Which career track is better: Nursing or Radiology?

I have been teetering between Radiology and Nursing since my senior year in high school. I ended up waiting 2 years to be accepted into the Radiology program at my college and just got the acceptance letter Monday. My heart is in Nursing and all things healthcare, wherever I can help people out, but I want to get a degree and just start paying off bills and maybe go back to shcool later in life for my RN. What do others think?

I am a radiology tech and i love what I do. I've now been working for 3 years. If your heart is in nursing but you also are interested in radiology. There is actually a field for Radiology nurses. Where you prep patients for their exams, start ivs, and follow patients when they have invasive exams or need to be sedated. That could possibly be a choice for you.
But also if you are looking into the aspect of patient care and more patient one on one time that you receive with nursing. You could also look into the field of Radiation Therapist, to which you do have to deal with cancer patients and for some that is a hard thing to do but you get to know you patients a lot more than you do as a regular RT.
As for job opportunities you can't get any better than Radiology just for the fact that you aren't limited like nursing. You can start out as just a Radiology Tech, but then there are many subdivisions that you can go into and not to mention that schooling is only 2 years for Radiology Techs.
As for the decision it is up to you so choose wisely and listen to your heart.

wow. what a great problem to have!

my two cents is this: radiology is THE way to go, not only to meet your needs for the here and now, but also in the choice of professions.

good luck!

Well if your passion is Nursing follow it. Also look at the job prospects in this bleak economy. Right now everyone is looking to just to get by so go with a job that is going to be stable.

Can't you do both?
I know in radiology there is that risk of cancer due to being exposed to radiation after a long period of time. With advances in modern meds and technological advances that risk is probably minimal these days.

In nursing, you are more one on one with a larger number of people and have your choice of places to work. Nursing homes, hospitals, doctor's offices, private care, etc.

In Radiology you are going to be limited to places that have a radiology department.

Personally I would go where your heart is. If you really want to be a nurse, I'd go for it and take radiology on the side. or vice versa.

Or go for the LPN - usually a one year program so you can be working as a nurse while working on either becoming an RN or a radiologist.

Right now, the most stabilize field where people can get a lot of money is through the medical field. However, some scientist predicts that in the future, radiologist would be in high demand because of the new discoveries in radiology.

By all means...GO WHERE YOUR HEART IS!!!. If you are going to spend time and energy on pursuing a degree spend it in the field that you feel the passion for. Few of us are lucky enough to get a career in what we enjoy and receive a paycheck for it. Nursing has many different specialties. In your education with this field you will be able to get education and practical work to determine which field you would like to specialize in. You could combine both Radiology and Nursing by working with an Oncologist to assist with radiation for a patient, for example. If money is an issue, work part-time and take classes at night. If there is a will there is a way!!!
Take care and good luck to you. Write back and let me know what you decided.

I'd say go w/ the nursing thing, you already said it's where your heart is. Personally, I'm actually starting nursing school this fall, graduated 2 yrs ago and still can't find a job w/ psych degree and teaching cert. The demand for nurses is crazy, and most of the programs don't take that long. You're still young, you'll make good money, the bills will just be waiting a little bit longer. And in nursing there is sooo much room for variation down the line.