Major Career Change At 44 (employment, credit, apply, collecting)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So, I'm 44 years old. For the past almost 20 years I've worked in the highway construction industry, as a truck driver hauling stone and blacktop. As this season winds to a close I've decided I'm done with it! I live in Pennsylvania, normally around Thanksgiving this type of construction is done due to the cold weather. I'm tired of the long hours. I'm tired of the unpredictable schedule, (never knowing what time I'm going to get done working for the day, I'm tired of working night shift at times, (I literally can't see in the dark, I've worn contacts since I was 15, my doctor says it's a combination of bad eye sight and getting older),. Once the season is done I get laid off until the weather breaks in the spring. I've decided to use the upcoming lay-off to study for a new career. I want to work from home doing either data entry or medical coding. I've noticed when you Google certifications for these it's mind boggling. How do you know which are legit? Based on my research I have read that some medical coding jobs want an associates degree. Which I do not have. My unemployment/ lay-off is only so long. I cannot go back to college full or even part time. I need to work and make a certain amount of money. I CAN do a certification over the winter months though. Any advice towards legit certification in these programs or any other work from home job that pays well would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Google PA specific requirements for medical billing/coding and the respective certifications. Then look for the programs at local community colleges. Are the programs accredited? Do not expect to WFH as recent graduate.
44 isn't as old as you think it is. I changed careers at not quite 53. Now I am 63 and counting down to retirement in less than two years. Pursue your goals anyway you can. You are going to get older no matter what you do, so might as well be doing something you love, or working toward it, at least.
Contact your local community college and talk to or email the professors that teach the medical billing/coding programs. Ask them which certs are most respected in the industry.
How about construction material testing? All that aggregate and binder has to be tested in a lab before someone such as yourself delivers it to the job site. No certs or experience necessary but it helps to be good at math. Try Kleinfelder, they're nationwide, are always hiring and are likely desperate.
So, I'm 44 years old. For the past almost 20 years I've worked in the highway construction industry, as a truck driver hauling stone and blacktop. As this season winds to a close I've decided I'm done with it! I live in Pennsylvania, normally around Thanksgiving this type of construction is done due to the cold weather. I'm tired of the long hours. I'm tired of the unpredictable schedule, (never knowing what time I'm going to get done working for the day, I'm tired of working night shift at times, (I literally can't see in the dark, I've worn contacts since I was 15, my doctor says it's a combination of bad eye sight and getting older),. Once the season is done I get laid off until the weather breaks in the spring. I've decided to use the upcoming lay-off to study for a new career. I want to work from home doing either data entry or medical coding. I've noticed when you Google certifications for these it's mind boggling. How do you know which are legit? Based on my research I have read that some medical coding jobs want an associates degree. Which I do not have. My unemployment/ lay-off is only so long. I cannot go back to college full or even part time. I need to work and make a certain amount of money. I CAN do a certification over the winter months though. Any advice towards legit certification in these programs or any other work from home job that pays well would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
44 is firstly not old at all. As long as you are reasonably healthy then you are good to go for any career change. We already live in a country where 18 year olds are getting freaking arthritis at record levels so clearly the future generations are pretty much going to be the downfall of this country since they are weak.
Since you work in trucking, maybe you can consider working in an auto insurance call center? At least you can do that temporarily while you do your certifications.
You will also have to be realistic though cause as someone said you won't be working remote right off the bat. More than likely you might have to work physically in an office for a while. So if I were you, get the desk job first, do well, and then apply for something else down the line that is remote. Never tell during an interview "i am doing this job cause its remote" or else you will be canned in seconds.
Also, I strongly recommend being vary of any job posting that says you can work from home and make tons of money with no experience. As the saying goes, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. Also, if any company is asking for your SSN right away generally speaking it should be a red flag you are about to get scammed.
Completely different from what I'm used to. With an incredible international company.
And the most money I've ever made in my life.
World class benefits.
Remember:
You're not on sale this week.
Same here. Except I'm 66 yes old. I started my new job one month ago.
It's in the same industry but the job is completely something I've never done before.
During the interview I acknowledged that I don't have experience on what they do so this will be new for me (but yet you still choose to interview me after you've seen my resume, so that tells me: 1) you can't find candidates that's better matched, or 2) you're looking for someone outside of organization to bring in new perspective), but I also bring up examples to show how at each job I'm capable to learn, grow into the position and able to contribute significantly in that job.
This company is a world renowned organization that's best at what they do. I told them they're already know what they're doing so they're not looking for a "Jesus Christ" to coming to save them. My job is to learn their "best practices" and contribute where I can and when I can. After I was hired, they told me it was my attitude & statement above that convinced them to hire me.
I CAN do a certification over the winter months though. Any advice towards legit certification in these programs or any other work from home job that pays well would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Contact Pennsylvania’s CareerLink to see if they have any approved training programs in the areas you're interested. This is important as you can be denied payment of benefits or have those benefit reduced when participating in a non-approved training program while collecting unemployment benefits.
You face a double whammy on this as your suitable employment covers days, nights, weekdays and weekend. As a result, you can't even fenagle the prevailing work hour game by studying after hours. So, you really need the State to give their blessing to your training by exempting/excusing you from the A&A requirements.
Please be cautious of the word "accredited." Taken at face value, it will be hard to find a program that isn't accredited, because that's what everyone wants in a program. The problem lies in WHO'S doing the accrediting.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Now I am 63 and counting down to retirement in less than two years. Pursue your goals anyway you can. You are going to get older no matter what you do, so might as well be doing something you love, or working toward it, at least.
