Considering working for Costco...

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I want to give you some background before people start judging me on here...when I first started my audiology program, I believed what the teachers and other audiologist told me how Costco was ruining the industry and hearing aids are medical devices and that big box retailers like Costco are at an unfair advantage since they buy so many hearing aids they can get quantities for even lower than the cost audiologist pay for them. This all made sense to me and I decided at the time I would never, ever support or consider working at Costco or any business like this in the future. But then it came down to reality, when I was out of school and looking for a job things are changed and my perspective changed. My first plan was to start my own business in a private practice....But Then with all the loans and money that I Dont Have to start a practice I realized that I need a job with consistent salary. I looked around and all the jobs near the place where I live were either not hiring or offering a low salary or poor/limited benefits. All except Costco and the places were I thought that I would never work previously. (Sometimes I wonder why I even got an audiology degree since I could have done the same thing with just a dispensers license and not wasted all my money on school tuition, housing, and expenses that come from not working for four years while in school). I realized they pay the most in this area and have hearing aids that more people can afford that are good quality (same brands as audiology offices but cheaper) when there are so many people in this world who can't afford to go to an audiologist at a private practice. So, while I don't work there, I am starting to see "from the other side" from the patients perspective and realize that maybe it's not the worst thing in the world to work for a big store. What are people's perspectives on this. Is it better to not support Costco by possibly applying there or to apply and let thousands of people with lower incomes in the USA to get a higher lever of technology by going there?

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[TheEarDoc]

I want to give you some background before people start judging me on here...when I first started my audiology program, I believed what the teachers and other audiologist told me how Costco was ruining the industry and hearing aids are medical devices and that big box retailers like Costco are at an unfair advantage since they buy so many hearing aids they can get quantities for even lower than the cost audiologist pay for them. This all made sense to me and I decided at the time I would never, ever support or consider working at Costco or any business like this in the future. But then it came down to reality, when I was out of school and looking for a job things are changed and my perspective changed. My first plan was to start my own business in a private practice....But Then with all the loans and money that I Dont Have to start a practice I realized that I need a job with consistent salary. I looked around and all the jobs near the place where I live were either not hiring or offering a low salary or poor/limited benefits. All except Costco and the places were I thought that I would never work previously. (Sometimes I wonder why I even got an audiology degree since I could have done the same thing with just a dispensers license and not wasted all my money on school tuition, housing, and expenses that come from not working for four years while in school). I realized they pay the most in this area and have hearing aids that more people can afford that are good quality (same brands as audiology offices but cheaper) when there are so many people in this world who can't afford to go to an audiologist at a private practice. So, while I don't work there, I am starting to see "from the other side" from the patients perspective and realize that maybe it's not the worst thing in the world to work for a big store. What are people's perspectives on this. Is it better to not support Costco by possibly applying there or to apply and let thousands of people with lower incomes in the USA to get a higher lever of technology by going there?

Quite a loaded question.

First off don't expect to get paid or treated any different than a licensed dispenser at COSTCO. Also don't be surprised if the store manager comes by bugging you to do stuff in the store when things aren't busy (yes this happens!). I don't look down on anyone in this industry for working in COSTCO. It's a job. Yeah it's a pain grinding out audios all day and selling hearing aids, but it would pay the bills.

Have you looked into Beltone? If you're going to go with a dispenser style business they would be a better choice. They often times will set you up with an office and buy your equipment and get you up and running. They also treat audiologists very well compared to dispensers. You could go with them, get your equipment purchased, work under Beltone for a few years and build up a rep in the area then ditch them and sell Resound hearing aids (they make beltone products) and pull your previous clients in as new clients and have you own office up and running and equipment paid for.

The other option is find a small house in a commercial/residential area. Set up half the house as an audiology office and the other half as an apartment. Then you are paying 1 mortgage for your business and a place to live and will own something when you're done. Contact manufacturers as many will help you purchase equipment and get up and running in exchange for selling their products. You also can buy used equipment on the cheap usually too. You do not need a brand new tymp and booth and audiometer to start out with. You just need something that works. You don't need a lot of the equipment other than a tympanometer, audiometer, and booth to do your business in the beginning.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Oh and get a business plan before you move forward with your business.