The question mark in the title is mine. While I'm loving being in school (get up off the floor, Mom & Dad), I do know that graduation is coming up faster rather than slower. My classes end in February 2011, even though I don't "officially" graduate until June 2011. And, before anyone asks, yes, there will be two graduation parties: one here in MOFN and one in NJ at Dad's house.
(Oh, Dad, did I mention that? Is that cool?)
Fun stuff like grad parties aside, I've begun The Great Job Search. It's never too early to see what's out there. Since my school is located in New York, I'll automatically be taking the medical assistant exam for New York State. I can also take the Pennsylvania exam for a small fee and, since about 60% of the girls who go to EBI live in PA, I shouldn't be alone in the testing center. I figured with both exams under my belt, I can either stay up here (I can hear Erick screaming "NO!" in my head as I typed that) or we can try to relocate closer to NJ via southern PA.
I know I don't have to tell anyone how hard it is out there, but doing a search for "medical assistant jobs in {fill in state}" dished up tons of jobs. I did a little happy dance in my seat before I started actually reading the job posts: True to form, the search engine brought up every job that had "medical" and "assistant" in the text. So pretty much any job that offered medical insurance was listed for me.
Rolling my eyes, I started to weed out the irrelevant jobs (oh, like pet grooming assistant at Petco, which offered medical and dental insurance). It took forever. Umpteen hours later, I finally had a coherent list of jobs. Time for another happy dance.
Well, I happy danced too soon. Every job wanted 1 - 2 years' experience. Most of the jobs in New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania wanted 3 - 5 years' experience.
Cancel happy dance. Commence flop sweat.
I tried not to panic. I tried to stay cool. I tried not to burst into tears. I suddenly felt very much like a real college student, facing a real problem that real college students face:
"HOW IN THE NAME OF THE SWEET BABY JESUS DO I FIND A JOB WHEN I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE?!?!"
(Okay, deep breaths, Aim. Calm down.)
So I'm thinking that as much as I hate to admit it, we may be stuck up here a little bit longer than planned. EBI helps you get interviews, which is invaluable in a place where things are so far apart and a lot of jobs are word-of-mouth and not actually advertised, but it also means we can't escape as soon as we wanted.
That being said, I put out this request (or what I'm picturing in my head as me throwing myself on the ground in front of everyone, prostrate with grief, clasping my hands, rolling my eyes and gnashing my teeth): "SOMEBODY FIND ME A JOB!!"
Preferably one that doesn't require experience.
LOL, but seriously I think that my kids Pediatrician, whom I totally love btw, is looking for a medical assistant. Not entirely sure though. They are Brick Pediatric Group, 1301 Route 70, Brick, NJ 08724 (I know the other side of town!!!) 732.892.8700 I don't know exactly what they are looking for since I only glanced at the flyer in the window quickly but I'm sure if you gave them a call they can tell you what you need to know.
ReplyDeleteDon't sweat the experience thing. I say apply anyway. What's the worst that can happen?
ReplyDeleteI registered with monster.com and they send me postings from time to time that are related to my education and experience. You can do the same.
Hope that offer comes in soon after February. Would be great to have you closer (or even in) Jersey :)