in that particular area. This is a great way to further separate yourself from other radiologists (and benefit from the pay increases that comes with it!).
That’s all there it so learning how to become a radiologist.
How to Become a Radiologist: The Basics
How to become a radiologist? It’s a question that many people looking to make their mark in the medical profession ask. While the steps of becoming a radiologist are fairly simple and straightforward, as you’ll soon see, executing said steps are not easy or and can’t be done by getting a degree online. Unless you want to learn how to become a radiologist technician or radiologist assistant, you will have to set aside several years for studying and training in order to become a full fledged radiologist.
How to Become a Radiologist: Learn The Basics
Before deciding to go to radiology school, you should learn as much as you can about the field of radiology. In simple terms, radiology is a specialized field of medicine that taps into imaging techniques in order to diagnose (and on occasion, treat) disease. For example, if you’ve ever had recurrent back pain and needed to get an MRI, it was probably a radiologist (or a radiology technician) who performed the MRI and interpreted the results. However, in the cases of certain cancer treatments, radiology is employed as a treatment role as well.
In fact, you’ve probably heard about at least some of the technologies that radiologists and radiologist technicians employ on a daily basis:
- CT Scans
- X-Rays
- Ultrasounds
- PET Scans
- MRIs
- fMRIs
In fact, you may have experienced some of these technologies firsthand as a patient!
How to Become a Radiologist: Why Radiology?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, radiology is a rapidly growing field that’s set to grow even more as the number of Americans over the age of 65 (which use the bulk of the radiology services) expand. That’s great news for those wondering how to become a radiologist but also applies to people interested in training as a radiation therapist or technician (which require much less training and tend to pay as good or better than many other medical assistant professions).
In fact, the job outlook for those in the radiology profession is considered “faster than average”, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even better, for radiology technicians, it only takes an associates degree (which can be an online degree) to start practicing. A real-deal, full fledged radiologist on the other hand requires a bachelor’s degree, 4-years of medical school and an intensive residency program.
How to Become a Radiologist: Ready, Set, Learn!
Now that you have an thorough understanding of radiology and its important in the field of medicine, let’s discuss the preparations you’ll need to take in order to begin your radiology training online (or offline if you prefer).
First, it’s a good idea to decide which path of radiology you want to take. Much of your decision will be based on how much time (and money) you’re willing to spend in order to start your career.
Considering that a radiologist is an MD, you’ll need approximately 10 years of (expensive) schooling before your first day. If this is something that you’re prepared for then by all means go for it. After all, radiologists are well-paid and highly respected health care professionals!
But for those looking to start their career in the next decade, you may want to consider learning how to become a radiologist technician or therapist as these careers are well-compensated, especially if you take into account the minimal amount of schooling/training is required compared to nursing, physical therapists and other allied health care professionals.
Now for the big question: how much do radiologists make? Because they are highly specialized physicians, a typical radiologist salary is approximately $260,000 per year. However, this number varies greatly depending on where you decide to work. For example, if you work in a public hospital helping underprivileged youth, your salary may dip below the $150,000 mark. However, if you go into private practice, you may be looking at a salary of over $450,000.
On the other hand, radiologist technicians make significantly less (usually around $40,000) than radiologists. So if money is what you’re after I recommend learning all that you can about how to become a radiologist.