Hi!!

I have recently graduated college with my degree in Health Service Administration. I have been at my current job for over 3 years now and realize its not what I want to do forever. I have been considering for awhile now to go back to school and get my Associates degree in Diagnotic Medical Sonography. I wanted to get your opinions on that. Is anyone in here a Sonographer or know anyone who is?

Sorry so off topic!

My husband's a radiologist and he says that any aspect of radiology is a growing field, so job-market-wise it should be good.

You'll need to have an excellent knowledge of anatomy, so consider whether that is something you'll really be interested in studying.

I've always thought sonograms were so cool. My husband was a resident when I was pregnant with our daughters, so I used to go in all the time so we could "take a peek." Most people only get one or two sonograms -- I got a ton! By the time I was pregnant with #3, I was able to make the call -- "It's a boy!"

Awww that is so special! I thought about how rewarding it would be to show expectant mothers their first look at their child. Such a special moment to share with someone. The downside is, when helping doctors diagnose diseases through the sonograms, it can be rather depressing if you see something malignant or unfavorable for the patient. The sonographer isnt allowed to show any emotion. The doctor has to be the one who interperts the sonogram and delivers the news. I have always been really interested into health/nutrition/human body, and I have my degree in Health service, so I think its a good field for me.

Does your husband enjoy what he does? I thought he was in the Navy or am I losing my mind?

I have a friend that is an ultrasound tech (I guess sonographer is the proper term) and I think she makes a really good living with a good lifestyle. She works in a hospital so healthcare for her family is FREE. Also her job seems really fun to me since she gets to talk to so many different people. Also as a mother she has a lot of flexibility - she can work part time or on weekends etc. When I was younger I wish I had thought about hat in my future career. I would prefer to work part time instead of being a FT SAHM, but in my field that's just not possible. When you're young you just don't think about stuff like that.

What about an RN? I'm sure they get paid more. They also have PT options.

Chelsey, my husband is a radiologist in the Navy! There is a large Navy hospital in Bethesda, MD.

Ainsleymom, I couldn't agree more -- I wish I'd chosen a job that leant itself well to part-time work, and the kind of work that when you leave, you leave it there, YKWIM? Nothing to bring home and work on after the children go to bed, no stresses or deadlines to keep you up at night. Just go in, do your hourly shift, and get paid rather well for it. My friend is a speech therapist at a hospital and she has pretty much that.

Thank you Ainsleymom, any information I can learn is good. And the best way to find out about a job is through someone with that job

I think sonography is more my path than an RN. I love the reward of sharing the experience with an expectant mom. Also, disease and the human body really interest me; so helping the doctor determine the diagnosis through the sonograms seems very interesting to me! I am so excited! I wish I had realized I wanted to do this before I completed my 4-year bachelor degree! Oh well.. Good thing they sort of correlate!

By the way, a stay at home mom is a hard job!

That is so interesting!! How rewarding that must be for your husband same7. Is he gone a lot?

What do you do?

I know! That's why I want to work PT too . I love SAH but take caring of a 12 month old 100% of the time is really draining. I think she would love the structure and friends at daycare a few days a week. Before I had her I would never have thought I'd be OK with daycare, but now that I'm here it's confusing.

Awww well I dont think there is anything wrong with that. Find a good, safe, credible one and you can go out and find yourself a rewarding part time job