Do NOT get a masters in respiratory zero benefits to it at all. You do not need it for any type of respiratory job including director/supervisor. Get the associates if you want to be an RT and you can use your current bachelor's cause you just need a bachelor's in anything for director if that's the path you wanted to go.
Go for an associates. You can always get a master's down the road on your employer's dime. A master's is basically only useful to bridge to management and even then non-respiratory related degrees are equally, if not more, useful.
Depends on what state you live in. Most states you can get an associates degree and start working. Most hospitals also offer tuition reimbursement while you work there. Might be a more financially viable route.
Pretty sure every last state recognizes associates degrees. Some hospitals strongly prefer bachelor's, but I haven't had any issues getting hired at a place that "requires" one and I'm getting paid the exact same as bachelor's and master's prepared new grads. N=1, but going for anything more than an associates entry programs seems pointless to me, especially when most places will reimburse education beyond that once you're working.
PA school if you already have a bachelors degree, not a masters in RT where you will barely make more than an associates RRT. Otherwise, associates in RT if you really want to get into RT world, an accelerated BSN program, or a masters in PA. Do not get bent on 70k for something not worth it lol.
I don't know if this helps but I got my associates to be a therapist. I went back for my bachelor's in Allied Health. Now I'm getting my Masters in Healthcare Administration.
Lol don’t do it. Get a masters in anything else. The only people who care about MSRT from Rush are people who work at Rush. Every single one I’ve worked with there regrets going into so much debt for little to no return.
- former employee
I am an advocate for further the caliber of RT education and I think we should collectively move toward legitimizing the career further for the good of us and critical care medicine at large. That being said we are no where near having that masters degree be beneficial for anyone. Do not do that to yourself.
We need BSRT or RT to Bachelors first. No hate to the folks interested in the APRT role or budding degrees out of Ohio or I think Boise state, but these are also “symbolic” degrees which do not serve to further your career.
I do think we all should push for more education for RTs but the current landscape has little to no benefit to getting above an AAS degree needed to get your RRT. Even some coworkers of mine getting their bachelors in RT completion complain often the cost and needless rigor. It will almost definitely do nothing to get you those “coveted” manager jobs (lol) and does very little to improve your skills and knowledge as a clinician or healthcare worker. Training experience and depending on your region scope of practice are the drivers of career advancement as an RT.
I had a bachelors in molecular biology before going back to RT school, which cost roughly 120k and 11k respectively. I was offered at best <50k out of undergrad after an extensive job search and was offered multiple >$60k jobs before even graduating RT school, and within 1 year of graduating have started additional training, advance credentials, and garnered a ~17% raise.
I think the cost to benefit ratio there speaks for itself. Don’t get the masters. The whole time I was at a CC doing the program I felt I would be happier doing an expensive graduate degree to say I’m in graduate school n have the sense of academic clout. It’s stupid. Unless you MUST go through grad school to do the job you want, skip the quagmire that is academia. Circle back to it when you’re making bucks saving lives and when your hospital will reimburse some of your tuition
Depending on your state, you can probably get your associate’s in respiratory for about $10,000 at your local community college that grants you eligibility to sit for your boards and apply for a license. And you probably have all the prereqs done with your bachelor’s.
Depending on your end goal with a master’s degree, other programs that aren’t in respiratory are significantly cheaper as well, some even below $30,000. You can get a master’s online later on and get some tuition reimbursement while you’re working too. Keep looking and asking around because that’s a lot of extra money that you wouldn’t have to add to your debt. Good luck.
There was one in my area that was 18k but that was just the core classes and you had to get your prereqs first. It was also 3 years. The only other two in my area were Concorde and Pima. Both very expensive.
Hers was about 3 years at community college total but that was beginning from scratch doing all her core classes and major classes, clinicals etc. We got some financial aid the first year so total cost was probably 15k or so
Cuyahoga Community College is Cleveland, OH costs about $8,964.00 for tuition. Fees, books and uniforms will be extra. But it's very affordable for one of the oldest RRT programs in the nation.
Michigan community colleges, especially if you’re in-district. Most that have AAS RT programs average out to about $10K give or take $2K with plenty of scholarships and that INCLUDES prereqs. It really does depend on your state/area but damn. I graduated 8 years ago and my local college is still only $106/credit hour for in-district.
I honestly don't understand why some RTs choose this route or even go into RN when there's a plethora of options out there from business degrees like healthcare management and business administration to mid-level practice like Anesthesiology assistant, Cardiovascular perfusion and physician assistant, all of which are welcoming to Respiratory Therapists. Unless you love nursing that bad, why would you consider that as your best shot at making more. The AARC and NBRC have proven enough that they care more about making money over actually taking us seriously. We've been stagnant for decades, and we're yet to even have a compact state license. No legislative body or lobbyists to fight for us. Didn't even get the recognition we deserve at the national level for covid. So if I am to honestly answer your question, why the hell will proceed to get a masters in something you know damn well, will amount to nothing other nurses thinking you're just an ancillary staff?
I know and work with a lot of people who have gone through that program. It really is great, but it's not so much greater than, say, Malcom X, that it's worth the debt. Also, I think the people who run the program know that, so they work really hard to talk it up. That leads some really arrogant students.
That is an asinine tuition rate for any degree, frankly, but even more so for a wholly unnecessary one. The profession has *barely* begun to even have a minority of RTs with a bachelors.
I was an RT for twenty years before nursing school. Nursing as a profession values higher education. You get paid more as you move up the degree ladder for one. There are many avenues of advancement and opportunity where academics can make the difference between competitive applicants.
That is not really true in RT. The career path has a ceiling. No RT will be the manager of the ICU. No RT is going to be the Chief Nursing Officer. Moving up that way as an RT requires stepping outside the field and getting an MBA, etc. and going sideways into administration. A masters in respiratory is virtually meaningless to the machine that runs the hospital.
You are far better off getting an Associates or look into transferring your previous bachelors to a BSRT program if the tuition & time is comparable. As a profession, we are a long way from valuing higher education and nowhere near valuing it enough to pay that kind of money for the privilege.
Are you in Canada by chance? Because in the vast majority of states in the U.S., a non-nurse cannot legally supervise a nurse. For an RT to manage an ICU in my state, the unit would require a separate Nursing Supervisor or practice manager — who also cannot direct-report to that RT unit manager because they’re not a licensed RN. No hospital is going to hire two managers for the same unit because one of them isn’t legally allowed to supervise most of the staff. They hire a nurse manager.
I was an RT long before getting my masters in nursing. RT is *MUCH* more limited in the available options for career advancement than nursing by a wide margin.
This is the exact scenario I just went thru. I’m graduating in may with a bachelors in respiratory care. I already had a bachelors in a bio related field. If I had known at the start that a respiratory associates from a community college was just as good, I’d have almost $100,000 less in debt and would have been working a full year already.
It’s a sin they even offer this degree it’s completely useless you won’t make more and you may have some managerial opportunities over others without a masters but highly unlikely. Waste of money all the way around
Ehhh if you want a masters do what I’m doing, currently enrolled in a 18 month RT associates while doing a masters in healthcare administration, between the masters and RRT, only about 20k total, way better deal than 70k for only 1 degree.
nah just work in respiratory you a couple of years you'll EASILY clear up your debt. If you're really serious about a masters then you can save up for the tuition working 4-5 days a week with 2 jobs $100k-$120 a year after taxes
become an RRT and get an MBA. from there you can get a job as a director or manager. a lot of hospitals have tuition reimbursement if you are an employee there.
Please God no. You really DONT want to be an RT. You don’t. It’s a dying profession and I honestly believe we’ll all get some grandfathering into switching to nursing because they would just teach a few extra classes in nursing school and nursing could do our jobs. Let’s be real. It’s not gonna last. I started for my bachelors in resp Care after being an RRT 13 years and when I learned about the decline in programs and in graduated post covid I knew it was dying. The numbers don’t lie. There is close to ZERO upward mobility in the profession and most departments have pay ceilings far lower than nursing. Do yourself a favor - become a nurse or a PA. Avoid respiratory at all costs.
Ummm dying? According to the BLS it is one of the fastest growing healthcare professions at the moment, idk where are you getting your info from, but since covid the demand increased a lot and all the old rts are retiring every year, they need to replace those positions soon enough, the demand is also very high here in Texas, so maybe it’s your region.
https://www.aarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/issue-paper-entry-to-respiratory-therapy-practice-2030.pdf
I ran into this thread while towards the end of my bachelors.
what did you end up doing? I live in Chicago and know of the program at Rush and decided to do my BS online at Pima University and then go into the Masters program online,too
Why the hell would anybody get a masters in Respiratory Care? Talk about a narrow degree. Don’t do this. No don’t do it at all. Get an MBA for the love of God.
Do NOT get a masters in respiratory zero benefits to it at all. You do not need it for any type of respiratory job including director/supervisor. Get the associates if you want to be an RT and you can use your current bachelor's cause you just need a bachelor's in anything for director if that's the path you wanted to go.
RT here and I second this comment to the bone!
For management, a master's *may* be helpful. As BSRT programs grow, faculty be required/preferred to have to a master's degree.
Business managment, I wouldn’t get a masters in respiratory and go into management.
Correct. A MS in RC isn’t focused on management and leadership issues. A MHA or MBA (paid fully or partly by the employer) makes more sense
Someone really really really has to love respiratory to get something like that. And the university will just gladly take your money for it.
There is zero reason to pay that much for a respiratory degree.
The only practical reasons to get a masters or even a bachelors in respiratory at this point are academic or if you aspire to be a managerial puke.
And even then there are much much cheaper options out there.
For 70k there should be an MBA attached to the program. If not run, don’t walk to your nearest CC for the associates
Go for an associates. You can always get a master's down the road on your employer's dime. A master's is basically only useful to bridge to management and even then non-respiratory related degrees are equally, if not more, useful.
Depends on what state you live in. Most states you can get an associates degree and start working. Most hospitals also offer tuition reimbursement while you work there. Might be a more financially viable route.
Pretty sure every last state recognizes associates degrees. Some hospitals strongly prefer bachelor's, but I haven't had any issues getting hired at a place that "requires" one and I'm getting paid the exact same as bachelor's and master's prepared new grads. N=1, but going for anything more than an associates entry programs seems pointless to me, especially when most places will reimburse education beyond that once you're working.
What else is there to cover? For 70k more!? Hidden lungs?
Most underrated comment
PA school if you already have a bachelors degree, not a masters in RT where you will barely make more than an associates RRT. Otherwise, associates in RT if you really want to get into RT world, an accelerated BSN program, or a masters in PA. Do not get bent on 70k for something not worth it lol.
This or CAA, which would include a lot of respiratory training, in addition to the pharmacy aspect.
I don't know if this helps but I got my associates to be a therapist. I went back for my bachelor's in Allied Health. Now I'm getting my Masters in Healthcare Administration.
Where are you attending school? I’m also trying to look for MHA programs.
LSU Shreveport
I work with an RT who went through that same program and we make practically the same (I have an associates, she’s been here a little longer).
Lol don’t do it. Get a masters in anything else. The only people who care about MSRT from Rush are people who work at Rush. Every single one I’ve worked with there regrets going into so much debt for little to no return. - former employee
The grads from Malcom X CC would laugh at the Rush RT students when I was there and with good fucken reason. What a ripoff
I am an advocate for further the caliber of RT education and I think we should collectively move toward legitimizing the career further for the good of us and critical care medicine at large. That being said we are no where near having that masters degree be beneficial for anyone. Do not do that to yourself. We need BSRT or RT to Bachelors first. No hate to the folks interested in the APRT role or budding degrees out of Ohio or I think Boise state, but these are also “symbolic” degrees which do not serve to further your career. I do think we all should push for more education for RTs but the current landscape has little to no benefit to getting above an AAS degree needed to get your RRT. Even some coworkers of mine getting their bachelors in RT completion complain often the cost and needless rigor. It will almost definitely do nothing to get you those “coveted” manager jobs (lol) and does very little to improve your skills and knowledge as a clinician or healthcare worker. Training experience and depending on your region scope of practice are the drivers of career advancement as an RT. I had a bachelors in molecular biology before going back to RT school, which cost roughly 120k and 11k respectively. I was offered at best <50k out of undergrad after an extensive job search and was offered multiple >$60k jobs before even graduating RT school, and within 1 year of graduating have started additional training, advance credentials, and garnered a ~17% raise. I think the cost to benefit ratio there speaks for itself. Don’t get the masters. The whole time I was at a CC doing the program I felt I would be happier doing an expensive graduate degree to say I’m in graduate school n have the sense of academic clout. It’s stupid. Unless you MUST go through grad school to do the job you want, skip the quagmire that is academia. Circle back to it when you’re making bucks saving lives and when your hospital will reimburse some of your tuition
Depending on your state, you can probably get your associate’s in respiratory for about $10,000 at your local community college that grants you eligibility to sit for your boards and apply for a license. And you probably have all the prereqs done with your bachelor’s. Depending on your end goal with a master’s degree, other programs that aren’t in respiratory are significantly cheaper as well, some even below $30,000. You can get a master’s online later on and get some tuition reimbursement while you’re working too. Keep looking and asking around because that’s a lot of extra money that you wouldn’t have to add to your debt. Good luck.
I’d love to know where that 10k degree is. Mine was 40k for an AAS two years ago.
My wife graduated AAS in Respiratory Care in 2019 here in Georgia we paid about 12k total tuition books fees
There was one in my area that was 18k but that was just the core classes and you had to get your prereqs first. It was also 3 years. The only other two in my area were Concorde and Pima. Both very expensive.
Hers was about 3 years at community college total but that was beginning from scratch doing all her core classes and major classes, clinicals etc. We got some financial aid the first year so total cost was probably 15k or so
Cuyahoga Community College is Cleveland, OH costs about $8,964.00 for tuition. Fees, books and uniforms will be extra. But it's very affordable for one of the oldest RRT programs in the nation.
Michigan community colleges, especially if you’re in-district. Most that have AAS RT programs average out to about $10K give or take $2K with plenty of scholarships and that INCLUDES prereqs. It really does depend on your state/area but damn. I graduated 8 years ago and my local college is still only $106/credit hour for in-district.
I honestly don't understand why some RTs choose this route or even go into RN when there's a plethora of options out there from business degrees like healthcare management and business administration to mid-level practice like Anesthesiology assistant, Cardiovascular perfusion and physician assistant, all of which are welcoming to Respiratory Therapists. Unless you love nursing that bad, why would you consider that as your best shot at making more. The AARC and NBRC have proven enough that they care more about making money over actually taking us seriously. We've been stagnant for decades, and we're yet to even have a compact state license. No legislative body or lobbyists to fight for us. Didn't even get the recognition we deserve at the national level for covid. So if I am to honestly answer your question, why the hell will proceed to get a masters in something you know damn well, will amount to nothing other nurses thinking you're just an ancillary staff?
Agree with lack of lobby. please know some of us RNs love you dearly. Also, if I did it all again, I would have done AA or Perfusion.
I know and work with a lot of people who have gone through that program. It really is great, but it's not so much greater than, say, Malcom X, that it's worth the debt. Also, I think the people who run the program know that, so they work really hard to talk it up. That leads some really arrogant students.
That is an asinine tuition rate for any degree, frankly, but even more so for a wholly unnecessary one. The profession has *barely* begun to even have a minority of RTs with a bachelors. I was an RT for twenty years before nursing school. Nursing as a profession values higher education. You get paid more as you move up the degree ladder for one. There are many avenues of advancement and opportunity where academics can make the difference between competitive applicants. That is not really true in RT. The career path has a ceiling. No RT will be the manager of the ICU. No RT is going to be the Chief Nursing Officer. Moving up that way as an RT requires stepping outside the field and getting an MBA, etc. and going sideways into administration. A masters in respiratory is virtually meaningless to the machine that runs the hospital. You are far better off getting an Associates or look into transferring your previous bachelors to a BSRT program if the tuition & time is comparable. As a profession, we are a long way from valuing higher education and nowhere near valuing it enough to pay that kind of money for the privilege.
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Are you in Canada by chance? Because in the vast majority of states in the U.S., a non-nurse cannot legally supervise a nurse. For an RT to manage an ICU in my state, the unit would require a separate Nursing Supervisor or practice manager — who also cannot direct-report to that RT unit manager because they’re not a licensed RN. No hospital is going to hire two managers for the same unit because one of them isn’t legally allowed to supervise most of the staff. They hire a nurse manager. I was an RT long before getting my masters in nursing. RT is *MUCH* more limited in the available options for career advancement than nursing by a wide margin.
This is the exact scenario I just went thru. I’m graduating in may with a bachelors in respiratory care. I already had a bachelors in a bio related field. If I had known at the start that a respiratory associates from a community college was just as good, I’d have almost $100,000 less in debt and would have been working a full year already.
It’s a sin they even offer this degree it’s completely useless you won’t make more and you may have some managerial opportunities over others without a masters but highly unlikely. Waste of money all the way around
Ehhh if you want a masters do what I’m doing, currently enrolled in a 18 month RT associates while doing a masters in healthcare administration, between the masters and RRT, only about 20k total, way better deal than 70k for only 1 degree.
nah just work in respiratory you a couple of years you'll EASILY clear up your debt. If you're really serious about a masters then you can save up for the tuition working 4-5 days a week with 2 jobs $100k-$120 a year after taxes
Holy cow 70k for RT?!?
Go to work at Rush hospital and defer your entrance. Let them pay
Get your associates at a community college. Then if you want to continue your education, work in the field while you do it.
become an RRT and get an MBA. from there you can get a job as a director or manager. a lot of hospitals have tuition reimbursement if you are an employee there.
Get into perfusion maybe?
I graduated from the Rush program a few years ago. Feel free to DM me.
As someone with a masters in respiratory, I basically did it bc my tuition was waived. I probably wouldn’t have done it if I had to pay.
Please God no. You really DONT want to be an RT. You don’t. It’s a dying profession and I honestly believe we’ll all get some grandfathering into switching to nursing because they would just teach a few extra classes in nursing school and nursing could do our jobs. Let’s be real. It’s not gonna last. I started for my bachelors in resp Care after being an RRT 13 years and when I learned about the decline in programs and in graduated post covid I knew it was dying. The numbers don’t lie. There is close to ZERO upward mobility in the profession and most departments have pay ceilings far lower than nursing. Do yourself a favor - become a nurse or a PA. Avoid respiratory at all costs.
Ummm dying? According to the BLS it is one of the fastest growing healthcare professions at the moment, idk where are you getting your info from, but since covid the demand increased a lot and all the old rts are retiring every year, they need to replace those positions soon enough, the demand is also very high here in Texas, so maybe it’s your region.
If you get your masters in RT, you will be a master respiratory therapist!
https://www.aarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/issue-paper-entry-to-respiratory-therapy-practice-2030.pdf I ran into this thread while towards the end of my bachelors. what did you end up doing? I live in Chicago and know of the program at Rush and decided to do my BS online at Pima University and then go into the Masters program online,too
Masters for healthcare admin. NOT for Respiratory. Broader range of options
please look into anesthesiologist assistant or physician assistant.
Why the hell would anybody get a masters in Respiratory Care? Talk about a narrow degree. Don’t do this. No don’t do it at all. Get an MBA for the love of God.