A cardiovascular technician is a specialist who does exams on the heart and blood vessels, working side-by-side with the patient's doctor. This job has many perks as well as some major possible drawbacks (mainly relating to stress). Before you pursue this occupation, find out the pros and cons involved in the career.

Benefits

A cardiovascular technician's job requires strikingly few years of training, especially for a medical job. Most technicians receive associate's degrees and immediately proceed to full-time technician jobs.

Procedures

Cardiovascular technicians may have to do a number of invasive diagnostic procedures--such as catheterization exams that push a camera through a patient's blood vessels to check for clots. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of performing these intrusive procedures, a cardiovascular technician job may not be a good fit for you.

Flexibilility

As a cardiovascular technician, you have the choice to administer either invasive or noninvasive procedures. For instance, many technicians administer echocardiograph exams, which involve ultrasound and are completely noninvasive.

Physical Stresses

Besides having patient care on their hands, cardiovascular technicians do a lot of standing and lifting of heavy medical equipment.

Time Committment

Many cardiovascular technicians work weekends, and are on-call at irregular hours of the day and night.

Positive Job Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cardiovascular technician jobs will increase at an immense rate--26 percent until 2016. If you decide to become a cardiovascular technician, you will hold an exceptionally secure, recession-proof job (see Resources below).