I am looking to start a career as either a pharmacy technician,phlabotamist,or in radiology...?

Question

I don't know where to start,my question is "I need to know what these jobs consist of like what my duties and responsabilites are being in those particular fields,Who should I talk to or what should I ask for?

Answer 1

pharmacy tech - has two main areas of employment. one is your normal hospital route and the other is the retail sector. in the hospital you can expect to make things like ointments, preparing the medications the nurses administer to the patients, preparing the IV bags and basically being the "alchemist" of the group. no real interaction with patients. you more or less will work in an office or lab mixing solutions and preparing medication. the retail end is your Walgreens, Target, Walmart pharmacys. here you'll intereact daily with customers on medication questions, general health questions etc. you will be the one sorting out the prescriptions and putting them into the bottles. every once in awhile you'll actually make some of the medicine and package it accordingly. retail will be hourly and hospital will be salaried. best to get into the hospital since if you desire to further your career and possibly become and pahrmacist, some places will actually pay for you to go back to school to do so. ironically once you do become a pharmacist, you'll most likely wind up working at a walgreens or target pharmacy. most pharmacy tech programs will last about 1 1/2 to 2 years. i believe you get an associates for this one.

phlebotomist - will mainly run routine tracheal tests as well as administer any medications needed to treat any sort of throat infection. schooling for this is quite more extensive than a PT or radiology, but the salary for this position can start around the mid to high 30's depending on where you work. again, hospital is the best route and not a private clinic. usually the schooling for this is around 2-3 years whether it be post secondary or from a community colege.

radiology/xray tech - main function is to maintain and repair any necessary maintenance to the actual xray machine. keep in mind radiology and radilogy tech are two different things. the first will require extensive medical training which can last up to 4 years whereas the radiology tech can be done in as little as 2 years. their main function is to support the radiologist and help perform some rudimentary xrays as well getting the film developed and again, maintaining the equpiment. this one should be hourly again, usually around 10-12/hour to start. keep in mind this is more tech than medical. there is some medical knowledge involved but this is more fixing machines and such. some like it, others don't minimal interaction with patients.


best places to start looking are at your community colleges or post secondary schools. I used to work as an admissions rep for one of these schools which is why MY answer is so damn long. the education you get from post secondary schools are mediocre at best since all of these schools are FOR PROFIT. they don't care about your career, they just want you to sign up and bring the money with you etc. they are good for a quick and easy out. most places like these can get you done in about 2 years max. price is comparable to any other normal school but quickness comes at a price. these classes will be an all day affair so hope you live with a family member or somthing cuz you won't have anytime for a job. the community college route is more in depth but expensive as well. you will get more training but also more book reading than actual hands on. post secondary schools specialize in hands on training since that;s the way most people learn anyways.

PS if I don't get the best answer for this question i will NEVER help you out in the future again.

Answer 2

I suggest you go in to radiology. They are in high demand and you will most like never be without a job. Some hospitals offer hire-on bonuses upwards of $2000 plus a decent salary. You will have to go to school for a couple of years but to me it is worth it. I think the worst thing I've heard is you may have to give barium enemas. Pharmacy tech is a job, not a career, I was one for 7 years but it did pay the bills to get me through school. I would suggest you contact your closest technical school/community college they could probably help you.

Answer 3

Any radiology career is a good start. You can work your way up and there is a high demand. Forget phlabotomist- no real future or earning potential, same with pharmacy tech unless you want to go to college and get a degree in pharmocology.

Answer 4

Try searching for "medical careers" on Google. One such web site is below.

Some questions to consider:
Do you want to work directly with doctors (who can be difficult), or more independently?
How much patient contact are you comfortable with?
Are you prepared to work nights, weekends, holidays and/or rotating shifts?
These are some issues they don't tell you about but you should decide before you start school.

There are great needs for medical professionals in all the careers you are considering. I applaude your choice of a medical career and wish you good luck.

Answer 5

I am a part time phlebotomist..contact a local vocational school or hospital that offers that type of training..A phlebotomist takes lesser of the training in those you mentioned,took me 6 months of training (2 being hands on work..)
I have found that unless you are working in a large city it is hard to locate a job in a smaller facility area...good luck!

Answer 6

If you go into pharmacy, become a pharmacist, not a tech. You shoudl talk to people in the profession but also talk to local universities with pre-med and med programs.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

pharm tech. you can look at www.ptcb.org -don't know about the other two but you may want to look at the job postings for your local hospital