Take this job or it's a waste of my time?

[infinity88]

I'm on here because I need life/career advice. I can't decide on a job offer and whether it's the right thing for me in my life right now based on many factors....

 

Here is the background on the job:

I've been offered an ophthalmic technician job while I have no experience with a good practice in NY. I'm rather surprised to have advanced to this stage because I'm a waitress and actress.... which makes me question why they seem so desperate to fill this position. They are offering 16/hr so 30-33k and they will train me for 6 weeks and after 6 months of OTJ training, I can take the exam to get certified. I'm bummed this job is full time because I originally was looking for a part time job so I could still waitress a little and still pursue my acting...and they must have listed this job incorrectly. I went to the interview anyway to see what it was all about.

 

Career Possible Issues I'm pondering:

I'm not sure if this job is worth my time and efforts right now at the low starting salary and if I'll be able to make much money in the future as an ophthalmic technician down south.... I will be moving down south within the next two years probably. My thinking is that this may be a job that is hard to find down there, especially at a practice conveniently located to where I want to live. I assume that down south people who get certified and get this position that I've been offered, probably stay in the position at a doctor's office until they retire....so I'm thinking finding an open job position would be tough down there and it's not a broad field too.

 

I've read online that after many years at the same doctors office, you will probably cap off at making 40k as an ophthalmic tech down south and the salary of 40k might even still be a high goal to achieve for down there.... if you can get really super lucky you can get to 45k. I'm not sure how correct this information is, I'm going off the internet, but it seems in the right ball park based on forums I visited. It seems like it would take me some time at an office to get to 40-45k down south which sounds like a bummer, but I guess it's an alright salary though for down there, but it won't allow for much more growth.

 

Personal Life Issues I'm Pondering:

Aside from moving within a year or two, I plan to get married within 6 months or so and start trying for kids sometime next year. If I have a baby, I will want a Part Time job most likely... which this position may have scarce part time job listings since it seems to have scarce full time job listings right now from my research online.....

OR I will want to not work at all for a year or two or even more to raise my children which also seems very likely to happen since my spouse works in a field that is very demanding 45-50 hrs/week and requires him to sometimes leave at a moment's notice for a few weeks at a time....I don't really see how we will be able to have both of us work full time jobs and personally, I don't want to rely on grandparents and babysitters a lot ....so at this point I'm wondering if it's even worth it for me to bother having ANY full time job right now or if it will be a waste of my time if I will end up not working pretty soon for a few years to raise kids......

 

On top of all this, I keep thinking that I'm still somewhat young and since I'm still living in NY for the time being, I still want to make time to continue to pursue my acting while I'm still here and still young in age in my early 30's...I think there's a chance I would regret it if I didn't utilize the time left living here to continue to pursue my acting passions while I was still here before moving away.

 

Some Things that Make Me Ponder Taking the Job:

Something really great going for this job is that it's at a prestigious office and it would give me medical office experience which I would like to have so that maybe I can work somehow in the healthcare field eventually....as a medical biller, or perhaps as an ophthalmic tech if it's feasible, or as a medical receptionist. BUT I could also get medical office experience as a part time medical receptionist right now instead in order to get some kind of medical office experience onto my resume.....

 

I feel almost fortunate and surprised that I got a job offer for it because I've been waitressing for 5 years now and I have a theater background, this was my first 'real' job interview in many, many years. I accidentally applied to it though thinking it said part time, I was originally only looking for a part time job so I could still have time for acting. I feel my time is limited with acting and I want to pursue it as much as I can right now since I will probably be moving within a year or so and like I said, trying to start a family soon. But it's still really enticing because I have this worry that I won't be able to get a decent job opportunity like this one so easily again...I know I probably need to start also appearing to be an adult with a 'real' job too and thinking about my future, so that's what makes this whole decision very hard. It almost seems like some 'big break' to me because I don't even know if anyone else will ever want to hire me.... It's also a very prestigious office with top doctors.

 

Some Other Factors About my Future Career:

The other type of job I'm looking into is medical billing which seems more in demand as far as job listings go, also seems more flexible and seems like a broader field. I would go to school down south for six months to get certified for it once I've moved. With this job, you can work for several places eventually and end up making a high salary. This job is better for raising a family because of the flexibility and sometimes if I have an emergency, I would be able to work from home through online software which is an amazing plus.

 

 

Basically, to summarize, I have a dilemma right now trying to decide on a few things:

1. Which job is better- ophthalmic technician or medical biller?

2. If a job I've been offered as an ophthalmic technician is worth my time and efforts or if it will end up being a waste because I won't be able to find work in this position so easily down south in a location where I want to live and if I will even make much money in this position eventually or if I'll cap off at 40k ..... it would only be useful for the medical office experience to boost my chance of getting a medical receptionist or medical billing job (after getting the certification for medical billing).

3. If, considering my personal life goals, this job is even a good fit for me- getting married soon, having a baby next year, wanting Part Time work after I have a baby ...not even knowing the job market where I will be moving to which seems scarce in general in my opinion and may render me a stay at home mom/housewife anyway....and also right now I'm still wanting to continue to pursue acting while I'm still living in NY...

 

I hope this post makes sense and I hope you all can help steer me in the right direction.

[Jetta]

I personally think it's a good opportunity. Yes it's more restrictive than waitressing and may make it harder to pursue acting. You really have to decide for yourself if you want to risk everything for acting. I'd personally take the job it's a great opportunity to get out of waitressing and get into a more respected field.

''

[DanZee]

I know a little about medical billing, and most of it is being done offshore or at large medical billing companies where it's just cubicle after cubicle of people typing codes, so I don't particularly think medical billing pays as much as you think. Ophthalmic technician might be better because it's mostly women workers and I think you'd have a better chance of finding part-time work filling in for sick and pregnant women when you move down South. I think it's too late for acting. There's a lot of competition and you didn't say if you have any credits in acting. And there are lots of waitressing jobs in New York, so you can find an expensive bar or restaurants to up your tips. Just my opinion.

[catfeeder]

Are there any barriers to entry or exit with this job, such as a need for you to pay for training or uniforms, or a contract that would have you needing to pay back a certain amount if you don't serve for X amount of time?

 

If no barriers, then you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot to see if you LIKE it. You'll learn the advantages and disadvantages from the experience, such as stable work hours that impose less of an impediment to further schooling or pursuit of your acting than rotating shifts would impose. You'll discover whether you find it interesting and will want to pursue more learning in the field or whether you find it boring, then it's a 'no'.

 

If barriers don't exist, then there's no reason to project all kinds of futuristic stuff on the job until you try it out.

 

Head high, and enjOy.

[infinity88]

There are no barriers or contract to this job, no, but I'm saying that I don't want to "try" this job out because there are too many risks for me right now. It means losing my waitressing job as well as leasing a new car. I share a car right now because it works for my work schedule so I save lots of money sharing a car. I have to save money for wedding also. I did the estimated calculations and I make more money waitressing than I will in this job by about 2-3k more. I can even pick up shifts as a waitress and make more money so I could make about 5k more than I will at this new job I'm being offered. My waitressing job allows so much flexibility too right now to be able to plan a wedding and other personal life factors especially to continue acting while I'm still in NY before I move down south and it becomes very hard to pursue from there. Like I said, I would regret using my remaining time in NY on this job, rather than on continuing with acting while I still can.

 

Looking into this job down south, the starting salary for an Experienced technician is the same starting salary as I will receive now in NY with NO experience...I would be pretty mad to move down there and end up with around the same starting salary with the time and experience I gained in this position here if I take the job. It appears this job is scarce down there too, I may end up not being able to find work in this position anyway and doing something else or choosing not working at all for a year or so if I start a family soon.

 

Unfortunately, I can't take the risk to try the job out, I have to go all in or not because of the factors of having to lease a car, get car insurance, and having to pay higher health insurance and co-pays, deductibles etc. which amounts to a lot more than I pay now, also I won't have health insurance for 3 months till it kicks in with this job which means I may have to pay a lot out of pocket for the next 3 months if an emergency with my health arises, I'm currently having some issues with my health as it is this month.

 

That's why this decision is not something I'm taking lightly and not something I can test out because I have to invest to do this job. It seems that right now I can save more/make more money with my current job AND still get the perks of pursuing my acting while I'm still living in NY before I have to move in a year or two....and I can keep the ophthalmic technician job idea as a back up plan because I can go to school for 4 months and pay a tuition of 2k and receive certification and then start with the same salary I would be starting with here down south. It appears this job position isn't a rare opportunity I don't think....they also seem very desperate to hire me probably because they can't find anyone to take such a low salary here in NY. I saw some job listings down south in others states that said they would hire and train the right person with no experience too. My thinking is that I can try to get a job in this field if I want to once I move down there and not worry about taking the job right now.

[abitbroken]

Everyone in every state needs eye glasses. Its not a field limited to a region. You may say "i'll make a little less" but you will be saving your feet and knees. you will not be working until 2 am or later and will be sleeping at a reasonable hour. You will be home at night for your kids. As far as the "desperation" There are more jobs in health care available because there is a need and often they look for someone who can interact with patients and train them vs wanting someone with more experience that is afraid of talking to people or a real ratchet. They can't teach good rapport, empathy, etc.

[infinity88]

That's great to hear, so then I think right now this job is not good timing for me, I can hopefully find a health care job again once I move with no experience hopefully too since I'm personable.

 

I'm not sure what you mean about saving my feet and knees. I work less hours as a waitress and less days to make almost the same money. I definitely don't work till 2am right now. I only work part time as a waitress too. I will be on my feet for this job 8 hours a day 5 days a week. This position requires being on your feet all day.

 

And yes, everyone needs glasses but an ophthalmic assistant works at an ophthalmologist's office which generally does more eye surgery and eye disease evaluations than fitting for eyeglasses...that usually is at an optometrist's office. Ophthalmologist offices I don't think seem very common in smaller towns down south, but only in bigger cities since the business may not be as popular as optometrist offices...and the big cities is not where I will be living near most likely, so yes, I do think it will be slim pickings finding this position where I may be moving.

[infinity88]

This information is incorrect sorry to say, I know from friends in the field.

[catfeeder]

leasing a new car. I share a car right now because it works for my work schedule so I save lots of money sharing a car.

 

Yes, I'd consider that additional expense to be a barrier. Barriers don't need to be directly related to a job, they can be tangential. You get to assign them, and you don't need to convince anyone else.

 

Head high. Not every job is a good match, and that's not a reflection on you.