sade082

The AARC wants every respiratory therapist to get a bachelor's degree. I actually looked into this because I would love to further my education. However, when I brought this up to my wife, she said: "If you are going to go back to school, you should get a degree in something so you can earn $75,0000 a year. If you get this, you won't make any more money. It may qualify you to be an RT supervisor, but it doesn't guarantee you will get that job, nor that you will want that job." My wife is smart in this way. And she is right. If I were to go back to school, I would be better off going to be a nurse. They make way more money than we do, plus their profession is far better respected. I'm not saying I'm going to be a nurse. I'm also not implying I hate my job. But, there is some degree of apathy present. It would be nice to do something different. But, to earn a bachelor's in respiratory therapy would not make me a better therapist nor would it make me ...

I like the idea of respiratory therapists being better educated. I like the idea of having us obtain a Bachelor's Degree. However, the way it is set up right now, there is not really an incentive to do this. Here, allow me to explain.  Right now, I'm a respiratory therapist. I have an associates' degree. Every other RT I know has the same qualifications that I do, including a license. Most of us are great at what we do, and further education will not make us better. However, further education "might" garnish more respect for us.  However, that said, I actually thought about getting a BA. Two colleges near where I live now offer the program. I discussed this with a good friend of mine who said this: "Why would you get a BA in respiratory therapy when you are not going to get paid more. If you are going to get a BA in something, you might as well choose a program that, when you graduate, you can get a job that pays you $75,000 a year." That point stuck. I ...