By the time Amy Cole, 48, decided to go back to school, she had been in the same career for 34 years.

Ready for a new start and a change of scenery, she searched for a school that would give her time to earn a living and help her start her new life quickly.

She found the answer in West Chicago’s MRI Institute and Consulting Inc., a new school designed to train students in the growing field of magnetic resonance imaging technology.

“I really wanted to get into the field as quickly as I could and also as well educated as I could,” Cole said.

She packed her bags and left upstate New York for West Chicago. On Sept. 22, she was one of about 20 students to take the program’s first class.

“I’m so thrilled to finally be acting on something I’ve been thinking about,” Cole said.

MRI Institute and Consulting, 1887 N. Neltnor Blvd., is a unique program, according to program coordinator Quincy Cherman. Most schools that certify MRI technologists require a background in radiology technology, but the institute’s program focuses solely on MRIs. As the demand for MRIs grows, hospitals and clinics have started looking for technologists with those specialized skills.

“We are the first kind here in the west suburbs,” Cherman said. “There’s only a handful in America.”

The school’s first class has about 20 students and most of them, like Cole, are looking to change careers. The weekend classes make working full time to pay the $11,500 tuition manageable. Cherman said the school plans to add night classes in January and hopes to soon fill the school’s capacity of about 80 students.

The average salary for an MRI technologist now ranges between $40,000 and $60,000, Cherman said.

Magnetic resonance imaging utilizes magnetic fields to create images of the inside of a body. The demand for the non-invasive technology has steadily grown as it replaces those requiring radiation exposure such as X-rays.

The radiation risks of X-rays has also kept some people from pursuing a career as an MRI technologist since most programs require the radiology background.

Although the risk of radiation exposure is minimal, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Cherman said some students aren’t willing to take the risk, nor should they when alternatives exist.