How hard is it to find a job as a phlebotomist?

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Raja

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The Boston Reed company has the phlebotomy course offered close to me.. I really want to become a phlebotomist.. but I've heard it's very very difficult to find a job.. Is this true or do you guys have a different perspective based on your own personal experiences or your friends'? I'm just worried about handing over $300 for the class if I can't get a job.. thanks guys

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It depends where you are, but usually it isn't hard no. You'll find a part time job easy, full time may be the problem, however.
 
ok, thanks. I'm looking for a part time job actually (still in school). I reside in southern cali which is highly populated so I'm likely to find a job then?

btw, are you speaking from personal experience or just a guess? thanks again.
 
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CA may be different, but it ws very easy to get a job in WI. The hospital I work for gave me training after I was hired, and I can work as little or as much as I like. Its a greatjob, and you get used to working with patients...talking, touching, poking, etc.. Some people on this board think phlebotomy is dangerous, but if you follow proper procedures from the start, you will have no proplems. Good Luck
 
In many cases you don't even have to pay, they will train you on the job actually. I would definately check into it before you pay 300 bucks.

For instance I am a phlebotomist at my undergrad Health center. They trained me for a semester as an unpaid trainee and now I get paid for it.

Also a friend of mine got a part time job as a "clinical care technician" at the local hospital. They trained him (for free) how to draw blood and do other things required by his job.

I would recommend calling places (hospitals or other places) that you could be interested in doing phlebotomy and look into how they run things. $300 is a lot to spend if it's possible to get trained for free.....
 
i don't know how easy or hard it is to get a phlebotomy job, but i took the boston reed course in so. cal. since my work offered to pay for it. bottom line, the class is an absolute joke. i would not recommend boston reed to anybody unless their only goal was the certificate. you're basically paying the $300 for the supplies and supervision to stick and be stuck by the fellow attendees. if you take the class, be prepared to walk out with your arms very bruised and sore.
 
I live in Florida and found it quite easy to find a job as a phlebotomist. I work at a blood bank that is part of America's Blood Centers (the other big donation group besides Red Cross). I was actually trained on the job, no experience necessary (paid training). Starting wages are $8.00/hr. at the bank I work for. I've heard that in other parts of the country, phlebotomists make a bit more (~$10+/hr.) Also, with the training and experience at this blood bank, I would now be eligible for positions in clinics, hospitals etc.
 
I live in Florida and found it quite easy to find a job as a phlebotomist. I work at a blood bank that is part of America's Blood Centers (the other big donation group besides Red Cross). I was actually trained on the job, no experience necessary (paid training). Starting wages are $8.00/hr. at the bank I work for. I've heard that in other parts of the country, phlebotomists make a bit more (~$10+/hr.) Also, with the training and experience at this blood bank, I would now be eligible for positions in clinics, hospitals etc.
 
I too was trained on the job, having had no prior experience sticking. Starting pay was $7.50/hr. I started at $9.00 with no experience b/c I had a college degree. At the same time that I started, another guy started that had 3+ years experience sticking and certification, he was started at $8.00/hr because he didn't have a college degree. The Human Resource dept. really blew that one. I think that really stinks, even though it was good for me. Moral to the story, phlebotomy is not difficult to learn, you just need someone showing you what to do and patients to stick. And while having a certificate looks nice and all, most places don't require it, because the truth is they just want cheap labor to get the job done (at least it was that way at the University hospital I worked at). :rolleyes:
 
i did the boston reed thing and wasted my time and money. for some reason, i couldn't get a job in it. i applied a bunch of places. they want you to have like 200 sticks before they hire you. and doing any weekend course is not going to do that for you. maybe i should have worked harder to find a job in it, tried to get volunteer work in it, or did what other peopel on this post did: getexperience through an existing or new job. i just found hospitals in my area reluctant to hire a new college graduate and one weekend phlebotomy student. i guess you can tell some med schools that you are certified in it but i doubt they care. i thought getting a job in it would be easy. guess not.
 
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