Are there any career change radiographers I can chat too?

[reversegear]

Feel free to point me in the careers direction? I couldn’t find a specific thread for this.

I’m about to start my access course so I can apply to uni in 2026 to do a degree in diagnostic radiography. I’m 50! Is anyone else on the same pathway? Or career changing in your 50s into a medical field?

Would love to chat to anyone who’s in a similar place as it’s daunting going back to uni and financially being dependent on my DHfor the first time in 25+ years.

If you browse the Mature Study and Retraining board you’re very likely to come upon threads relevant to you - both generally and specifically. Countless people are studying for access courses and first or second degrees in middle age. You’ll find it here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/maturestudents

Congratulations, btw!

Arhh amazing I was searching for “careers”

I have sent you a PM

That’s a really interesting point! There’s a ‘Work’ board, which appears intended to cover everything - except work in academia, which has a separate board. ‘Careers’ might be a desirable upgrade.

The Mature Study and Retraining board was set up relatively recently (handful of years ago) because it seemed an obvious lack on a forum full of people likely to take career breaks, or to have missed out on study and training earlier on.

I’m curious about why you’re obliged to take an access course if you already have a degree? (There was a thirty year gap between my undergraduate and postgraduate study, with a professional career in between - but I had no formal qualifications relevant to my MA, just evidence of a fairly advanced interest in the subject.)

I think Access is required if you don’t have certain GCSEs or A levels?

Hmm. Radiography. Good and bad. The bad is if you go into General (Plain-film)/CT radiography, you’ll struggle to find <12.5 hour shifts, 24/7. It can also be heavy work as the population ages and gets bigger. MRI is also 12.5 hours, usually, but not overnight; Mammography is more 9-5 though they’re training more B4s up to do that. Reporting radiographer is becoming more popular, it’s B7 but competitive as it’s just about the only wfh availability.

You used to have to do ‘your time’ on the shopfloor before getting into speciality stuff but the occupational shortage has meant you can be choosy; HOWEVER most of our local uni newly qualifieds graduated into unemployment as for some inexplicable reason, the local Trusts have chosen to recruit from Nigeria, India, The Philippines etc rather than employ local recruits.

I’ve done it for 40 years, but I left the NHS 2 years ago because the workload was going mad; I was struggling with the competencies of some of my fellow staff, blind eyes were turned to poor and unsafe practice, the only metric that counted was throughput, quality very much took a back seat. I’m aware some will gasp at my ‘racism’ but I do struggle to understand how you can have 5 years’ MRI experience when your MRI scanner broke 4 years ago and was not repaired; or how you can supposedly have a PGC in CT scanning but be unable to identify orbits on a head scan.

The good? I'm now doing bank in a private MRI clinic, much better! 🤭

I think a nursing degree would be much more versatile, but it’s a tough one because of all of the placements and high levels of responsibility in understaffed wards.

My degree is in a completely unrelated field and my a levels are far too old as I’m 50, and to be honest I’m using the access course or test my ability and passion for change, so I’m happy to do it.

I thought careers would be an obvious word, to use but do find some categories on here tricky to find a sim always on my mobile. I

Thanks that’s really helpful, I’m planning on doing some NHS and then topping up with bank or private and then moving fully private, but I’m 4 years away from making any of those decisions.

i have a good friend who’s an ODP who’s moved between the two and said for his sanity he has to get out of the NHS for the same reasons you mentioned. I also have a. Good friends who’s saying do cardiology, but I need some more flexibility.

Im also able to work any shifts, weekends etc as I have DS who will be mid 20s by the time I graduate. I just had a recent stay in my local hospital that was almost 80% nursing staff were overseas, so that’s a worry but the question is why? As the pay in banded so are they paying less for the staff? Or is there some quota that the trusts have to meet?

Im also longer term looking at living in Australia for a few years, I have family there and may spend some of my late 50s early 60s out there but would still need to work.

also thank you for those years! I’ve been scanned so many times and the difference between a friendly face and a grumpy one is huge when you are nervous.

Ah, I see! Thanks.

I asked because there are so many queries from people who, considering retraining in middle age, assume they will have to undertake a second BA / BSc - when in fact they can often walk into an MA completely unrelated to their previous studies. Entry to an MSc does appear to be a little trickier.

And of course this makes a difference financially as the Government Postgraduate Loan makes a Master’s degree possible when it might be impossible to fund a second Batchelor’s degree.

I think if I’ve done my research and the government don’t revoke it the radiography degree has £5k a year funding, I’m able to get a loan for the tuition fees and maybe even a small maintenance grant. I looked at the masters route and a few other ways in but my first degree is creative, so not even remotely scientific and from the late 90s.

i spoke to a course leader who suggested the access course online rather than going into uni for 4 years, this means I can make 100% sure it’s what I want to do while getting some shadowing and placements.

Gosh, it’s complicated if the rules and procedures and access to funding vary so much from one subject to another …

(This thread would have been really helpful for other career changers if it were on the Mature Studies board!)

I’ve asked for it to be moved so hopefully it will be more helpful ☺️

We've moved this thread to our Mature Study and Retraining board for the OP.

Fabulous!

In answer to the question as to why Trusts favour overseas staff to homegrown; there is the belief you’re hiring experience, bearing in mind many positions have to be B6 to meet the minimum salary visa requirements, but unfortunately I’ve worked with 2nd year radiography students who are better than some of our questionably trained overseas colleagues; also, they are considerably easier to be coerced into corner cutting, willingly working in understaffed areas, where the ‘local’ staff have refused; performing 2 man lateral transfers where there should be 3-4; doing examinations where we used to have to go on a course, and pass a test or competency. They’ll do them on a see one /do one basis. They’re also far more willing to work unsocial hours, often filling days off doing agency elsewhere.

Radiography is a very good and varied career… I qualified as a mature student in my 30s. I didn’t want to do shifts etc so worked in private hospitals where the hours were much nicer.
They trained me in MRI and I moved back into the NHS, I negotiated part time hours with no evenings and weekends.
I then trained in Ultrasound as I wanted a band 7, been doing that for about 8 years.
I work 3 days a week NHS and then 2 days a week agency/locum. Agency work pays nearly triple the NHS wage, but I wouldn’t do it full time as I like the security of my NHS role (plus things like sick pay, holiday pay, pension).

It’s a pity you can’t do an undergraduate in Ultrasound or MRI in the UK, that you have to go through the ‘radiography’ route!

I think there are a couple of universities that do ultrasound degrees

Sorry I hadn’t replied, just checked back in a saw this, so helpful thank you.

Oh, that’s possible; I don’t know of them!

But there so need to be MRI degrees. MR done well is SO technically COMPLEX. It’s a world away from every other modality. I’m a Cardiac CT ‘very good practitioner’ (that isn’t an official designation!!🤭) but MR cardiac? Dark Arts.

There's also forensic radiography.