Ninety percent of radiologists get paid over 166,400 thousand dollars a year (careeronestop.com). The employment rate for this career is increasing rapidly (careeronestop.com). Moreover, it is predicted that there will be an increase of twenty percent in radiologist from the year 2008 to 2018 (careeronestop.com). On average, radiologist that are employed full-time receive about forty vacation days in a year, and another ten days to further educate themselves (acr.org). A career in which one working full time works an average of fifty hours a week, and receives a plethora of money is hard to say no to. In order to become a radiologist, one must have a four year college degree, and spend four years in medical school (jobshadow.com). Afterwards, one must get an internship, get a four-year residency, and spend one to two years under fellowship (jobshadow.com). It does not seem like much in two sentences, but it is in fact much more difficult than just that. One must sacrifice much of their time in order to perform well in school, and to receive a good score on the entrance examinations (jobshadow.com). “You have to stand out. In order to get into medical school, one has to show dedication and commitment” (Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011). The problems do not stop at medical school because everyone will be taking general classes to become a doctor (jobshadow.com). It is up to the individual to be responsible for finding out information about radiology because of the lack of exposure to the material (jobshadow.com). On top of that, one must also perform above the majority of the students at the medical school to become a radiologist (jobshadow.com). Once one completes their residency, then they must decide what to do with their skills in the radiology field (Stewart). For example, one may choose to specialize in pediatric radiology, neuroradiology, or cardiovascular radiology (Stewart). The practice in radiology includes the examination of disorders and diseases using x-rays and radioactive material (onetonline.org). Therefore, one must be skilled in the use of imaging technologies (Stewart). These include trauma-computed tomography, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, radiography, and nuclear medicine-along (Stewart). The knowledge of such devices is required because radiology is responsible for most of the digital information that is gathered and evaluated (Stewart). Radiologists are required to have great critical thinking skills and research skills in order to correctly identify the problem presented to them (careeronestop.com). This is not a career where one could merely memorize information and get by without having to do much training (jobshadow.com). If one cannot apply all the material that they learned to come up with the correct results, then everything they have learned is useless (jobshadow.com). Being a radiologist is like being a chess player. One can memorize all the information they wish, but if they cannot finish, then that information is just as useful as having a boat sitting on the front lawn. According to a radiologist I know, the career pays really well, and he only goes to work four times a week (Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011). Besides that, he finds that having the opportunity to improve peoples’ lives is rewarding, and it makes him “feel good” about himself (Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011). He does not like how much paper work he has to do for each if his clients (Telleria, Juan, interview, October). There have been others who have complained about this. One stated, “The amount of bureaucracy, the amount of paperwork, the number of obstacles that are placed in your way in actually just taking care of what we’re supposed to be taking care of, is real frustrating” (jobshadow.com). Juan, the person I interviewed, also made it clear that he spends an abundant of time staring at a computer screen, and that he has to take breaks often to keep from overstressing or breaking down (Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011). One must realize that most of a radiologist time at work takes place in a dark environment, and observing x-rays (Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011). After gathering all of this information, I realized that I would much rather pick apples for the rest of my life than stare at an x-ray projected on a computer screen for hours trying to figure out a problem (Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011). I was surprised at how much effort was has to put forward into becoming a radiologist. The facts that one has to be at the top of their class throughout college and medical school in order to study radiology makes me not want to pursue this career (jobshadow.com). In all, I am not going to spend a great deal of my time studying in a field that does not interest me (jobshadow.com).

Work Cited
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"Radiologist Salary & Job DescriptionHow Much Do Radiologists Make-Career Options." Career OptionsWhat JobWhat Career Is Right for Me-Job Shadow. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .
Telleria, Juan, interview, October 12, 2011.