Unitek College Blog

Technology’s beautiful isn’t it? It does great things. One minute, it’s letting us watch movies on our brand new iPhone. The next, its advances in medicine are revamping the entire healthcare industry by increasing the need for all health care workers. This has led to a wealth of opportunities for people who have always dreamed or at least thought of a fulfilling career of doing something that helps people on a daily basis.

The most traditional way of pursuing this path was becoming a doctor. Yet, the prospect of going through medical school (fulfilling undergraduate prerequisites, MCATS, applications, 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and the licensure and certification that happens during it) isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea.

Fortunately, this same demand for great people in healthcare has also reinforced the importance of so many other existing positions in the field.

Medical Assistants for example, are expected to see employment grow by 35 percent in the next four years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it one of the fastest growing professions. Increasing the demand for Medical Assistants is the fact that they are also now finding employment in both private and public hospitals, as well as inpatient and outpatient facilities.

And it doesn’t take a decade either. Most programs can be completed in 8 months time, part time, so you don’t even have to quit your day job. While getting certified isn’t required, it’s a safe bet as it is a way to guarantee competency of a medical assistant at a job-entry level.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to one of the primary reasons you considered healthcare in the first place. You get to help people. You also gain valuable administrative experience. So if you end up becoming a Medical Assistant (MA) you can thank technology’s advances for your job and your new iPhone.

For one of our 2008 nursing graduations, Unitek College put together a National Anthem video with some nursing pictures. Check it out.

For details about the Unitek College RN training program, please visit Unitek College.

Pharmacy Technicians work under the supervision of registered pharmacists, assisting them with the filling of drug prescriptions, reviewing orders for dosages, allergies, incompatibilities and interactions. It is a job that requires an astute knowledge of chemistry, biology & math. A Pharmacy Technician often also interacts with the customers they service, so a Pharmacy Tech must be personable and patient when dealing with people who are sick and not necessary in the best frame of mind.

This is the perfect job for someone who enjoys multi-tasking and having different things to do each day they come into work. Some days you come in and you have lots of prescriptions to fill as well as long lines of customers to service. Conversely, there may also be those days when you are able to quickly fill the few prescriptions you have as well as service the handful of customers and then you are free to assist the registered pharmacist in other aspects of the laboratory.

Other things a Pharmacy Technician will get to do include mixing, measuring, packaging, and delivering medications as well as maintaining computerized lists of the medications in circulation and checking with the pharmacists before delivering any medication, to see whether those are the right drugs. They may also be called upon to clean and sterilize the instruments, transporting medication and pharmacy equipment to clinics and nursing units, answering various questions about non-drug products, or calling physicians’ offices for prescription refills.

Many people choose a pharmacy technician career for a variety of reasons. First of all, the working conditions are very good. Pharmacy Technicians work in clean and organized areas, which are well ventilated and well lit. Secondly, Pharmacy Technician jobs are always in high demand and you will have the ability to start at a higher salary if you have a Pharmacy Technician certification.

There is no requirement for formal training or licensing as pharmacy technician. However, on-the-job training is less available nowadays, and employers prefer individuals who hold a pharmacy tech certification issued by a training institution. There is a voluntary exam that future pharmacy technicians can take, known as the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examinations.

Do you know anyone right now who is a Pharmacy Technician? What have they said about their experiences?

With the ever increasing demand for EMT Training from the east coast, our sales staff have had their desk phones forwarded to their cell phones for early morning inquiries. Last month, we had a reality check when Verizon Wireless sent us a gigantic phone bill. Our CFO nearly had a coronary, and asked us to look at other options.

After careful analysis, it seemed that AT&T Wireless / Cingular had a much better corporate plan (they also have the iPhone, but we neglected to mention that to the CFO). Unfortunately, we have a bunch of rabid ‘Verizon lovers’ around the office that insisted that Verizon had much better coverage around the Fremont, CA area. So, to shut them up, we decided on a road test. We had two volunteers drive around Fremont doing the ‘Can you hear me now’ thing. The first volunteer drove out from Unitek to the Mission hills (filthy rich people such as our CEO live up there, watching over us mere mortals) and then drove along Mission Boulevard to the extreme north end of Fremont. The second volunteer drove from Unitek to the extreme northwest point in Fremont (close to the Dunbarton bridge). On day 1, they used AT&T phones, and they used Verizon phones on Day 2. Continuous talk time was approximately 1 hour on both days.

Alas, those !#$!@#% Verizon lovers were right !! Verizon consistently delivered better cell quality throughout Fremont, and didn’t drop calls (AT&T did, occasionally). Much as we hate the gigantic phone bills (and love the iPhone), we’ve decided to stay with Verizon Wireless and hope that they come up with better corporate plan for their long-suffering customers. Can you hear me now, Verizon?

With a degree in nursing, Elsa Mendoza didn’t have to look far for a job. After receiving her degree in nursing from Unitek College in 2007, the 25-year-old Elsa applied for positions at four local hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area; (Kaiser, Stanford Hospital, El Camino Hospital, and Good Samaritan). Elsa soon received four job offers from all four hospitals. Within a short period of time Elsa was earning an annual income of more than $65,000 and only working four days a week.

As the fears of recession build up, employees begin to worry about their future, fortunately nursing jobs are one of the five careers that are recession proof according to Yahoo.

“As long as people continue to get sick, there will be a need for nurses. Nurses perform perhaps the most critical role of all–they save lives and prevent illness. And with demographic shifts putting extra strain on the health care system, nurses are experiencing unprecedented demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts nearly 30 percent growth in nursing jobs through 2014, the second largest increase of any occupation.”

Did your profession make the top five recession proof careers?

I can’t seem to get the consistent urgent demand that’s going on for nursing and healthcare. By 2012, it’s quoted that over a million additional nurses will be needed for the emerging baby boomer generation. Several people are talking about this and reporting it online (view article). Then there’s the perks. Flexible hours, six figure salaries (once in senior management). It all seems too good to be true. My fiancé’s mom is a director of nursing at a hospital and gets to take one week off a month in vacation, and gets paid overtime! Not only that, she gets additional pay incentives for working the night shift.

There is obviously a need and a demand for what is obviously a great career path. How else would I know? I market it. I consistently see people who are looking to change their lives, and also to improve their quality of living. I see graduating students going to great jobs at Stanford, and other surrounding bay area schools (check out last year’s graduating class video, second video from the top). I also want to point out that we didn’t produce that student video. It was provided by our great class of students in 2006. I’m proud of the fact that we help people reach their dreams, and also improve their career opportunities. I ask you. Why not fill out a form? Speak to an educational advisor. There’s no risk. The only thing you have to lose is a chance at finding out what can be a great new life.

Eric Garrison
Marketing Manager
Unitek