Which job to take?pharmacy technician or public teacher?

[American Princess]

I would like to go to pharmacy school, really bad, but my father would like for me to move out of the house by june 2010. I have not told him that I have been taking classes. This semester I took Anatomy and Physilally and got a A in a week course. When I do take classes, I my parents usually get me a hard time by picking on me about stupid stuff. In addition, I have a 11 PM curfew. But I only 22,000 a year and I do have a bachelor. But, my dad wants me to start paying rent June 2009. I have about 7000 in credit card debt. But, I need to make at least 30, 000 a year to live on my own. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to both save money to move out and pay a 1/3 of all the bills around the house. For example the light bill is about 400 each month in the summer. If I do pharmacy technician certification program, MD Anderson( which is the only hospital I wish to work for) may not be hiring around May 2010. I'm a state employee with 7 years of service. I do not want to lose that. Or I could do the teacher certification program and make about 40,000 a year and still continue taking my pre pharmacy classes. I only have microbiology, physics, organic I & II and to take the pcat. I have a lot of reviewing to do. But if do teacher certification, I will not have a job that I could downgrade to part-time in order to keep some income coming in. At times my parents are emotionally and verbally abusive. My Mother is only 59 and constantly depending on me to get her something to eat for most day and I have to use my use my money and then she will pay me back. My dad expects that i take care of her after I get off work from my dead end job. I this job I have asked for a promotion and a rise, I do neither. I would love to be a pharmacy technician at a specific hospital, but with teaching I can make 40, 000 a year and pay all of my bill and buy a new Camry after I paid all of my debt off.
I the grant program that I work for, may end soon. So, I'm looking for a new job.

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[Passion4Sci]

Hey...

Edited, I see you also edited your post. Reading it now.

Alright, so I have some more information now.

A serious problem here is that you are focused on one particular place of employment. I'm sorry American Princess, but very few people can hand-select where they "wish to work" and actually work there without doing anything else. I mean, if you're dead set on ONLY working at MD Anderson and they are not hiring until 5/2010, and you're totally unwilling (why?) to work anywhere else as a CPhT, I think you're pretty much stuck.

Next,

But, I need to make at least 30, 000 a year to live on my own

, why is this? Even in California it will not require $30,000 to live a decent life alone, even with $7,000 in CC debt (Unless the interest is like, 30% or something I suppose).

You need to learn basic sentence structure and use some verbs, b/c your prose is very difficult to read. I am not trying to be mean, I want to help and I knw the rest of SDN will too, but that is just really difficult to parse out.

Why can you not simply continue working where you are and have been for the last 7 years and taking MCB, Phys, Orgo 1 and 2 and the PCAT and move on? How are your grades? Are you concerned your ECs aren't enough, what are they?

It sounds to me like you've a lot going on outside of the scope of competence of us at SDN. If you're a state employee, you should have EAP available to you, and they can set you up with a guidance counselor / therapist to hash out some of your more personal issues.

The way I see it, leaving out your personal stuff,

A. You get a teacher cert., get a $40,000 a year job (Barely more than you say you need to live?), pay off all your bills and buy a Camry once you're square on bills.
B. You become a CphT in 2010 May IF MD Anderson (The only place you'll work) hires you. So... what if they don't?

You have mixed priorities here. Either you want to be a pharmacist, or you don't. This is not, I repeat, not a back-up plan/career. Pharmacy is not something you do because it sounds fun or because you might like it.

Why don't you volunteer (I work 20-30 hours a week, go to school F/T, take care of my developmentally ******ed nephew AND volunteer at a hospital, it can be done...) somewhere so you can shadow a pharmacist and learn what they do? Maybe you'll hate pharmacy and your problem will be solved for you.

Above all else please seek some personal counseling through your employer. Talking can really help... Before coming to science and pharmacy after being seduced by pharmacology, I was a clinical psychologist-in-training (Doctorate level), and I can tell you as a friend and perhaps future colleague that you should sort yourself out before you try to make any big decisions.

And I'm spent.

Good luck!

 

[diastole]

Teaching isn't really something you want to do unless you are committed. It looks easy from the outside but it is a tough job. My student teaching was probably the toughest thing I ever had to do. I was in survival mode just trying to make it through each day. A lot of my classmates in my credential program were emotionally drained just like I was. First year isn't that much better. Most new teachers struggle with classroom management. And of course, they give you the least desirable assignments because you are new. It is going to take many hours to prep for your classes and grade the assignments depending on the grade you teach. Before you take this step, try to find a newer teacher and talk about what it is really like. If you want to make teaching a career that is one thing, but if this is only temporary while waiting for pharmacy school, you might not think it is worth it once you are in it.

 

[ret09]

why do you need a new Camry anyway? Get a Civic instead. Better yet, get a used Civic. See, I just saved you $5000 right there...

 

[charfdorn]

You need to improve the way you write. I know you didn't come on here for that kind of advice, but you will not do well on the PCAT and in the in-interview essay if you write like you do on this board. Maybe you should take an English class in addition to the ones you have lined up.

Don't live alone; get a roommate! Then you can keep your 22K job, keep going to school, make all your bills, and pay down that debt. Look for job opportunities that pay better but don't require you to get any more education.

 

[American Princess]

You need to improve the way you write.

Charfdorn,

I'm from USA, but english is not my favorite subject.🙁🙁

 

[American Princess]

Don't live alone; get a roommate! Then you can keep your 22K job,

My 22K job is with a grant program that is in danger of losing it's funding.😱

 

[BearDown]

Charfdorn,

I'm from USA, but english is not my favorite subject.🙁🙁

English isn't my favorite subject either, but you need to be able to write and speak coherently to gain acceptance into a program. Every school will have an essay and with writing like that you won't get an interview. I think you should take ENG 101 & 102 then see what happens. That can do you a world of help in your end decision.

 

[diastole]

Are you even sure that you can get a teaching position? In my area, a lot of school districts have been laying off teachers. That means there are no jobs for the ones just out of school. The 2010-2011 positions are going to be super competitive even if they start hiring again. They will have to rehire the ones who lost their jobs plus there will be two classes of graduates looking for teaching jobs. Maybe things are better where you live but it is definitely something to investigate.

 

[Liverpool08]

i always thought that even you have a bachelor's degree you can get a better higher paying job, without needing to do a master's necessarily

 

[Passion4Sci]

i always thought that even you have a bachelor's degree you can get a better higher paying job, without needing to do a master's necessarily

Definitely not.

There are so many fields where a BA/BS isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.

Indeed it is true by the same token that some BA/BS degrees do enable upward mobility... but just as many as there are of those, there are the opposite.

So assuming a linear pay scale of AA ----> BA/BS ---> MA/MS ---> PharmD ,JD, MBA, PhD ----> MD rising as the arrow goes from left to right is not accurate.

 

[xtsukiyox]

"For example the light bill is about 400 each month in the summer."

I don't understand this. I live in Phoenix, AZ, where the largest bills are during the summer when the AC is running (we just got done with 15 100+ degree days, and today is no cake walk - 96 degrees). Most areas of the country, the highest bills are in winter with the heater running. My mum has a two-story house, and she likes it cold, and her power bill is $250. My new house, which was not properly insulated in the '70s, had a bill this last month of ~$90.

I think your expectations are somewhat off-base. I was able to live by myself, in an apartment, paying for junior college, making $20,000 pre-tax (I was taking home about $17,000). It wasn't pretty, but I made do. Get a room mate, find a cheap apartment, cancel your cable / Internet, live without a cell phone. Live close to campus, get a bus pass. And face eating ramen noodles more than you'd like. This is the likely reality of living on your own, and all will save you money.

EDIT: Your living expenses may be different, if you're living somewhere expensive in CA. I really have a hard time believing it will require $30,000, though.

Save some money and buy a car on the private market that's a few years old. I am still driving my 2000 neon that I saved for and bought before I moved out 5 years ago. Reliable car, and I trolled the classifieds for a while before I found it.

Alternately, go to your parents and lay it out - tell them that you will keep a job and lay out what you can afford (realistically). If they can't agree to have you live there for what you can pay in peace, especially while you're going to school and have a goal in mind, you need to find somewhere else to live. Reality as an adult. However, here's something I also find odd - if they're insisting on you paying 1/3, what are they going to do when you move out?

As far as the living conditions and how they treat you - I second the suggestion for EAC where you work. As a personal opinion, living on your own is a valuable experience. Perhaps you should consider moving out ASAP and taking a year or so off of school to get it sorted?

Pharmacy school is going to be hard. From what I understand, it's not going to be possible to work and go to school - that will be your full time job. Now is the time to concentrate on getting your Pre-pharm done as your schedule allows, get your EC, and concentrate on paying your existing debt down - don't get into more of it!

I also agree, this is probably outside the scope of SDN's expertise.

 

[diastole]

My summertime power bills top out at about $500 bucks a month. That is running the AC at 80 so my house isn't exactly frigid. I chalk this up to buying a too big, two story house in the middle of the frickin desert. Temporary insanity, I tell you.

 

[Passion4Sci]

My summertime power bills top out at about $500 bucks a month. That is running the AC at 80 so my house isn't exactly frigid. I chalk this up to buying a too big, two story house in the middle of the frickin desert. Temporary insanity, I tell you.

Wow! I'll keep my apartment, I love $66 energy bills when I keep my AC at 74deg...

 

[aboveliquidice]

A serious problem here... I mean, if you're dead set on ONLY working at MD Anderson and they are not hiring until 5/2010, and you're totally unwilling (why?) to work anywhere else as a CPhT, I think you're pretty much stuck.

I agree.

There is nothing wrong with teaching while finishing pre-reqs and applying to school. Volunteer work at a pharmacy should be sufficient for pharmacy admission - and pays less than being a teacher.

I would teach and continue my pre-reqs. My .02

 

[Carboxide]

"For example the light bill is about 400 each month in the summer."

I don't understand this. I live in Phoenix, AZ, where the largest bills are during the summer when the AC is running (we just got done with 15 100+ degree days, and today is no cake walk - 96 degrees). Most areas of the country, the highest bills are in winter with the heater running. My mum has a two-story house, and she likes it cold, and her power bill is $250. My new house, which was not properly insulated in the '70s, had a bill this last month of ~$90.

Yes..in Phoenix. In states with REAL winter, heating bills can be around 800/mo in the winter. 😛 one benefit of living in the desert. But at least we have water!

 

[Passion4Sci]

Yes..in Phoenix. In states with REAL winter, heating bills can be around 800/mo in the winter. 😛 one benefit of living in the desert. But at least we have water!

But OP stated that this $400/mo bill was in the summer, not the winter.

 

[xtsukiyox]

My summertime power bills top out at about $500 bucks a month. That is running the AC at 80 so my house isn't exactly frigid. I chalk this up to buying a too big, two story house in the middle of the frickin desert. Temporary insanity, I tell you.

Seriously. Two-story houses suck in the desert. My aunt installed solar panels and is still paying $300 or more in the summer.

This implies to me that the OP's parent's house is very large, if the summer bills are $400, or someone's fudging a number. Sad, if the parents are doing it to get more money out of her.

Carboxide: Bills in the desert are backwards. Summer here is roughly equivalent to your winter power bills. Except that we can't bundle up to save money. 🙁

 

[diastole]

My mom was telling me about relatives who had a $700 power bill in California in the summer. Their house isn't super big and I doubt the AC was running 24/7 like it does in Arizona. It cools off there at night. They just pay a lot for their electricity.

 

[Passion4Sci]

My mom was telling me about relatives who had a $700 power bill in California in the summer. Their house isn't super big and I doubt the AC was running 24/7 like it does in Arizona. It cools off there at night. They just pay a lot for their electricity.

That is nuts! All of my family lives in California in various parts of it, from north of north (Ukiah, Redding) to El Centro, and many of them have 4bdr/3bath two-story homes and even with judicious power usage it never gets to $700/mo.

They might want to have that looked at... Maybe there's some inefficiency in their HVAC or something.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

All this talk about power bills makes me glad I live in Seattle. Paying for our gas heat in the winter isn't too bad (I don't remember seeing a bill for more than $200 a month in the six years I've been here). We don't have air conditioning, so gas in the summer can be as low as $20 a month.

For those of you in the West coast, or in places where it cools down at night, it can help a lot to keep the windows open at night and in the early morning. I've had my house get sometimes downright frigid in the middle of summer. This can keep energy costs low, or help on those hot days when you don't have AC.

One thing that really helps keep our house cool on those rare hot days we have in Seattle are window fans. It sits in the window and blows in the cool air and feels like AC. If I ever move back to a warmer climate, I think I'm going to keep using them.

 

[Carboxide]

Carboxide: Bills in the desert are backwards. Summer here is roughly equivalent to your winter power bills. Except that we can't bundle up to save money. 🙁

Oh, so you think. I'm sure you do pay more in A/C, but we do get quite hot in Michigan - mid eighties are standard and nineties are not uncommon. It's not 120 degrees, but still hot enough to have the air on 😉 The difference is your winter days are in the 60s and 70s - very ambient.