Career change a comin'

[ruthven78]

Ok So dont know if you guys have remembered since I last typed....its been awhile....I was fired for being goofy in the head....guess its either anxiety disorder, post tramatic stress, or a lil of both....anways...since unemployment wont last forever despite what Obama would like.....Im gonna have to make a decision soon. I have three options Im entertaining. I've pro and con'd most of them to death cept the last one.....I'll try to be brief...keep in mind in 2007 I graduated from a comm college with an associates in respiratory therapy....seems its not a good fit. All options below start in the fall. My issues...I dont do well under high amounts of stress, I get absent minded, forget to complete tasks mostly.

Option 1) Polysomnography tech (sleep study tech) - they are the ones who operate the sleep test people for sleep apnea and other disorders, and such, its 95% graveyard work, and would require me to take online classes plus attend 8hr lab classes in Des Moines, WA twice a month...Im in Spokane....it would be 3 quarters, and builds on top of my existing respiratory therapy experience. Driving across the passes in winter doesnt tickle my fancy; not very practical. Will have to work at least part time to make ends meet....would actually come out with a 2nd associates degree from transfering my existing RT credits.

Option 2) Biomedical Equipment Tech - 100% local, no travel cept to school and home....2 years (7 quarters), would be a melding my medical and computer experience. I learn technology easily and have had the most success with it as far as past work experience. Iffy local job prospects. But I think I might like this option best out of the first two. Will have to work at least part time to make ends meet. Not keen of returning to school for 2 years. 2nd associates degree.

Option 3) Apprenticeship in a trade - get paid to learn. Im out of shape and overweight....would give me a damn good excuse to join a gym and use it. Dont know which trade to go into, was thinking electrician? Havent researched this one as much. Highest paid out of the three, union possible (honestly i can take em or leave em), could be stressful? possibly seasonal work, stretches of being laid off? safest option financially from the getting paid to learn part......lots of options for trades...electrician, plumber, tile setter, heavy equip operator.....etc.

So I've already applied for option 2, but will apply for option 1 as well so that I have a choice when it comes down to it....will have to wait to find out if Im even accepted to any of them.

What do you all think?

[wolverine]

Are you willing to relocate after training? There is a lot more opportunity on the west side of the state (more people=more health care opportunities). If you like the area that you are currently living in what are the job opportunities?

[Pradeep]

I'm thinking option 3 for you myself. In both options 1 and 2 you mentioned having to get a part time job to make ends meet. That on top of study time and cost of going to school can and will rack up quickly (never mind the stress of that).
Everything will have some type of costs. Even option 3 because you would have to buy the tools for the trade that you choose.
I actually picked option 3 for you because:
a) Get paid while you learn
b) Can probably find local work
c) With this option, long term if you enjoy the trade that get into, you could in theory any way start your own business or do "handyman" work that would allow for some sort of income even during "seasonal times". That's really a flexibility that shouldn't be over looked.



Now, with that said, I personally think that you need to also evaluate your current state of mind and make sure that you are up for any of the challenges you listed. Every one of them will have some level of stress. Whether you need assistance after consulting with your doctor and determining a proper course of action or however you decide to safely handle your state of mind. School or apprenticeship programs require focus and hard work and stress is an evil that comes with it.
If your IT savvy, maybe there's a place you can get your foot in the door in that field? Or, as Wolverine suggested and relocation is an open option, This side (west) of the mountains will probably have more options available.

No matter what, best of luck to ya in your decision making.

[ruthven78]

oh let me clarify, the part time job would only be necessary during school

[ruthven78]

I'm thinking option 3 for you myself. In both options 1 and 2 you mentioned having to get a part time job to make ends meet. That on top of study time and cost of going to school can and will rack up quickly (never mind the stress of that).
Everything will have some type of costs. Even option 3 because you would have to buy the tools for the trade that you choose.
I actually picked option 3 for you because:
a) Get paid while you learn
b) Can probably find local work
c) With this option, long term if you enjoy the trade that get into, you could in theory any way start your own business or do "handyman" work that would allow for some sort of income even during "seasonal times". That's really a flexibility that shouldn't be over looked.



Now, with that said, I personally think that you need to also evaluate your current state of mind and make sure that you are up for any of the challenges you listed. Every one of them will have some level of stress. Whether you need assistance after consulting with your doctor and determining a proper course of action or however you decide to safely handle your state of mind. School or apprenticeship programs require focus and hard work and stress is an evil that comes with it.
If your IT savvy, maybe there's a place you can get your foot in the door in that field? Or, as Wolverine suggested and relocation is an open option, This side (west) of the mountains will probably have more options available.

No matter what, best of luck to ya in your decision making.

Yeah Im liking option three most too. Im working with the Dept of Vocational Rehab to identify my "roadblocks" and how to deal with them, they would probably help me with getting the necessary tools if I wasnt able to afford them on my own. And unfortunately, relocation isnt a very viable option that this time, though maybe after school, esp if I get into a trade.

[G-Man]

For your #2 option, be advised that you will be competing with folks who have a full EE degree. Electronic repair technician jobs in the aviation and medical field don't come around too often. Mostly a spot opens up when someone retires or dies and they are very tightly controlled industries. The FDA watches over and audits the medical side, a few screw-ups and they will shut you down.

Which ever option you choose, check with the school to see what their placement rate is after graduation.

[ruthven78]

For your #2 option, be advised that you will be competing with folks who have a full EE degree. Electronic repair technician jobs in the aviation and medical field don't come around too often. Mostly a spot opens up when someone retires or dies and they are very tightly controlled industries. The FDA watches over and audits the medical side, a few screw-ups and they will shut you down.

Which ever option you choose, check with the school to see what their placement rate is after graduation.

On thing I learned about placement stats is that they will consider ANY type of employment, whether its full time, part time, or on call, or even temporary, they still lump em into their stats so show how well they are doing....and its only based on those people who responded to their survey requests.

thanks for your input g-man!

[The Quadfather]

Craig,

I too work in healthcare. I would stay away from the Sleep Studies Tech. job. You won't make any money in that. The biomed. job is to me a good career for the fact that you are not pigeon holed into one sort of thing. What I mean is that depending on where you find yourself working... you can gain valueble experience on certain pieces of medical equipment that will make you a big step ahead when applying for a more specialized job somewhere. It doesn't have to be a job where you repair widgets all day long... if you take a job in a hospital that is progressive, and not in say a nursing home. It is a 40-50K job, depending where you live.
Would you ever consider moving from Deer Park? You are in very limited area for that kind of work.
Also you may find work as an anesthesia technologist. That person is responsible for having all the anesthesia gear set up before the cases in the OR,amonst other things. Do some googling on that one. Check out Indeed.com sometime if you want to see what is out there on jobs, and what requirements etc.

I don't know anything at all about apprentiship programs in your option #3.

Having a respiratory degree already, you would be a shoe-in for getting into other allied heath programs. but like you said,, that is another 2 years plus prerequesites. Let us know what you decide.

[gpc]

My take on the 3rd option. As far as electritions go, my buddy is an apprentice and has been out of work since fall and was told not even to go back to his union hall until after the 1st of the year. Hes still out of work.

Tile, another one of my buddys was out of local 1 for 5 years. He won 3 competeions and was the #1 apprentice on the west coast. After he journeyed out he was barley working and is now collecting unemployment and going to school.

Local 302 is the operators local and is VERY hard to get into. I think they only accept 40 new members a year.

Local 32 is the plumbers and pipe fitters. I cant rember the exact number but I think in the next 10 years 70% of their members will be retired they need workers, but only except people from king county.

I am a laborer and have been out of work for about 6 months. My hall is a ghost town, but heard it is picking up.

If I were you I would go with your 3rd option. Its slow right now, but a nice union trade could result in a legitimate career. Apprentice program yes, but no schooling to pay for and there arnt many union trades that start out under 17$ an hour.

Spokane will be tougher to find a job in construction. So if you do go w/ your 3rd option I would recommend re locating to the western part of the state. There just isnt as much work in your area and the climate would be rough for construction IMO. Aslo the labores in Spokane make roughly $10 an hour less than the Labores in Seattle. So the other trades will make less as well.

My old foremen was out of spokane for a few years and he said that even with the cost of living being cheaper it dosnt equal out with the $10 pay cut.

I am sorry if I came off as bashing the east side for work. It was not my intention, if it were up to me I would leave this city crap in a heart beat to live on the sunny side of our state. Also only being in construction for a couple years, I lack the knowledge for the trades in other areas, so sorry all my info is Seattle based. Good luck with your job search, and I would be happy to help you with any questions you might have

[ruthven78]

Craig,

I too work in healthcare. I would stay away from the Sleep Studies Tech. job. You won't make any money in that. The biomed. job is to me a good career for the fact that you are not pigeon holed into one sort of thing. What I mean is that depending on where you find yourself working... you can gain valueble experience on certain pieces of medical equipment that will make you a big step ahead when applying for a more specialized job somewhere. It doesn't have to be a job where you repair widgets all day long... if you take a job in a hospital that is progressive, and not in say a nursing home. It is a 40-50K job, depending where you live.
Would you ever consider moving from Deer Park? You are in very limited area for that kind of work.
Also you may find work as an anesthesia technologist. That person is responsible for having all the anesthesia gear set up before the cases in the OR,amonst other things. Do some googling on that one. Check out Indeed.com sometime if you want to see what is out there on jobs, and what requirements etc.

I don't know anything at all about apprentiship programs in your option #3.

Having a respiratory degree already, you would be a shoe-in for getting into other allied heath programs. but like you said,, that is another 2 years plus prerequesites. Let us know what you decide.

the prereqs for the biomed program were the same for RT so I got all that covered

[ruthven78]

well one thing I know is that Im no way physically fit enough to do the skilled trades work at this point in time, would probably take until summer to get there and that would be with working-out a lot in a gym and really going at it....

Im also finding the salaries for skilled labor are actually lower than what I had thought, I was thinking like $30/hr but I guess they are only averaging $18-25/hr......depending on the trade? Hell as a sleep tech I'd make $20/hr easy but its pretty monotonous work.

So GPC ya think maybe plumbing might be a better choice? My wife's uncle is a plumber, and the church she goes to has a independent plumber who is a friend of the family. My wife says I already got the plumber's butt lol....

I checked the local IBEW 73 job board and it said the Book I was slow and "no calls going to Book II for over one year"...wasnt sure what the books mean...tried to google it but course only got literary references.

as for operators my father has a backhoe lol, could practice on our 5 acres hehe...doubt he would even let me touch it though LOL.....

[sickbayer]

Well dude i feel for ya. My honest opinion is there, the future is biomeds mate you need to keep on the build what you already have forget the sleep as that would bore you to death. Bio medicine, nano technology, dna, all can lead to massive tree of jobs.

[jbball50]

If you're willing to relocate to the westside, I know the military bases have apprenticeships where you take classes while doing the apprenticeship. I know PSNS in Bremerton is having a job fair for this on Jan 22-23 for these kind of jobs.

[ruthven78]

Well dude i feel for ya. My honest opinion is there, the future is biomeds mate you need to keep on the build what you already have forget the sleep as that would bore you to death. Bio medicine, nano technology, dna, all can lead to massive tree of jobs.

biomed as in biomedical equipment technician were I would repair machines like ventilators, patient monitoring devices, etc, you are talking more of biotechnology

[ruthven78]

If you're willing to relocate to the westside, I know the military bases have apprenticeships where you take classes while doing the apprenticeship. I know PSNS in Bremerton is having a job fair for this on Jan 22-23 for these kind of jobs.

I doubt I would be able to pass MEPs, Im 291lbs currently, and their maximum weight for my height is 191lbs lol....yeah like I said previously, even for skilled trades I would need to hit the gym...a lot!

[sickbayer]

well mate if you 5' and that weight youd be in a bit of trouble if your 6'4" its not that bad. im 250lb and im 5'8 so im a little tub of lard. but reading a boiok right now that is making a lot of sense and scarey too "the end of over eating" Davies A kessler. MD .

"biomed as in biomedical equipment technician were I would repair machines like ventilators, patient monitoring devices, etc, you are talking more of biotechnology"

That is my bad for not having a clue LOL , still that can lead to your own business servicing hospitials and clinics, inventing new or improved machines so i guess i still think the job you mentioned has protential not to be dead end.

[jbball50]

If you're willing to relocate to the westside, I know the military bases have apprenticeships where you take classes while doing the apprenticeship. I know PSNS in Bremerton is having a job fair for this on Jan 22-23 for these kind of jobs.

I doubt I would be able to pass MEPs, Im 291lbs currently, and their maximum weight for my height is 191lbs lol....yeah like I said previously, even for skilled trades I would need to hit the gym...a lot!

Are you talking about joining the military with MEPS? I was talking about civilian jobs at the bases that have apprenticeships. I don't think they have prereqs for weight and all that stuff for the civilian jobs, I'm not sure though haha.

[Anonymous]

Here's info from the Bureau of Labor Statisticsweb site.

And a Top Ten list of fastest growing jobs.

And the largest growth areas.

Forbes Top Ten Cities for jobs

Last but not least, US Dept of Labor article on Hot Jobs for the 21st Century

Hope this isn't information overload! Good luck.

[skimpy]

ruthven78 I am a Biomedical Equipment Tech. i love my job. Not bad $$$ either.

[ruthven78]

thanks everyone. I've spent the last couple days really digging in and doing a lot of research and writing down notes and keeping what everyone has said in mind. I've pretty much wrote off sleep tech so Im down to just BMET and apprenticeship, still gotta talk to a few people. I also have been trying to keep in mind that EVERY facet of the economy is being affected by this recession and there really isnt any one part that is growing like a weed....well cept maybe nursing...but that would be worse than being a respiratory therapist lol....least for me.

Im still really liking BMET cause its stuff that Im fairly familiar with. It would combine and build upon what I already know and I love figuring things out like how they work and troubleshooting problems with them.

But I also like the idea of of apprenticing, mostly its boiling down to plumber or electrician....gonna try to talk to Marc since he is a gen. contractor, my wife's uncle who is a unionize plumber, and a friend of the family who is a union electrician.

Got a call from SCC confused on why I sent two applications...one was for taking a couple class in Spring and Summer and the other was to actually apply for the BMET program....guess I only needed one...so least I know they have now processed it lol.