Has anyone here ever gone to a trade school or vocational training?

Most of these "schools" I have looked into vary from 10-14 weeks, $3200-$9000, and NONE of them guarantee placement after graduation/certification. SOME of them give "placement assistance", but does that really help?

I just gave 2 weeks notice at my job. I hate it, I am spending way too much time there, and I am sick of blue-collar work. I am 41 and have no "marketable skills". I have never been to college, and/or trade school. My entire resume consists of grocery stores, hotels, and vending/coffee sales.

Now that I have the time, and for the most part, the cash, I am wondering if I should just find another job right away, or go to a trade school and try to get a better job. I am interested in medical coding or medical assistant.

If anyone has any experience with this to share, I would appreciate your input. All thoughts and advice anyone has to share will be of great value to me, too. Thanks!

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Maxi, my daughter went to one to be a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) prior to going onto college to become a Registered Nurse, and now in Medical School. Yes, they are expensive, but you have to figure that you will be making more money once you do get some skilled training. The medical field is a great field to go into. You can become a CNA in about 3 months or so and then get your med tech certification and make even more money. I think the med tech course, if I remember correctly, is only about a six week course with testing at the end. The nursing field always needs good nurses. You can pretty much write your own ticket these days if you are a nurse. I come from a long line of nurses, my grandmother, mother, sister and me, the black sheep, decided to become a lawyer. Had I known then what I know now, the medical field would have been the way I would go.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

Rhonda

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Rhonda, thank you so much for your input. I see tons of ads.....looking for nurses, and anyone else in the medical field. I'm not getting any younger, so I'd better get going on SOMETHING!

I was looking at a job-finder site and I clicked on "Hot jobs for the future". It showed only 2: nurses and teachers. Although being a teacher has it's benefits (money NOT being one of them) I don't think I could deal with that many kids! I only have one of my own, and my largest Sunday School class was about 8!

Maybe being almost-a-nurse is where I need to be, if I'm smart enough!

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Maxi, my first career was in nursing. My son was a tot when I decided to go back to school and get some marketable credentials. I couldn't afford to take a few years to get an RN, but I found a 10 month LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program. It was an intensive program, but a good one. After trying various units, I wound up in the operating room and was a scrub nurse for a number of years before I went back to school again.

In your neck of the woods, they're called LVN's (Licensed Vocational Nurses). If you can afford that much time out of the job market, I don't think you'll ever have a problem getting a good paying gig, with benefits.

Just a thought.

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Maxi,
I am a practicing RN in the surgery dept at a women's speciality hospital. There are many different *fields* in nursing you can go...from non clinical to clinical and everything in between. Clinical nursing can be very rewarding, but at the same time physically and mentally exhausting. Administrative nursing(did that for almost 12 years) can be very political. I'm not being negative, just honest. I, myself, have suffered *burn out* on more than one occasion. If I had it to do all over again, I might look into the dental field, like dental hygienist.
Also, medical record coding and transcription can be done from the home these days. I have a friend who does home coding, and she jokingly tells me all the time, she does her morning *work* in her pjs with a pot of coffee by her side

Good luck with whatever you decide! You'll do great!

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Maxi, another thing to consider is MOA- medical office assistant. There is rising demand for that position, which doesn't require you to be on your feet all day. The pay and benefits can be very attractive, depending on the practice, demographics, etc. The training will be affordable and won't require an extended period of time. It's just another possibility for you to consider.

It would be great if you could do a career assessment with a career center of some sort. It's an evaluation of your strengths and preferences aimed at helping you decide which career would be the best fit. You can also do this at any tech school or college. This done routinely for kids in high school now days, which is great.

I applaud you for taking this step! I wish you much success and surely want you to keep us updated on your decisions.

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Maxi, congrats on taking a step toward a better future. I know it's scary, but you've given yourself a great opportunity. I suggest checking out your local community or junior college (as they used to be called). Almost all of them offer career counseling and testing, and generally a great variety of certificate and career programs to boot. My community college has certificate programs in everything from computer graphics to medical careers to welding to over-the-road truck driving to bar tending, and has reciprocal agreements with other schools in the state community college system. Even many 4 year schools have technical and/or vocational programs which don't require two or four year degrees.

The reason I suggest the college system over "for profit" trade and tech schools is that frankly too many of the latter are little more than scams. Such schools are happy to take your money (and tie you up with student loans) but offer little traininng and no help getting jobs. For any career training, any school ought to be able to tell you if the coursework meets any state requirements for licensing (and you can check that with the state); what, if any state tests are also required for certification, and what their track record on placing graduates is. The community college system is tax supported and has a vested interest in training students to meet the needs of local employers and taxpayers.

If you have an idea of the type of career you'd like to pursue (or when you do), one way find out if your training will be appropriate training is to call the places that hire that career. For example, if you are interested in becoming physical therapy assistant, call your local hospital or rehab center, and ask a recruiter which schools produce the best prepared employees, the ones they are always happy to see coming in the door...if you stike up a rapport, they might also tell you which to stay away from because their graduates are not the best prepared to be successful in the work place.

Here's advice from the heart....you are taking this opportunity to better yourself and hopefully find a fulfilling and rewarding career. It's time for raw honesty, too. What types of actitivies bring you joy? Do you hate the office environment or love it? Would you rather work with "things" or "people." Could you efficiently work from home or do you need a bit more structure? Do you thrive on detail or are you more "generality oriented)

The job of medical coder and medical assistant, for example, will likely put you in quite different environments. But no matter what the monitary and hiring prospects of a career seem to be, can you really see yourself doing that job for the next 20 years (physically and mentally)? See if you can arrange a visit to some place where they do the kind of work you are interested in. Can you see yourself there? What we imagine the work and working environment to be like and what they actually are can be quite different!

Oh, and here are a few medical careers which don't require 4 year degrees: LPN (LVN), Certified Nursing Assistant, Phlebotomist, Medical Technician, Physical Therapy Assistant, Biomedical Engineering Tech, Dietetic Tech, EEG Tech, Pharmacy Tech, Coder/Biller, EMT, Medical Transcriptionist, Surgical Tech, Medical Office Assistant---off the top of my head ......

And, of course, if there's anything you've ever said like "Wow, I'd love to have THAT job." Well, now's the time to see if you can make that happen!

HTH!

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Max: I didn't start college until I was 32. I went then because I did what Brenda suggested: I found a job that I loved and knew I would be good at doing. But, I needed not only a college degree, but a master's degree too. As I look back (thirty years now), I don't know how I did it with three kids in elementary school, but I did. And, I have given thanks more times than I can count that I took the time to get trained in my chosen vocation.

When I was in my late 40's, my interests changed, and I went back to school for another masters degree and have worked in that field now for nearly 20 years. That degree happened when my youngest entered college, I did too.

Go for it, girl. But, do as Brenda suggested, go to your local community college and check out career assessment, then ask about training there. It's much cheaper, and often superior in teaching.

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Personally, I would be VERY leery of any trade or technical school that suggested you could get good jobs after taking a program lasting only 10-14 weeks. This is less than one semester. For positions such as medical transcription or coding, "legitimate" programs take at least 6 months (and most take 1-2 years). For medical assistant, medical office, and most med tech positions, the norm is at least a 1-year diploma and, more likely, a 2-year degree.

I teach medical transcription at a community college and also for a company that does work-at-home medical transcription. We accept new graduates from only three training programs, having learned that too many programs turn out graduates who can't do the work. If you'd like more information about the field of medical transcription or those training programs, feel free to PM me.

Aderyn

my "little sister" is going to school in boston as we speak for MEDICAL CODING.. and she is nearly 47 years of age... before she was pushing pies for a specialty company ... i dont have any idea how much it costs... next time i talk to her.. i will ask her..

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Thank you ALL so much for your time and attention, your thoughts and advice. I won't tell you that I'm not scared. But I'm more scared of wasting the second half of my life, more or less like I have the first.

I have thought about it alot. I want a job where I don't have to get dirty and sweaty. Preferably like a doctor's office. When I go to the OB/GYN, they seem busy, yet not harried, rushed and stressed out. I (think) I'd like to make appointments, prepare charts, file insurance, pull charts, take blood pressures, weights, notes in charts, (and whatever else they do)...and when it's time to go home, go home (within reason)! I could feel like I am accomplishing something, doing a work that is needed, but not be pressured and stressed out all the time. And certainly not dirty and sweaty.

What would you call that? Or is there one person who does each thing? My doc's ex-wife works there and she does it all. It seems like they all are cross-trained. It would probably be hard to get into an established doctor's office with no experience, though. Gosh, I don't know what to do, except fight the urge to go running back to what I've always done:in my comfort zone. I'm GREAT with people....but customer service positions don't pay well.
Maybe I should contact my local Community college, which is about a mile from my house and just go in and say:"I've been out of high school for 23 years and I want a change of pace....can you help me determine my strengths/weaknesses?" And go from there. I can't see sinking a few thousand bucks into a trade school that may or may not deliver the goods.

I am trying to look fear of the unknown in the face and remind myself that LOTS of people have done the same thing I am about to do. I've known for years that I would not be able to do this work (physically) for the rest of my life. Now is the time...I just wish I'd done it sooner.

If any of you have more thoughts and advice, I appreciate every word. I'll read back over these posts and give it all more thought. Thanks again.

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Maxibee!! Way to go girl, and congrats on quitting a job that's not working for you. And lucky you that you have some options.

I teach part time at a local private college that has many different degrees including health stuff. They have 8 week terms instead of the usual 16 week semesters, so you can get it done more quickly.

Also, I know that they are anxious to get new students and are very used to adults comign in and needing information/direction, etc. Comunity colleges are the same way.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!!

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Maxibee, they have medical billing courses as well and medical assistants. What I would do is check with the doctors offices in the area and see what they require. They may have something specific that they look for. I was going to go work ing a doctors office but have decided to stick with my job until I have Xander squared away with his new program. But I have many many years experience as a nursing assistant so I knew the terminology that was required (I wouldn't have had to use my skills with taking vitals as the nurses did that). But when I am ready for a change I will probably take a medical billing course because I think that would be the hardest aspect to pick up on the job and what they would really be looking for.

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Noël


Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strengths.

Maxibee, the description you wrote sounds like a medical assistant to me. There are lots of good college and vocational school programs for this. In many ways it's the best of both worlds--you get to work on "front-office" stuff like appointments and billing, as well as "back-room" stuff like taking vital signs and patients' histories.

One thing to look at is the earning potential in your area. Unfortunately, in the area where I live, medical assisting is a low-demand profession and tends to pay poorly. Not that money is everything, but certainly it counts for something when you're considering going to the expense of special training. I teach medical terminology, a required subject for medical assistants in our 2-year program, and unfortunately many people who would like and be very good at medical assisting end up going into coding or transcription when they see the difference in pay. This is not the same everywhere, though, so you will have to see what the situation is in your area.

Aderyn

Renee, thanks....I'm thinking more and more that a college course thing is the way to go. That way I'm sure it is accredited and all that.

Noel, I'm so glad you have that experience and options available to you. I've never done anything except grocery, retail, vending, and basic return-desk customer service type stuff. Nothing that brings good money, except the vending and it's dirty and out in the weather...the things I am trying to avoid!

Aderyn, I am going to look in the paper and see if I can nail down some wages on these jobs. The DFW metroplex is vast and the job market is wild. There are 100's of new job listings every day. Someone else said to work it backward: find out the specific job I want to do, then find out what I need to know to do it. Wow! I have alot to figure out in the next few weeks!

Thank you all so much! I will update everyone on what I'm gonna do once I figure that out!

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