Thinking About Online Classes

I am so sorry for your loss...life is one day at a time...don't rush things.

I am thinking of taking online courses to continue my education so that part I can't answer to but I was a pharmacy tech for 9 years so I can impart some insight into that field.

I found Pharmacy teching to be a rewarding career. I would still be doing it if it paid better. You can work at hospitals, mail order pharmacies, and retail pharmacies. You will gather the patient info, input that info into the computer, deal with insurance denials as they occur...(quite regularly)..., call MD offices to verify perscriptions if directions are ambiguous or illegiable, dispense the medications as perscribed, label the bottles, the pharmacist will check that you did your job right and verify the quanity and the directions, then you will bag the perscription and sell it at the register...if there is no cashier to do so...and you will at times offer help with questions as long as those questions are not too technical. You may be in charge of ordering materials, restocking shelves, organizing stock, cleaning the pharmacy, mini audits, etc. I loved the work and I still meet former customers who tell me how much I am missed. I graduated from Nursing school 2 years ago and am now an RN at a local hospital. My suggestion to you is that if you can afford it, do both skills online, as that way if you can't find a job in one field you may have better luck in the other. You may even be able to do the medical billing from home which maybe a plus for that field. Medical Transcribing is also a good field to get into as they pay very well and you can do that from home in most cases.

Good Luck with whatever road you choose. Remember it is never to late to go to school. I was 36 when I went back to get my degree in Nursing. I have 4 children, 2 dogs, and a wonderful husband to help me get through. It was hard but I wouldn't change a thing and the time I spent at school is a dim memory for the kids. And that was only 2 years ago!!!

God Bless,
K.

I'm a former military wife myself (Marine Corps - my husband just got out in June), and some of my friends have done pretty well with being medical transcriptionists. You can move to essentially any doctor's office, and still perform the same duties. You can even work from home, which is nice. I've taken online courses before, and they were actually really easy. My major was computer programming (I was already done when I met my hubby). So, my career fields made it tough on us, and I ended up staying here in Indy while he was out in North Carolina. We were apart throughout the last 3 years of his enlistment (w/ 2 deployments), and I couldn't find nearly a good enough job close to his base...which is why if you're in the medical field, I think that would be a great option. There's always doctor offices everywhere. Good luck! I'm also so sorry to read about losing your son.

Hi, I am a mother of a 3 three old. I went back to school almost one year ago. Online classes are nice but my experience with them is it was hard for me to keep up with the work and all the dead lines. Alot of my class mates love online class because they can do it and it is easier for them. Why dont you try one or two classes first before you enroll full time. Hope this helps AH Ky

I do not have experience in either of these 2 fields however quite some time ago I did take a couple of online courses.
As long as you can discipline yourself to actually sit down and take the classes then they are great. I took them when I was much younger and didn't have the discipline and ended up dropping the courses. Online courses offer great flexibility and I think they are perfect in your situation.
Just keep it in mind...ya gotta actually sit down time and time again to get the work done. (not that you wouldn't but I didn't and it as a waste).
Hope this helps -
S. Vaughan
Avon Unit Leader
Start your own business for only $10, ask me how!

I've taken online courses before, although not in the areas that you are thinking about. My opinion of the courses was basically that I paid extra (since online cost more than a traditional class) just for the convienence and the class wasn't as good. I was taking the classes because they interested me so I was really hoping to learn a lot, but I ended up teaching myself practically everything for the class (from the book). I agree that a certificate is much better than not, so I would say go forward with it, but just don't expect to have a "teacher" to teach the materials to you, you may have to teach it to yourself.

I have taken virtually all of my courses online through Ivy Tech, and I really like them. I didn't want to put my son in child care all the time, and to be honest, I just am not a person who likes being in a classroom with a lot of other students. Online courses allow me to socialize in a manner that is much more comfortable for me. Back to the point, sorry, as almost everyone else has said, you do need to dedicate time just as you would any course on campus and most professors have deadlines just as a course on campus. However, I disagree with several of the other points. I have had many very interactive, cooperative, and caring professors, my online courses didn't cost anymore than traditional courses (I don't know about IPFW, only that Ivy Tech charges the same for an online course as an on-campus one.) and I didn't have to teach myself all of the material either. There are ways for professors to post video lectures, class notes, diagrams, charts, tables, etc. to teach the material. Not every professor just posts a syllabus and says "Learn it all and do it all by yourself. It's due ______ day." I do not know about your chosen field, so I cannot speak in specifics. I do know some classes translate well to the online format, some do not. I always encourage furthering education if the person is ready for it. Any classes you take should put you closer to your goal. Perhaps step one is a certificate, step two is to get an associates degree, three a bachelor's. Not everyone learns the same way, not everyone takes the same path, but good luck on yours! :)

Hello A.! I'm currently taking online classes from Western Governors University. It's located in Utah, but the good thing about Western Governors is it can move with you. It's strictly an online university. I'm getting my masters degree in education, but they offer undergraduate degrees too. I love it!! You get assigned a mentor and he/she will guide you through your program. You submit all your homework online. You do have to take proctored exams once in awhile and I can take those at the Ivy Tech campus here in Muncie. I'm sure you have a location near you to take proctored exams too. I have two boys ages 5 and 18 months, so I'm very busy too and a lot of times I only have time to do my homework at night after they go to bed. The web site is www.wgu.edu You should check it out and see if it's something you would be interested in. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I have taken some online classes before. Make sure you devote the time you are spending for these classes just for that (maybe while your 1-year-old is napping). Some teachers have a certain time that you have to do the work between. It takes a lot of dedication, but if you are serious about your certificate program, it may work for you. Good luck!

Well I dont know much about the field that you are looking at but I can tell you that I am getting my degree online through Univ. of Phoenix. I absolutley love it because I am a single mother of two children and I work full time so going online was really about the online option I had also because my work hours vary each week so some weeks I work days, some nights. Anyway I'm not sure about the place that you are doing it through but with Univ. of Phoenix just to give you a general idea...they give you a website which is your classroom...this is where you can talk to your instructor and communicate with all the other students in the class...each of my classes is 9 weeks long so it is kinda fast paced..but at the beginning they give me the syllubus and I have the assignment schedule of what is do when...so as long as you have the assignment turned in when it is due your good...if you have any other question feel free to email me...hope this helps!

Hi A.-

I have taken online classes, I don't care for them but they do work very well for other people, I have friends who love them. For me personally, the thing with online classes is that you really have to be disciplined to do them, make sure you are consistently logging in and doing what's there and you have to work really well without an instructor.

When you are taking something such as accounting for example, that can be VERY difficult. I needed someone there to help me understand how things worked. Now as for pharmacy work, I was a pharmacy tech for 3 years, I found the classwork relatively easy and I really loved my job; as one of the other prior techs said, it would be great if there were more money in it. For the record though I did know several people in the long term care end of pharmacy tech work that made really good money, especially if you can get IV certification. I would even become a pharmacist if it weren't for the required 6 years of school.

Having said that, I worked in a long term care pharmacy that got bought out and was forced to find a new job. One that pays a lot better :) But I loved the work, have always had an interest in drugs and the way they work, I learned a ton of stuff working there! As for the classes, if you have the discipline to keep up with it, go for it! Online classes can be really great but after taking several I decided they just aren't for me. Good luck!

A., first of all I am sorry about your lost, God bless you and that baby who will be watching over you and your family..I think they are little angels made out of lots of love.
Personally, I have not taken online classes, but my husband did it twice and got an MBA from Phoenix online. I can tell you that you will need a lot of dedication, it is a lot of work, and you will need to dedicate some specific time. My husband did it at nights every single day. You will have an instructor and teams or classmates to work with, a lot of assignments that you will have to coordinate with the class, and individual work. I learned that it is exactly the same as being in a classroom but with a little more flexibility and the comfortability of your house. You will have deadlines and homeworks and tests. That is what I ca tell you. A friend of mine studied online as well, and she told me the same I am telling you now. I am planning to do something like that too!
Good Luck...you can do it!!!!

i think its a great idea i did online classes when i was pregnant with my first daughter b/c i was so sick. it was great i got all my work done 3 weeks ahead of schedule, but if your looking at getting a job that requires a degree dont waste your time with a program that wont give you one. to me thats just a waist of time money and energy... good luck!

P.S. is this a job you can do from home if you get your degree? im looking for a work at home job thats why i ask please let me know!

I took some online classes through IPFW a few years ago, and I've got to be honest, I didn't feel like I learned anything. For me sitting in class listening to the teacher giving you helpful hints on how to learn the material is much better then me trying to learn everything on my own. I gave it up pretty quick. However, I recently decided to go back to school for medical billing and coding but this time I am attending Indiana Business College and I love it! I'm a mom of a 4 year old and one on the way and work full time so I attend classes in the evening. The teachers there are wonderful and really care about helping the students. It all comes down to what fits best with your life style, but I would highly recommed checking into IBC. Good Luck!!

Hey A. it's me! Bobby is taking the online stuff with Vincennes. I think it is a good idea. I haven't been able to do it yet but do plan on takeing couses in the future. I have also thought about these two feilds. I have no idea if they will help make my life better but I have positive feelings about them. I don't know if I was any help, but I would do it. Talk to you soon

Hello it is a great idea to get as much education as you can but how ever i have been a hairdresser for 17 years and i went back to school and got a degree for surgical technologist and found before i moved to another state that places want people with experience. I say go for it you may be blessed with a wonderful job in all the places you go and you will meet some great friends. My sister and her husband are in the air force and they move every 4yrs. she has degrees up to her masters in social work. and has got them in 4 different states. It was real hard for me to go to school and raise my son for the 3 years that i went to school but i now am finished and proud of what i have done. sooo on that note you go girl.

I am sorry to hear about your lose. I do not have any experience in any of the fields that you are pursuing. I am taking online classes right now through Kaplan University. I like the fact that I do not have to put my daughter in a day care and the classes are easy and you can do them almost any time. I do my classes at night after my daughter is in bed, and they are easy.

That has been my experience so far, good luck.