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...Since I enjoy repetitiveness, data entry is just right up my alley, but about 15 years ago when I was thinking about getting into becoming a medical biller either working for someone else or having my own company, most of the people that I talked with that were doing it or were trying to do it said, in most cases, the companies that train you to become a medical biller are only there to take your money . . . in many cases, nobody will hire a newly trained medical biller, they pretty much want someone that has at least 2 years of experience and it seems that you have to know all of the right people to try to get business as you can not easily open up your own business and try to get business from doctor offices, hospitals, medical clinics, as most of them turn down people that come to their office or send them solicitations in the mail . . . so upon hearing so many similar negative stories like that, I opted not to pursue that career. Yet at the time, for those that were lucky enough to get business to keep them busy 40 hours per week, the average medical biller would be making about 40K per year . . . that is still very low for the cost of living here in Los Angeles, but if it were easy to get work after completing a medical billing program, then I would do it . . . even at 40K per year, but that is the only reason why I can’t do it even in 2012. Yet at this point in life, I would be happy to make 40K per year and would much rather be a medical biller than a Paralegal.
WW50,
I work as a medical biller and I agree with most of what you have been told about the industry. Most hospitals, facilities, etc. require certification and experience. There are pros and cons to this business, which I'm not going to go into but it's definitely not one where you can just get a "be a medical biller from home" certification and expect to have doctors banging on your door. Not saying that you can't be successful at this business but like anything else worthwhile it takes work and dedication.
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I am looking to parlay my experience into something more rewarding. I would like to stay in the healthcare industry, so I have been looking into working as a patient advocate. They provide patients with arbitration, mediation and negotiation to settle issues with insurance companies, access to care, medical debt, and job retention related to their illness. I feel this will be a great transition for me.
It looks like you're able to communicate effectively so you may want to look into freelance writing. If you want to try to do work in the medical administrative field, medical transcription may be an option.
Truth11, thank you for your feedback, however as I had made in my original post, I’m not interested in relocating. Since becoming unemployed back in 2010 and not being able to find any full-time work, I seriously considered and looked for work outside of California . . . however, it seems that other cities have the same exact scarcity of finding good jobs there . . . and it seems like I would be faced with the same problem that I have here in Los Angeles . . . for every job that is open, there are at least 100 people applying for it. So I figured I might as well stay here . . . yet if I could easily find a good paying job (that I would have to at least like to a certain degree), then I would be happy to relocate at least 2 full years to do such a job, as I really need the money . . . yet thus far, I have not come across such an opportunity. Yet I’m serious . . . I would even go work in some one horse town, in the United States, if it meant that I would get good pay and as long as it would be a safe job I could at least tolerate . . . yet no such luck.
Yet thus far, the majority of the full-time jobs I keep coming across, they want applicants with a college degree and they want someone that has at least 1 to 2 years of experience in the field that the applicant is applying for. So we have not even discussed ageism issues . . . where companies will not come out and say that I’m too old for the job I’m apply for . . . where they rather have young adult applicants for their open positions.
Joy74, thank you for your feedback, but I would never make a successful Interior Designer. LOL!!! My mother picked out all of my clothes until I was 30. LOL!!! My mother picked out my father’s clothes until she passed away, and she was 62 years old at the time. When I go shopping, I find more women shopping in the men’s section than I do men. Yet I must say, I do not think most men have fashion and decorating sense to begin with . . . and I’m no exception to that rule! LOL!!! I will say, when I stepped out of my box to seek employment in various fields, I was always open to being an apprentice, in order to get my foot in the door, but most of the apprentice positions I found either did not pay anything and in most cases, you had to be going to college taking a major in the field that you were applying for the apprentice position, before they would even consider hiring you as an pprentice.
I work as a medical biller and I agree with most of what you have been told about the industry. Most hospitals, facilities, etc. require certification and experience. There are pros and cons to this business, which I'm not going to go into but it's definitely not one where you can just get a "be a medical biller from home" certification and expect to have doctors banging on your door. Not saying that you can't be successful at this business but like anything else worthwhile it takes work and dedication.
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. I am looking to parlay my experience into something more rewarding. I would like to stay in the healthcare industry, so I have been looking into working as a patient advocate. They provide patients with arbitration, mediation and negotiation to settle issues with insurance companies, access to care, medical debt, and job retention related to their illness. I feel this will be a great transition for me.
It looks like you're able to communicate effectively so you may want to look into freelance writing. If you want to try to do work in the medical administrative field, medical transcription may be an option.
Mergatroyd, thanks so very much for replying and offering your feedback.
I had looked into becoming a “Patient Advocate’, when I read an article on the AARP website about this position, which I had never heard of before until then. I wrote to several companies that do this, but they really did not write back with any good and promising information . . . those companies seemed rather stern and abrupt with me in regards to me wanting to get more information about becoming a “Patient Advocate” . . . and their replies were almost condescending and read something like “You can’t be coming to us to get information to become a Patient Advocate without an extensive medical office background first, without this background, you are doomed, and you will never be successful.” So that was a pretty awful experience with my dealing with those folks. Yet I did inquire in a caregiver forum, and someone said that they were very familiar with this position, and that maybe I should volunteer for a couple of years to get the training and experience of this position and then "maybe" that would help getting a paid position somewhere in the future. So at least the woman that wrote that reply back to me, was very optimistic and kind to me . . . and she did not laugh in my face like those companies did. Thus far, I have not looked into it further, since I really don’t have the time to volunteer for the next 2 years hoping that I will be able to get a paid position in this field and hope that everything works out for me at some future date, if I opted to pursue a career as a Patient Advocate. I need something where the odds are better for me being successful and making a paid living quicker. I wish you well in your voyage into this new career. Since you have a medical background, it sounds like you are well on your way to be successful at doing this.
Regard my writing and communicating, LOL!!! There is nobody that would pay me 2 cents for my writings. LOL!!! In some cases with these internet forums, people want me to pay them to read my missives. LOL!!!
Thank you for the link, but it will not work and it does not seem to be active.
Thanks so very, very much Mergatroyd, I sincerely appreciate your feedback and help.
WilsonWade. Read the thread and keep reading it. What immediately hits me is total negativity from you. I can't do this because; I can't do that because; I can't do the other thing because. At the same time that you thank everybody for their suggestions you come up with a total litany of "buts" where everything is concerned.
You're "about ready to turn 50" and it seems that this for you is some sort of a doomed anniversary with Doctor Death and the Grim Reaper hiding behind every corner. As far as your response to me is concerned (the boo-hoo you were so lucky to have $15K to invest but I don't have that) - that was from cashing in on a company retirement fund plus a 10 year bonus cheque, plus the physical help of friends and taking a huge major leap of faith in myself. Frankly I'm back down now to zilch and living hand to mouth at age 66 but I bear my crosses well and don't sit back and wallow in a morass of "poor me" negativity. Get over yourself and get productive.
It looks like you're able to effectively so you may want to look into freelance writing. If you want to try to do work in the medical administrative field, medical transcription may be an option.
Just like with medical billing, you cannot just be a medical transcriptionist without having gone through school/training. It kills me when people say, "I can type so I can do what you do." Glad the standards are a little higher than that cause I'd hate for just someone who can type to be documenting my healthcare records!
In addition, and I am speaking as an MT for over 10 years, with the electronic medical record system being implemented in most healthcare facilities and all expected to transition by 2014 I believe it is, MT jobs are phasing out. I have lost 2 jobs in 2 years to EMR.
Apply at some temporary agencies and let them place you. Eventually you will find an evironment and staff that will "click" and they will hire you. That's what I did at around age 30 when I got tired of bouncing around from waitress jobs to real estate, etc.
My 3rd temp gig "clicked" and led to a career in management in a corporation where I got promoted regularly and made a very good living. Was it always fun over the years? No, but it was better than the alternatives, many of which I had tried already.
The biggest hurdle is your age. They won't say that too you but its true. It all depends on your experience, the field you want to go into, and who you know.
I’m about ready to turn 50 , and I’m at that place in life where I need a new career that I can get into in a few months, that will pay well and hopefully last me for the next 15+ years.
Currently I work part-time doing a job that I don’t like , but I’m doing it just to make ends meet since I’m one of those many people that got hit hard by The Great Recession. I got laid off in 2010 and I have not been able to find good and steady full-time work since.
I don’t have a college degree. At this time, I don’t have a lot of money, my personal credit report is fried , my family and friends can’t help me financially, so I can’t afford to go to any of those career schools to start all over again. I really don’t have enough money to try to start a business on a shoestring and the businesses I could start (based on the books and magazines I have read), none of those businesses would work and be successful here in Los Angeles. I’m bad at math, so I can’t become a Bookkeeper or an Accountant or Tax Preparer. I looked up careers for people 50+ years old on the AARP website, but most of those require having a college degree and or money to go back to school to be retained in a new career.
Though I know that the real estate field sucks right now, but I know that as time goes on, things will pick back up again in this field. So right now, it seems like the only new career I could think of that I could afford to get into, is becoming a Real Estate Agent. I thought about going to school to become a Paralegal (something I could do and I think I could enjoy), but several friends of mine have done that in the last 2 years and mainly the schools are there to take your money and it is almost impossible to get a job as a Paralegal (here in California) unless you have at least 2+ years of experience working in a law firm . . . so then you end up in that catch 22, where the case is “How can I get experience if nobody hires me?”. LOL!!!
So what other career ideas should I consider (under my circumstances), that does not take too long to be trained/get into and does not cost a lot of money to get into the career and pays well? I live in Los Angeles, California, and I don’t won’t to relocate. Also, I'm not interested in doing any type of sales or commission work/careers.
Thank you for your help and ideas.
It's never too late to re-invent yourself. Any interest in a healthcare career? You can look into entry level type programs that are typically 13-18 months (LPN, Surgical Technician, Patient Care Technician, Medical Assistant etc). Or you can look into two year degree programs (Dental Hygienist, RN, Radiological Technician, EMT, etc). All the while, you can work while going to school part time (or full time).
What are your passions? What is something you have always wanted to do/try? Be proactive! Volunteer and see if something tugs at your heart. Network, Network, Network!
It is hard for someone over 50 to get a job unless you look like you are 30, and you are not overweight, and you are fairly good looking. This world today is made for perfect looking people. It is a terrible fact. It is not how much you know, or if you have the qualifications and talent, it is how you look and who you know that matters in this messed up world.
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So I figured I might as well stay here . . . yet if I could easily find a good paying job (that I would have to at least like to a certain degree), then I would be happy to relocate at least 2 full years to do such a job, as I really need the money . . . yet thus far, I have not come across such an opportunity. Yet I’m serious . . . I would even go work in some one horse town, in the United States, if it meant that I would get good pay and as long as it would be a safe job I could at least tolerate . . . yet no such luck. 
My mother picked out all of my clothes until I was 30. LOL!!! My mother picked out my father’s clothes until she passed away, and she was 62 years old at the time. When I go shopping, I find more women shopping in the men’s section than I do men. 
Yet I must say, I do not think most men have fashion and decorating sense to begin with . . . and I’m no exception to that rule! LOL!!! I will say, when I stepped out of my box to seek employment in various fields, I was always open to being an apprentice, in order to get my foot in the door, but most of the apprentice positions I found either did not pay anything and in most cases, you had to be going to college taking a major in the field that you were applying for the apprentice position, before they would even consider hiring you as an pprentice. 
, and I’m at that place in life where I need a new career that I can get into in a few months, that will pay well and hopefully last me for the next 15+ years. 
, but I’m doing it just to make ends meet since I’m one of those many people that got hit hard by The Great Recession. I got laid off in 2010 and I have not been able to find good and steady full-time work since.
I live in Los Angeles, California, and I don’t won’t to relocate. Also, I'm not interested in doing any type of sales or commission work/careers. 
