Vocational School? Pharmacy Technician? (Sacramento, Industry: health insurance, job market, schools)

[calnbs]

A family member of mine who will be graduating HS soon and he has no desire to spend another 4 yrs in school in this economy. I told him that may be he should look into a vocational school that get in and out fast.

But I have no idea which of these schools in Sacramento should he go to and which career he should be looking to get in. If you have any suggestions, it would be helpful.

I thought he should look into being a Pharmacy Technician. It seems to be an easy and simple job. Doesn't seem to require a lot of education. I have no idea which school he should go to and what the cost of going to school will be.

Does anyone know what the current pay rate is for a Pharmacy Technician in the Sacramento area? Who is hiring? The outlook for this field is?

[caligirlz]

I did a quick search & found this list. There are also schools & other resources listed. This is the most recent list I can find.
Top 10 Jobs & Businesses in Sacramento, California

The Top 10 High Demand Jobs include the following, according to Internet-wide job listings for Sacramento gathered on Indeed.com and Simplyhired.com during January 2012 - March 2012:

Registered Nurses (RNs)
Engineers, various fields
Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists
Oil & Gas Industry Jobs
Associate Governmental Program Analysts
Office Technicians
Staff Services Analysts
Staff Services Managers
Pharmacy Technicians
Entry Level Retail Clerks & Customer Service Staff
Additional High Demand Jobs

Salespeople
Assistant Store Managers
Staff Information Systems Analysts
Pharmacy Interns
Shift Supervisors
Crew People at casual dining shops and some retail establishments

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by calnbs

A family member of mine who will be graduating HS soon and he has no desire to spend another 4 yrs in school in this economy. I told him that may be he should look into a vocational school that get in and out fast.

But I have no idea which of these schools in Sacramento should he go to and which career he should be looking to get in. If you have any suggestions, it would be helpful.

I thought he should look into being a Pharmacy Technician. It seems to be an easy and simple job. Doesn't seem to require a lot of education. I have no idea which school he should go to and what the cost of going to school will be.

Does anyone know what the current pay rate is for a Pharmacy Technician in the Sacramento area? Who is hiring? The outlook for this field is?

There are lots and lots of armed robberies of pharmacies by druggies looking for the goods. Along with banks, and convenience stores, it is not some place I would want to work.

Occupational therapy is a big field thanks to so many wounded soldiers coming back from the war. You can't go wrong in the medical field.

20yrsinBranson

[nightlysparrow]

$12.00-$14.00 per hour.

[calnbs]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

There are lots and lots of armed robberies of pharmacies by druggies looking for the goods. Along with banks, and convenience stores, it is not some place I would want to work.

Occupational therapy is a big field thanks to so many wounded soldiers coming back from the war. You can't go wrong in the medical field.

20yrsinBranson

Yeah, is worth putting oneself in dangerous situation to get hurt or killed for a few measly buck.....

[u225615]

Originally Posted by calnbs

Yeah, is worth putting oneself in dangerous situation to get hurt or killed for a few measly buck.....

Consumnes River College (one of the public community colleges in Sacramento) has a pharmacy technician program. Also, pharm techs are employed in hospitals, mail order pharmacies as well as pharmacy benefit managment services on behalf of health insurance companies. These are environments that are safer than the traditional mom and pop or chain store pharmacies.

[calnbs]

Originally Posted by u225615

Consumnes River College (one of the public community colleges in Sacramento) has a pharmacy technician program. Also, pharm techs are employed in hospitals, mail order pharmacies as well as pharmacy benefit managment services on behalf of health insurance companies. These are environments that are safer than the traditional mom and pop or chain store pharmacies.

Thanks.

[longcatisdelicious]

A friend of mine went to junior college and got her pharm tech certification in just under 2 years, If i remember correctly. She worked for a little while and then decided to go back to school to get her BA. I think it worked out well for her. most Pharm tech jobs are part time, so she was able to swing about 20 hrs a week and get her BA in just about 4 years.

[ryuns]

What is the reason for the hesitation to "to spend another 4 yrs in school in this economy"? If the economy is so bad, getting a degree in something practical will make him more competitive in the job market, plus, the economy is likely to be better in 4 years. If the worry is about getting into debt, that's more understandable, but a degree is still generally a good investment and a smart path through public colleges won't rack up a crushing amount of debt.

And I should mention--I know some families have deeper and more complex ties than my little family, but getting out of the area to experience college is really important for a lot of young adults. And the sad fact is that people who are really serious about their career will need to be flexible about where they end up. I grew up with a lot of people who are languishing near our hometown because they settled for whatever job they could find nearby.

[calnbs]

Originally Posted by ryuns

What is the reason for the hesitation to "to spend another 4 yrs in school in this economy"? If the economy is so bad, getting a degree in something practical will make him more competitive in the job market, plus, the economy is likely to be better in 4 years. If the worry is about getting into debt, that's more understandable, but a degree is still generally a good investment and a smart path through public colleges won't rack up a crushing amount of debt.

And I should mention--I know some families have deeper and more complex ties than my little family, but getting out of the area to experience college is really important for a lot of young adults. And the sad fact is that people who are really serious about their career will need to be flexible about where they end up. I grew up with a lot of people who are languishing near our hometown because they settled for whatever job they could find nearby.

There is a lot of reasons why he doesn't want to go to a four year degree university. Despite his decent grades, he's lazy, unmotivated, but most of all he have no idea what he wants to do. His dream job is to play Starcraft 2 for the rest of his life. Also, he just doesn't want to commit to something that long. He just wants to get in, get out. He figures his chances of getting a job from a vocational school will be just as good.