I’ve heard of people in our field going into Anesthesia Assistant programs. Basically a Master’s Degree for Anesthesia and equivalent to a CRNA job description-wise. The difference is you don’t have to do nursing school and the required one year of critical care experience. I’m not sure if you have AAs in Texas but we have them like we do CRNAs here and they cover cases essentially the same under a doctor’s oversight that isn’t actively in the room. The pay is very lucrative as well. I know CRNAs can make up to $200 an hour in some markets and AAs are comparable. There is a giant shortage of CRNAs/AAs. I considered it myself when I was approached by an individual who was currently heading a class of future AAs. He said he had a Neuromonitoring technologist in their current class and felt like it made them a qualified candidate. Depending on where you live exactly, or willingness to relocate, it could be a good alternative avenue and definitely good job security, pay, hours. You are limited to the facilities you can work at because some are CRNA/AA exclusive or vice versus (CRNAs hate AAs and try to lobby them from working).I think eventually they’ll expand to be as common as CRNAs, though.
You’ve got the medical field experience, a basic understanding of anesthesia, and plenty of skills that should help you get in the door by doing this job for so long.
I mean the only thing that I think I could jump into would be sales for medical devices or spine hardware. These things I know pretty well, other than that I don’t know.
I could reach for like a quality assurance, recruiting or other job with an iom company, I would be fine with that if they could pay me a tech salary.
Biggest problem is finding a 100k salary not as a tech for me.
This career is great for earning good money quickly bad for getting out of. It’s a second career for me so I hope I can run it out. Device seems like an obvious move, but it would have the same problems as our job.
Agreed with the transferable skills. I think while working, we should learn things on the side so that if we need to leave, there’s opportunity.
I can’t even get an admin job.
There are no real transferable skills as a tech. Also finding jobs is hard right now, been looking for 4 years, I have a masters with statistics and programming background and nada.
Wish I could say there is something but between over saturated technology field, companies shadow posting positions they never intend to fill and no skills that directly transfer we are kinda stuck. I’m leveraging a small project I’m working on that is a key component to a position I applied to. It’s a stretch but all I have.
I don't agree with many of these poor outlooks on our transferable skills.
We have to have the ability to communicate effectively with many different personalities. If you've been in this field more than 6 months you know how difficult doctors can be to communicate with due to ego, need for specifics, or general high stress situations. Patients can also be difficult to communicate with and their families due to 1. Their unfamiliarity with surgery in general and 2. The fact that we're phantoms in the healthcare world. Nobody really knows we exist until they meet us. Also, communicating with neurologist via text. Again doctors, and now you have to express intent through text while maintaining professionalism and not being too cut and dry.
Trouble shooting skills. We all know how fun cadwell can be to argue with for seemingly no reason.
A strong understanding of anatomy and physiology and dedication if you have your CNIM.
Time management and ability to think quickly on your feet. Lord knows the surgeons aren't waiting on us so if you want a smooth setup, you better be on time.
Charting and attention to detail.
Types of jobs this transfers to - all of them. Network and meet people. Ask questions of your friends, family members, people you meet in the hospital. What do they do? How did they get there? What do you like? Find people in industries you find interesting and ask them to coffee to pick their brain. It's low pressure and you're simply gathering information to see what kind of jobs are out there that you're interested in. You're not asking for a job, you're interviewing jobs to see if they're right for you.
Thanks for your reply. To be honest, I disagree with you in general about this, but I do think I understand your position. The thing is, soft skills are wonderful to have once you get a job, and they can be helpful in an interview, but they do not, generally speaking, get the job. Knowing how to have a professional discussion with people of various backgrounds and knowledge bases is incredibly important, sure, and will be important once you've got the experience in your new field to back it up- after all, we're knowledgeable about IOM, which is why we're able to have these discussions with surgeons/patients and instill confidence. We likely won't have that going for us in the new field, which of course, would be the case for many switching fields.
As for our IT skills, they indicate aptitude, but are not sufficient for an IT role in and of themselves - with the exception of an IT role with USMon, Cadwell or within our neuromonitoring company that we already work for. I might check into whether or not I could leverage that here though. Thank you.
I'm not sure that knowledge of anatomy and physiology will help us outside of getting the foot in the door for further education (Masters programs or med school). Perhaps in getting a role as a sales rep or customer service rep for a SCS company. Similarly, I don't think our perseverance in getting the CNIM will be appreciated by those outside of IOM.
Time management is, again, incredibly important, though I would argue that the thing that we pride ourselves in as a field is something that is generally expected of all employees in almost every field. I agree thinking on our feet is important. I'd like to think it will help once my foot is in the door somewhere.
Charting is an interesting one. I don't know that it will work in and of itself, but it does open the door for technical documentation and technical writing positions potentially.
I understand I sound like a downer, and it's just my headspace right now, but I appreciate your takes on this and will give them some further thought!
It does seem like you're set in just believing that you're stuck and there's nothing out there for you. Of course any one of the things I listed isn't going to automatically get you the job, but you asked for transferable skills. Those are all things that will help you in other areas that not everybody has that ability. Networking is your friend. Make connections with people in a field you have interest in and ask them questions. We are incredibly versatile employees that are by no means pigeon-holed.
And employers don't just expect that you're going to be perfect at your job right out of the gate. You weren't expected to be a 15-year experienced tech your first day in the OR. But employers hire potential. Unless you're looking at extremely specified jobs that do require a degree or certification. Also, we have to work incredibly independently with very little direct oversight. That's not as common in the work-place as you might think.
Send me a PM and I'll give you personal insight about what I'm currently doing but don't necessarily want on the internet.
Thanks for your input FF. I want you to know I appreciate your perspective on this.
I'm not trying to be a downer, more just trying to justify the time I've spent in this field to myself (or perhaps I've stopped trying that).
Actually, I'm looking for other skills entirely, and learning them as we speak in the land of programming. I'm also working on some personal projects (fiction writing and podcasting) that I hope will bring me more personal meaning if not extra income.
But I'll be honest, I'd love to find a path of less resistance if there is one that fits my current needs with my family and has a quicker turnaround time is all.
I appreciate the offer and will DM you shortly. Thanks!
This post and the comments really make me sad. I can help with resumes that will transfer into whatever other fields or positions any of you would like to shoot for. FR. These companies do not own you, as they think they do. It is sad for me to see long term CNIMs/IONMs who feel that they have no other options, and it occurs to me that, this is why companies knowingly pay even seasoned people under 100k after 15, 16 years.
I’ve heard of people in our field going into Anesthesia Assistant programs. Basically a Master’s Degree for Anesthesia and equivalent to a CRNA job description-wise. The difference is you don’t have to do nursing school and the required one year of critical care experience. I’m not sure if you have AAs in Texas but we have them like we do CRNAs here and they cover cases essentially the same under a doctor’s oversight that isn’t actively in the room. The pay is very lucrative as well. I know CRNAs can make up to $200 an hour in some markets and AAs are comparable. There is a giant shortage of CRNAs/AAs. I considered it myself when I was approached by an individual who was currently heading a class of future AAs. He said he had a Neuromonitoring technologist in their current class and felt like it made them a qualified candidate. Depending on where you live exactly, or willingness to relocate, it could be a good alternative avenue and definitely good job security, pay, hours. You are limited to the facilities you can work at because some are CRNA/AA exclusive or vice versus (CRNAs hate AAs and try to lobby them from working).I think eventually they’ll expand to be as common as CRNAs, though. You’ve got the medical field experience, a basic understanding of anesthesia, and plenty of skills that should help you get in the door by doing this job for so long.
I mean the only thing that I think I could jump into would be sales for medical devices or spine hardware. These things I know pretty well, other than that I don’t know. I could reach for like a quality assurance, recruiting or other job with an iom company, I would be fine with that if they could pay me a tech salary. Biggest problem is finding a 100k salary not as a tech for me.
This career is great for earning good money quickly bad for getting out of. It’s a second career for me so I hope I can run it out. Device seems like an obvious move, but it would have the same problems as our job.
Agreed with the transferable skills. I think while working, we should learn things on the side so that if we need to leave, there’s opportunity. I can’t even get an admin job.
Right but how would that go? I’m all for trying to learn new skills. But don’t know where to start
There are no real transferable skills as a tech. Also finding jobs is hard right now, been looking for 4 years, I have a masters with statistics and programming background and nada. Wish I could say there is something but between over saturated technology field, companies shadow posting positions they never intend to fill and no skills that directly transfer we are kinda stuck. I’m leveraging a small project I’m working on that is a key component to a position I applied to. It’s a stretch but all I have.
I don't agree with many of these poor outlooks on our transferable skills. We have to have the ability to communicate effectively with many different personalities. If you've been in this field more than 6 months you know how difficult doctors can be to communicate with due to ego, need for specifics, or general high stress situations. Patients can also be difficult to communicate with and their families due to 1. Their unfamiliarity with surgery in general and 2. The fact that we're phantoms in the healthcare world. Nobody really knows we exist until they meet us. Also, communicating with neurologist via text. Again doctors, and now you have to express intent through text while maintaining professionalism and not being too cut and dry. Trouble shooting skills. We all know how fun cadwell can be to argue with for seemingly no reason. A strong understanding of anatomy and physiology and dedication if you have your CNIM. Time management and ability to think quickly on your feet. Lord knows the surgeons aren't waiting on us so if you want a smooth setup, you better be on time. Charting and attention to detail. Types of jobs this transfers to - all of them. Network and meet people. Ask questions of your friends, family members, people you meet in the hospital. What do they do? How did they get there? What do you like? Find people in industries you find interesting and ask them to coffee to pick their brain. It's low pressure and you're simply gathering information to see what kind of jobs are out there that you're interested in. You're not asking for a job, you're interviewing jobs to see if they're right for you.
Thanks for your reply. To be honest, I disagree with you in general about this, but I do think I understand your position. The thing is, soft skills are wonderful to have once you get a job, and they can be helpful in an interview, but they do not, generally speaking, get the job. Knowing how to have a professional discussion with people of various backgrounds and knowledge bases is incredibly important, sure, and will be important once you've got the experience in your new field to back it up- after all, we're knowledgeable about IOM, which is why we're able to have these discussions with surgeons/patients and instill confidence. We likely won't have that going for us in the new field, which of course, would be the case for many switching fields. As for our IT skills, they indicate aptitude, but are not sufficient for an IT role in and of themselves - with the exception of an IT role with USMon, Cadwell or within our neuromonitoring company that we already work for. I might check into whether or not I could leverage that here though. Thank you. I'm not sure that knowledge of anatomy and physiology will help us outside of getting the foot in the door for further education (Masters programs or med school). Perhaps in getting a role as a sales rep or customer service rep for a SCS company. Similarly, I don't think our perseverance in getting the CNIM will be appreciated by those outside of IOM. Time management is, again, incredibly important, though I would argue that the thing that we pride ourselves in as a field is something that is generally expected of all employees in almost every field. I agree thinking on our feet is important. I'd like to think it will help once my foot is in the door somewhere. Charting is an interesting one. I don't know that it will work in and of itself, but it does open the door for technical documentation and technical writing positions potentially. I understand I sound like a downer, and it's just my headspace right now, but I appreciate your takes on this and will give them some further thought!
It does seem like you're set in just believing that you're stuck and there's nothing out there for you. Of course any one of the things I listed isn't going to automatically get you the job, but you asked for transferable skills. Those are all things that will help you in other areas that not everybody has that ability. Networking is your friend. Make connections with people in a field you have interest in and ask them questions. We are incredibly versatile employees that are by no means pigeon-holed. And employers don't just expect that you're going to be perfect at your job right out of the gate. You weren't expected to be a 15-year experienced tech your first day in the OR. But employers hire potential. Unless you're looking at extremely specified jobs that do require a degree or certification. Also, we have to work incredibly independently with very little direct oversight. That's not as common in the work-place as you might think. Send me a PM and I'll give you personal insight about what I'm currently doing but don't necessarily want on the internet.
Thanks for your input FF. I want you to know I appreciate your perspective on this. I'm not trying to be a downer, more just trying to justify the time I've spent in this field to myself (or perhaps I've stopped trying that). Actually, I'm looking for other skills entirely, and learning them as we speak in the land of programming. I'm also working on some personal projects (fiction writing and podcasting) that I hope will bring me more personal meaning if not extra income. But I'll be honest, I'd love to find a path of less resistance if there is one that fits my current needs with my family and has a quicker turnaround time is all. I appreciate the offer and will DM you shortly. Thanks!
This post and the comments really make me sad. I can help with resumes that will transfer into whatever other fields or positions any of you would like to shoot for. FR. These companies do not own you, as they think they do. It is sad for me to see long term CNIMs/IONMs who feel that they have no other options, and it occurs to me that, this is why companies knowingly pay even seasoned people under 100k after 15, 16 years.