moving and CNA and stuff

Started by BrieTC
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BrieTC

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So I decided, finally, that I can't stand the Phoenix heat anymore. I got together with some friends and we decided we're moving to Seattle, hurray! I eventually want to go to UW but I can't afford it if I'm not a resident, so I need to work somewhere for a year. Um, yeah, that's a problem.

My work history is spotty. I've only had 3 jobs, and 2 of them lasted only 3 months. The other was only 8, so it's not like I can fall back on it. The fact that none of that was my fault (left first one because I was only making 5.85/hr in California, and I had to eat somehow, second because I had to move home to take care of my sick mom, and third, I was laid off) doesn't, in my experience make a hill of beans difference to employers...so um...yeah.

So there is a point to this post...if I have to push off completing undergrad for a year to work, I at least want to get some kind of experience in the medical field (if possible...and I know it's not, always, but I'd take a hospital job over a higher paying non-hospital job) that I can use in the future. I was brainstorming, and the only thing I can come up with that would even be remotely possible is getting my CNA (there's a program here in Arizona that will train me for free, but that presents its own set of problems...I won't have any actual experience working as a CNA before I move, and I'd have to recertify up there anyway) and shlepping bedpans for a year...doesn't bother me, and I figure if I'm alert, I could learn some useful stuff. I'm just worried about the experience thing...Seattle is an awful long way from home to not have a sure thing going.

Any suggestions on improving my chances of getting "the right kind" of jobs up there? Maybe jobs that I wasn't looking at that I should? And seriously, if anyone's in Seattle and can give me some practical advice about living up there...I'm all ears. Thanks in advance.