Any pharm techs, medical billers or ultrasound techs out there?

[alleycat]

Since being laid off last week, I'm thinking about making a career change. I had a high-stress job with crappy commute. I'm thinking about something that's more portable should we have to move anywhere. Also something that's more kid/family-friendly. Possibly where I can work part time until the kiddies start kinder then go full-time. I'm wondering if any of these three fit the bill. And are they good options for someone starting out later in life (I'm over 35)?

[pinkmomagain]

A friend just started as pharm tech. She seems pretty happy. Her training was all through CVS and she seems to have good flexibility. I personally wouldn't want to do it because 1) you are on your feet all day and I have varicose veins, 2) lots of interface with customers...like retail, which I swore I'd never do again. But that's just me.

I did some medical billing when I was still in HS and that was one of those desk jobs that was not very challenging but the day went by fast. It was easy. I could see doing that again. On the job training.

US tech always seemed interesting to me. You do need to get trained though...and I'm not sure what the demand is for this as it seems like there are alot of places near me that train. You should check in your area. It seems like there could be good flexibility with this. The thing is, you obviously have to be prepared to scan all kinds of body parts of all kinds of people. Don't know if this is within your comfort zone.

Keep us posted on what you pursue.

[MMEand1]

I work in the Diagnostic Imaging field and had the opportunity to retrain into Ultrasound a few years ago. After looking into it, I decided NOT to do it for a few reasons

1) You scan ALL body parts, NOT just babies! This includes parts of people that you would otherwise prefer NOT to see!

2) Ultrasound techs are on call a lot! Someone is holding the pager at all times (if you work at a hospital - not sure about clinics).

3) The market is pretty saturated right now and PRN (part time, or as needed) jobs are pretty hard to come by. I know of several folks that are having trouble finding steady work.

I don't know about the other jobs other than having a friend that is a pharm. tech. She loves her job, even though it entails a lot more than she realized when she first started.

Good luck in your decision and keep us posted on your new career!

[cleo27]

I'm taking pre-reqs for Ultrasound now. There are only a few programs near me (one that is close enough for me to apply to) and if I don't get in, I am thinking about Medical billing. The school near me has orientations for prospective students and their job placement rate is really high (over 90%).

I'm excited! Previously I was in banking and credit, so this is a big change. I just got so burned out on the path I was on.

[maybeebaby08]

I was seriously considering becoming an Ultrasound Tech, but changed my mind when I had a miscarriage last August and had to have a transvaginal ultrasound so they could check everything out. I felt so bad for the u/s tech having to deal with a mess like that not to mention the emotional aspect of someone having a miscarriage or seeing something wrong on the u/s with a baby. Around my area most u/s tech schools have a 2 year waiting list and are very hard to get into.

[alleycat]

I guess I have this glorified image of an u/s tech. Being able to see all those babies inside their mommies. I never thought about needing to scan all body parts. Thanks for pointing out some downsides to this.

I was leaning towards pharm tech. I entered college wanting to major in pharmacy, got a degree in business, then went on to do marketing in the publishing world. I guess I should've stuck with the pharmacy thing in college...oh, well.

I just spoke to a friend of mine who said radiology was the way to go.

I'm so confused. Don't know if being laid off is the best thing to happen to us or the worst thing.

[kijip]

Pharm tech can be a mixed bag. In some states, there are tighter laws regulating entry than in others and pay tends to be better and work more interesting. In other states, techs function as cash register clerks and pay can be quite low, in some cases not much more than minimum wage. My husband became a pharm tech via a state community college (9 month full-time program) to decide after working in a pharmacy if he wanted to go to pharmacy school (he has a few complete professional trainings and we thought better safe than sorry at to his level of interest in working in a pharmacy long term, he was already married and a dad when he got interested in this track). In his case, it has worked out pretty well. It is however fairly dull work- mixing the same medicines all day long- and he has one of the more interesting tech job in the area (with better pay and benefits). However, it is interesting enough for him because he is in school to move on. The hospital pays full medical/dental benefits for him and the kids and pays most of the premium to add me even though he often works only 3 days a week, making it a rockin' student job for a parent. Low stress, decent pay for the level of work and good references.

A few of the people who work with him are planning to stay techs permanently but most are either in school for something else totally, in pharmacy school (and work pt) or applying to pharmacy school. The billing techs (who are pharmacy techs) seem to have the best pay and the best family hours. He encourages people to look at the state school programs and not at those medical institutes that advertise on tv- the job placement rates are lower and the costs of getting the certificate is much higher at them and often just not worth it, factoring in the job market post completion. At a community college, the cost was less than $3000, at a private medical institute place, the cost was something approaching $10,000 and no one that he works with at the hospital was hired out of the private programs because the quality is regarded as low. HTH.

[alleycat]

He encourages people to look at the state school programs and not at those medical institutes that advertise on tv

Do you mind telling me which community college he went to? Did he get an Associate's degree or was it a certified program? I've searched online for pharm tech schools but I'm not sure how to tell which are legit. Not sure if any NYS community colleges offer the program.

Thanks for the info.