Making myself a hard copy of the class.

So since my Career Step access expires in a year, I decided to copy and paste it all into a word document and print it out for my own hard copy. I figured.. if I'm spending this much money on a course, I should be able to go back to it any time I want to, right? So far, I only have the first 2 modules printed out, quizzes and all. It helps too because I get to review the first 2 modules that I already learned. The first module was just an introduction to the course and an overview of the website so it wasn't too important. The second module was about computer knowledge.. so still, not that important as it hasn't touched on anything really medical coding and billing related. I finally just want to get into the good stuff! The 3rd module is when I should finally begin learning something. After I complete the 3rd module, I'm going to copy it into a word document. The only thing about it is that it takes forever! The 3rd module is definitely going to be over 120 pages if I continue to type it out at the font and size that I'm using.

Who knows, for the next modules, I may just change the font and make the size small or something so I don't waste too much paper. But then again, I'm using scratch paper that I collect at work so at least I'm not using new printer paper or anything. But yeah... today for a few hours I was copying my work onto word and it took forever. I literally stopped working just to do class stuff. Hopefully my co-worker wasn't too annoyed, but then again, I don't think she has the right to be. She knows I'm a hard worker and that of the 2 of us, I'm the one that's there more of the time. She's always randomly out. Pretty much almost once a week. That can get pretty annoying... anyway. I guess we'll see how I feel about when to copy the class onto word. I need to find a shorter way to say that. "Make a hard copy of Module #x"? Or just.. "make a hard copy" <- I guess that works lol. But yeah. I looked into the study planner and I have a goal of completing the class by June 30, 2014, which means I have a goal of completing the class a month early.

Maybe I can complete it sooner, because when I look at the schedule, according to the schedule, I don't have to start the 3rd module until August 12th... I don't know if I want to take that long of a break. I may just have to adjust the study planner and maybe put in a goal of finishing by the end of May instead if I want to follow a schedule to stay on track. But yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm going to start the 3rd module tomorrow. It's like 79 pages so I probably won't finish it..but at least I can get it started.. and I'll probably make a hard copy of it at the same time.. to save time. And of course I have to copy down all the correct answers to the quizzes and stuff and use it as a study guide later. But yeah, anyways! Oh and the program mananger at UCR-E finally got back to me and told me that they made the $325 adjustment. I just don't know if or when I'll see the change in my bank account. I hope I do.. otherwise I have no idea of knowing.. until maybe I see my statement?

Hmm..but yeah.. oh and my textbooks are coming soon! I got an email from UPS and they said that my package is supposed to arrive August 2nd! I think that's this Friday. Maybe I can go visit my parents and pick it up and then go back to my boyfriend's after work or something. Yeah... this is all very exciting to me. I like taking classes again. At first I was a little uncomfortable with it because it takes me a day or 2 to adjust to the change but so far I like it. It gives me something to think about and do..so I can get my mind off other things that have been eating me up inside so I guess that's good. But anyway.. until next time.

Class is so exhausting!

I did the second module today. So far I finished 2 modules total. I don't know if I was suppose to take a break in between or what but I wanted to see what was next. Overall I still really like the course. But it's so long though. The first module was 23 pages. The second one is 57. I took a peek at the next one and it's like 71 pages D: It's just really long, and what takes me even longer is that I take notes in between. I need to find a better way to jot down notes. I am thinking of printing out all the pages so I can just highlight stuff. I think I need a hard copy of stuff because I get tired of typing/writing. Probably during my down time at work I'll print out stuff. So far I haven't been able to have any free time at all. I've been drowned in work the past 2 days, it was ridiculous. But yeah.. I'm not sure how the schedule goes yet but if I want to be done by May 2014, I think I need to do 3 modules a week? I'll have to go through the study planner again. But yeah.. I think I want to finish in May.. or the middle of June.. we'll see or if I'm really cutting it close, then the beginning of July lol.

But yeah... I hope I don't have too many problems with the course. The module today was about computer knowledge. Honestly, I thought it was so boring. I felt like I was in a computer class. I just want to get to the real stuff already! The next module I finally get to dive into the real stuff but the class is just so long. Today the 57 page class took me 6 hours to get through D: Yeah, I need to find a way to make it go by quicker. Is that even possible? Maybe I should just go the way I've been going, but it feels like such a drag and sometimes studying at my boyfriend's place is so distracting. It's nice in our room but then the dogs make too much noise. Then when my boyfriend comes home, he wants to watch TV so I go study in our other room. But then our other room is too hot. I have made a note to bring my mini fan over so hopefully it'll be a little more bearable. Today after work I stayed at my desk for almost half an hour because I had already started studying lol.

After every few pages in the class, they give you little quizzes and at the end of the module, they give you a module exam. So far I've gotten at least an 80% or above on all of them but to me that's unacceptable so I go back and re-take it until I get 100% on all of them. My goal is to do that for all the of modules. I better do well on the final exam if I keep it at this rate. But yeah, I really need to get back into school mode. During study time I sometimes zone out and get so tired..and it doesn't help that I'm a little sick right now. I still haven't gone back to the gym in a while. I just need to figure out how often I'm gonna take classes and then balance everything again. I just also want to give myself time to review what I just learned before fully moving on to the next module. But yeah....I hope I get my books soon. Until next time!

First day of "class"!

I thought my first day would be tomorrow but I got my login information today so I got started as soon as I got home. Today was such a long day. It was a long day at work. I was swamped and was basically using 10-key for 8 hours. It's never been like that for me before here and I was scared I was gonna get carpel tunnel. Anyway, after work, I went to go visit my parents and went shopping for some last minute wedding stuff. Then I went back to my parent's house, washed my car, then headed home to shower and have dinner and began on my class. It was chaotic for a while because my boyfriend's cousin dropped by so they were talking and catching up in the same room I was studying. Also, when people come visit the house, the 2 dogs bark like crazy..so that's even MORE noise.. plus my boyfriend's parents are over, plus my "brother in law", "sister in law" and their 2 kids. Yeah, just a freakin full house. "Brother in law" and "sister in law" are in quotes because we aren't married obviously.

But anyways. Theres like 20 classes in the course. I think they're called modules. So far I finished the first one which was the Program Orientation. Tomorrow I'll start the second one. It's 57 pages long! I need to get used to that. It will take me a few hours I think. Today was only 23 pages long but it took me forever but that's probably because I'm still getting into the swing of being in school mode.. plus there were so many distractions today. Hopefully I have some down time at work so I can study in between working lol. But yeah. I guess that's all for now. I announced it to facebook that I'm back in school and now I'm catching up with an old college friend. That's all for now.

Waiting until I can start learning

I think I'll get my user ID and login information on Monday or Tuesday. At least I still have the weekend to relax a bit. Not that I want to or anything. I want to start learning already and seeing what they have. I still have to determine how much studying I'll do a week. Maybe 2-3 hours a day? I want to at least be done in 10 months or so.. so we'll see how much I have to study to accomplish that goal. I don't want to be done in the very last minute. I'm thinking to be mostly done by 10 months so I have 2 months to study for the class final exam. But yeah... I still need to wait for my login information. I also emailed them asking them about the tuition discount and if they don't reply, then I'll call them on Monday and ask again. I really want that discount. I don't want a laptop I've decided. I already have a mac and it hasn't let me down so yeah. And probably the laptop they send me won't even be worth $325... or would it? Lol whatever. Anyway that's all I wanted to say today.

I officially enrolled!!

I officially enrolled in the UCR Extensions program for medical coding and billing... So far I received an e-mail receipt confirmation but they didn't include the $325 off tuition... so I don't know when that's gonna take place... if it hasn't gone into effect yet by Monday I'm pretty sure I'm going to call them. I want to see what's up. My dad says he thinks they'll mail me a check later so we'll see. No where on the website clarifies it so that's kind of annoying. But yeah... now I guess I'm just gonna play the waiting game. I know with CS they mail you your login and password within a few minutes but for UCR I haven't received anything yet. I was kind of nervous to sign up but I just got it over with. Both my parents are proud that I'm going back to "school". I'm glad I can make them proud. I know my dad has really wanted me to go back to school so I'm glad I can do this for him. Until next time!

Maxim Staffing

Someone else from Maxim Staffing e-mailed me today with a job! It's with the LA County Dept of Public Health and it makes about 38,000 annually which is about 19 dollars an hour.. if of course it isn't salary. Just for that I am interested. They told me to e-mail them back with my resume if I think I'm a good fit. I wasn't sure if I was a good fit but I gave them my resume anyway. If anything I can learn right? They have to train me anyway. I just hope I get it. 38,000 is a lot!! The job description is a senior typist clerk. I am a great typist. Hopefully if they are interested in interviewing me, I don't screw up during the interview. And it sucks right now because I just came down with a cold :( If anything, I just want my normal speaking voice back because now it sounds like I'm sick. This sucks.. But yeah.... Please oh please. I just want to break into the medical field in any way that I can!! I think working with the LA County would be so great for me!! Wish me luck out there! Oh yeah and I still haven't enrolled in the class yet. I will do it later today.

Tomorrow's the day...

So I've made up my  mind. Tomorrow between afternoon and after work, I'm gonna sign up for the medical billing and coding class. I have decided to go with the UCR Extension's program. I initially wanted to sign up with Career Step but after I learned that UCR has the same curriculum and is a little bit cheaper, I decided to go that route. Tyson from Career Step told me the curriculum is exactly the same.. so I shouldn't be missing out on anything. Today at work I looked at the UCR Extension website and pretended to enroll to see what the process would look like. It turns out that I needed to log in or create an account with the website so I clicked on new user and when I tried to sign up with my e-mail, they told me that my e-mail was already in the system. I called the UCR Extension to ask them if I already have an account with them. I let them know that I am alumni and if that had anything to do with it. They said most likely. I told them the e-mail I tried to create the account with and they were able to pull up my information. Then they e-mailed me an activation link where I could create my password.

After doing so, I logged into the UCR Extension and added the class in my cart. I checked the box indicating that I want the discount instead of the laptop but when I click the checkout button, the tuition prices go back to full price. It doesn't say that I get the discount.. so that's where I stopped with what I was doing. I didn't want to enter in my credit card information because I'm not sure what amount they're going to charge. I called my dad and I told him that I'd go see him after work so we can do this together and that he can see the screen that I'm seeing. Maybe I'm just supposed to enter in my credit card information and I'll be able to see the price changes after? If not, I will just call the UCR Extension back.. or e-mail them back asking them to give me the difference... I do have their phone number and the e-mail for refunds and stuff.. so hopefully I am able to get the discount. I should anyway.. I am enrolling before the end of July. Ahh I hope this is all worth it!!!

OH YEAH, another thing to mention: So I've been submitting my resume to Maxim Staffing which is a temp agency for the medical field. Today someone named Jesse e-mailed me and asked me to send over my resume. I did so, and explained to him that I currently have no medical background experience and that I am interested. I told him that I'm taking classes (well I will be tomorrow) to get certified. I hope that helps me. I haven't gotten an e-mail back.. hopefully my explanation in my e-mail didn't turn him off. I would be sad lol. I really have no leads right now after I get laid off in September so I need all the help I can get. Yesterday I also e-mailed my current agency letting them know my end date and they haven't responded at all. I find that they aren't that reliable and it's best for them to let them contact you when you want. When you try to contact them it might take days to hear back from them. I have no idea why. Are they really that busy? I guess so.... well anyways.

I guess that's all I have to say right now. I am kinda coming down with a cold I think. The bachelorette party I attended this past weekend in Vegas was pretty fun.. which is probably why I got sick :/ Hopefully I'm better by the beginning of August. I don't want to be sick for my friends wedding. I am a bridesmaid! Eeks. Anyways, until next time. You'll most likely hear from me tomorrow.

3 more days!...

...Until I sign up for class!!! I'm a little nervous but curious and excited at the same time. Maybe a little scared too..but I heard it's always good to be a little scared? I better have the energy to go back into classes mode. Right now I'm still trying to catch up on sleep because this past weekend I was in Vegas for a friend's bachelorette party... out of the entire Vegas weekend, I think I only got 8 hours of sleep. Yea that's bad. So far I've been waking up super tired in the mornings for work... I just need to go to sleep earlier or something. I haven't even been to the gym yet this week. I still need to burn off all the Vegas calories.. but we didn't eat at the buffet and did a lot of dancing so hopefully it shouldn't be too bad. But then again.. today at work I'm being a fatty :/ I need to get to the gym ASAP when I don't feel too tired to go. Or should I go when I'm tired? I'm so lazy :(But anyways, I'm going to keep all the paper and information I printed out about CS because it should apply for UCR.. like the syllabus and everything and make a nice notebook/folder thing for myself.

I'm excited. Although should I study on the weekends? I hope my boyfriend won't be too bored. He fractured his hand so we won't be able to really do anything fun until it's healed... we were planning to go to 6 flags this Saturday..but I'm positive it's a no go now. Next time.

HealthCare Partners e-mailed me back...

... and I didn't get the job :( Maybe if I already had the CPC or CCA certificate, I would've had a better chance because on the application, it lets you list any certificates you have. When I saw that section, it was the first thing I thought of. Oh well. It wasn't meant to be yet. I think I'm pretty dead set I'm gonna go with UCR's program. It's the exact same as CS... and it's a little bit cheaper. I'm gonna officially enroll on Friday July 26. I want to enroll in July before the tuition discount deadline, but of course towards the end so I can have a little bit of freedom before I go back to taking classes after about a 3 year hiatus. I always did kinda wanna go back to school but I just don't see myself taking standardized tests and applying for grad school...and having to wait..and being all anxious. I guess taking classes at the extension center and getting certified in something is the next best thing. Maybe one day in the future I will try to get my Masters.. we'll see. Anyway, we'll see how this medical billing and coding program works.Wish me luck out there!

HealthCare Partners

So I haven't posted here in a few days. I actually haven't thought of any medical billing and coding schools in that time. I guess I wanted a break from it... plus there was some drama at the house so I wasn't really focused..but I am now. Last Friday, my boyfriend's mom told me to apply for a front desk position at her work. It wouldn't be full-time, it would be considered "per diem" which I guess is like part-time? My boyfriend told me it would be M-F and 4 hours a day. I'm not really sure how I feel about that yet. I'm just guessing I would probably be paid less so that's what I'm worried about. I hope I can keep paying rent and not have it be a problem... but yeah. My boyfriend said that job would be good because then for the rest of time, I can use to study for my class once I officially enroll. But yeah..about my decision, I think I'm leaning more towards UCR now... because it's a little bit cheaper. I think afterall I'm going to take the tuition discount instead of the laptop. I don't need a laptop at this time in my life. I have a macbook.

Plus it would be great to get 325 dollars off. I guess if UCR has the same curriculum as CS, and a better discount deal, then I might as well do that. Plus my dad thinks it would look better on my resume because the school is accredited and CS is not... I want to think that CS is well known too in the medical career world but I do not know that for a fact. I wish I could just ask someone. I want to ask my boyfriend's cousin some questions because he is a RN but my boyfriend doesn't think he'll know anything about it. Well... it wouldn't hurt to ask, right? Oh well. I don't even know I'll next see him. But yeah.. I hope I hear from HealthCare Partners soon.. I think I could really get my foot in the door with that job, even though I would only be working 4 hours a day. Hopefully I can advance up, especially if I take the medical billing and coding course. My boyfriend isn't sure, but he thinks his mom does medical billing too? I don't know. I guess maybe I'll find out in the future. I hope it also works to my advantage that I used my boyfriend's mom as a referral.

I mentioned her name in my application, as well as the quick cover letter I had to write on Friday lol. I hate writing cover letters. I think in the future I'm going to re-write it. I keep looking at examples because my writing has gone rusty... I feel that I wrote a little bit more sophisticated back when I was in high school which is sad, right? :/ Maybe I should read more books.

Until next time.

UCR pays Career Step to use their curriculum!

That's what I found out today. So pretty much, whatever school I decide to go with...between CS and UCR, I will be learning the same thing. That's pretty good to know. Now since I know this, I kinda want to go with UCR because it's a LITTLE bit cheaper... but at the same time I want to go to CS because they seem to be #1. I like CS because their advisers are nice and reply back to you within a timely manner... and they know what they're talking about. UCR on the other hand... even though I completed my undergrad there, they seemed to not know what I was talking about and had to look up stuff on the internet. I don't know how reliable they would be if I had any questions about the course. I know that for CS, in their demo site, you can e-mail pages to support to ask them questions. I'm wondering if I can do the same if I go with UCR? Like if I e-mail pages to the support, who will answer them? Will it be CS or will it be someone from UCR? That's one of my concerns. And also, will UCR offer the ICD-10 FastTrack Course after graduation or is that just what CS offers?

Even though UCR's curriculum is the same as CS, I still think I want to go to CS... I wonder why the prices for the two schools are different though. I thought they should be the same. If they were the same price, I think I'd have an easier time making a decision... I think after all of this, I still want to go to CS. They have always intrigued me ever since I started to research them a lot.

So I think I narrowed it down...

... to 2 schools. I still need to hear back from 3 schools (the traditional class ones) but I'm pretty sure I want to take an online course now. It doesn't seem so bad. Just as long as it will help me pass the national exams right? I will just have to study my ass off all day, everyday and just keep dedicating myself to it. I will slave away if I have to and study at my parent's house since it's more of a comfortable environment for me anyway... yeah... but here's another thing I found out: CS and UCR's demo site is the same! UCR's demo is owned my Career Step, so are their curriculums the same? If it's exactly the same, I might just with UCR since it's a little cheaper and they offer the same deals. And their tuition discount is 25 dollars better. I forgot if I already mentioned this but yeah... when I look at UCR's demo site, it says Career Step in the URL! I e-mailed Nicolette from CS and asked so I hope I get a response from her tomorrow or something. But yeah... I'm really curious now.

I'm actually a little excited about taking classes again... even if it is online. I think it will be better for me. I remember being an undergrad student and I would get bored in class. I'd have my laptop with me but I'd rarely pay attention. I mostly had to teach everything myself again later on when I would be studying for finals and I know that's bad. But it was good having a laptop in class to take notes. But once I finished copying down the slides, I would stop paying attention. I know that's bad now and I wish I did better in school. Hopefully I will get a second chance with this program and redeem myself. I really want to graduate with high marks and honors if they have that. If I could get in the medical field by next year, I will be so proud of myself and I bet my parents would be too. I just want to make them proud of me. And also if my dad will be paying for my education, it will just motivate me to do even better now. I don't want to waste my dad's money or my time.

Yeah... I need to tell myself this a lot more and read more inspirational quotes or something.

Career Step Demos

So I'm doing a preview of the demo for Career Step and I think to myself.. "this looks oddly familiar". A few days ago I looked at the demo for UCR's extension center and now I find out it's the same thing?? If that's the case, I'm wondering if the curriculum is the same? Like the layout of the program is the exact same. When I log into the demo using UCR's username and password, it still says Career Step in the top left corner.. so are they affiliated or something? I think I might e-mail Nicolette and ask her because I really want to know. If that really is the case, then I may just take the course with UCR because it's a little bit cheaper and the tuition discount is better by 25 dollars if I decide to get the tuition discount instead of the free laptop lol. Hmm.. well this is interesting...

American College of Medical Coders (ACOMC)

I forgot to mention that I found another online school. I found it on yahoo answers somehow. I doubt I'm gonna go here but I just wanted to mention what I found. It offers an online course and also a traditional course. The online course is cheaper than the traditional course. I wonder what the difference is... do both teach the exact same things? I wouldn't want to take the traditional course for this class though. On their website it mentions that they meet once a week for 6 hours!! Even though it's 6 hours its almost a full work day!! Yeah I think I'd be brain-dead. Online classes are just starting to seem more and more appealing... the online class costs 1499 (cheaper than Career Step) and 2499 for the traditional class..which is still cheaper than Career Step. I don't really know why I'm mentioning this school. For some reason it just seems hard to find schools that teach this course traditionally. I guess if I were to find a good prestigious school that offered outpatient and inpatient medical billing and coding with everything I'm looking for, I would probably consider it as well.

I thought it would be UCR but the people on the other line just sounds iffy.. the program manager Jennifer Campbell keeps spamming my inbox with automated e-mails about information about the course that I have already read on the website! I wish she would stop. Hopefully there is a unsubscribe button or something. I think she only really replied to like 1 of my e-mails that wasn't automated lol. But yeah.. kind of sucks that I have to judge a course by the program "manager" lol, no offense but she doesn't sound like she knows what she's talking about in the e-mails if all she's doing is basically copying and pasting the website in e-mail format...

Got around to calling the schools...

I feel like I'm one step closer to deciding on a school! Here's a list of the schools I called and the experience I got:

1. Career Step - I felt that they were the most knowledgeable about their responses. Like when I asked them questions, they (actually a woman named Nicolette) were able to answer me right away without saying things like "Hold on.. let me look this up". And they were really nice and actually seemed like they wanted to help. I even told Nicolette that one of my main concerns was making the right choice.. since Career Step is the most expensive school. I want to make sure I'm making the right decision and not to waste my time or money and Nicolette seemed to understand. She gave me advice on what to look for with all my research and not just try to advertise Career Step to me. Just what I need! (Or are they just doing that on purpose to gain my trust? Lol jk.). But really, the academic advisors seem very friendly and approachable.

2. UCR Extension - This was kind of an annoying call because there were people talking in the background and I could barely hear the person who answered the phone at times. I asked the woman if this program was approved by AHIMA and she was like, "Huh?" I had to tell her what it stood for and to spell it phonetically. I understand that the person I spoke to probably wasn't the program manager or anything but she could have at least transferred me to someone who knew. All she did was read something to me off a website. I couldn't really understand her, but I think she said that the UCR's program is offered by Career Step? I'm thinking of e-mailing Nicolette or Tyson to confirm this...

3. CSULA - I called Robin Hall but she did not answer the phone. I did not feel like leaving a message so I will probably try again at another time. I called at around 1pm-ish.

4. Pasadena City College - I called the register number and I already knew it was the wrong one. I only called that number because it was like the only number listed in their catalog. I was going to ask them to transfer me anyways. So the person who picked up let me ask the questions, just to see if he could answer them but once I asked them my first question (Is your program approved by AHIMA?) they were like, "Ohhh... I did not know it would be that extreme of a question" Lol. So the guy gave me the professor's cell phone number and name. His name is Joselito Capili. I called his cell, but he did not answer. Again, I may try again at a later time as I did not feel like leaving voicemail. Or maybe I have to leave voicemail in order for them to call me back?

5. CSULB - I called the CCPE Student Services Center where they transferred me to Cindy who is the program director and asked her my questions. I asked her if the program was AHIMA approved and she said no. I think she was another one who read me something off a website. I do not think she knew too much about the course either. She probably knew some, but not all like I had hoped for. At least she was nice. I also asked her if students get to learn the 3M encoding software. She had no idea. She told me she would find out and call/e-mail me back tomorrow. She was nice though.

So far from all my calls today during my lunch break at work, I think I can cross Long Beach off my list. It was too far anyway and the hours would not go well with my work schedule. Classes would be from 9am to 2:45 Monday through Thursday. I work from 7am til 3:30pm.. sometimes 5pm if I do a little overtime. So it wouldn't work at all. It would work if I took section 2 since it starts in October and I wouldn't be working here anymore, but who knows if I'll get another job? Yeah.. this program just wouldn't work. So far I've already crossed of Cal Poly from my list but that's because they only offered a coding class. I want a combined coding AND billing class. Yeah.. I'm one step closer :) When I get home, I'm going to open up the e-mail that Nicolette from Career Step sent and watch/view the demos. She asked me if I wanted the video tutorial or the class demo. I asked her which one was better and she ended up sending me both. I secretly wanted both anyway but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to do that so I was happy when she told me she'd send me both lol.

But yeah.... today after work I'm going chill at my parents house since my fam is currently in Vegas. Just gonna baby sit the house and get some alone time until 9pm-ish then go back to my boyfriend's house where I currently live. Yeah. I can't wait to get off work. Even though I'm still "deciding" on schools, I have a feeling I already know what school I want to go to... Career Step... even though it's the most expensive. I'm trying not to think about the price though. Both Tyson (another academic advisor) and Nicolette both told me they were the number 1 online school approved by AHIMA? Something along those lines. I have never heard of Career Step before I posted on an indeed.com forum though. But I'm glad I did. I guess we'll see where this takes me.

Until next time.

It's hard making time to call these schools...

I'm at work right now. I could use my work phone and call them up but I don't want to. I don't want my co-workers to hear what I'm saying. I don't want them to ask me questions because they can be nosy. I don't want them knowing my business until I'm for sure gonna do this. And I forgot my notebook where I took notes on the schools and programs too. I may bring it tomorrow and call them during my lunch break... or I guess after work but I might be going to the gym. What if I call, and they are closed? I will just have to find out. I just printed out some websites from Career Step just so I can have a hard copy for myself.. so I don't have to keep searching for it on google. Yeah... we'll see how this goes. My goal is to decide on a school by the week of July 22-26. It's the last full week in July. Wish me luck to whoever is reading this. I feel like I am getting no support from my boyfriend. Well, I told him about my plans and he's on board with it but at the same time, everytime he sees me on the computer or writing notes, he doesn't ask me how he's doing.

He's always watching TV or on his tablet watching some walkthrough of some video games. Something I'm not really into. Oh well. One of my other friends think that Career Step is way too expensive. I told her that if the program is good and if they can find me a job then it would be worth it.. but at the same time, how would I know? I would just have to take a risk and be VERY dedicated to it. I can't half-ass it or anything or give up when I can't find something right away. However I was during my undergrad, I can't be like that now. I really have to step it up. Study 24/7 if I want to get honors and continually keep finding jobs after I graduate. I know it will be stressful but I hope it doesn't bring me down too TOO much.. because I can be a sensitive person and I really don't want to give up... Not sure if I will update this again later on today. I guess we'll see.

Until next time.

Doing my research all over again

Current schools I'm looking at:

-  Career Step (pros: prepares for ICD-10, free laptop or ipad2 or $300 off tuition, job placement after graduation/cons: most expensive)

- UCR extension (pros: prepares for ICD-10, free laptop or $325 off tuition, 1 on 1 consultation assistance online to help prepare and look for employment but not exactly job placement or can guarantee a job/cons: Jennifer Campbell may be an unreliable source even though she is the program manager. I will just have to call and find out for myself.)

- Cal State LA (pros: a bit cheaper than CS and UCR, in a real classroom setting/cons: would have to drive to LA, pay for a parking permit)

- Pasadena City College (pros: much cheaper than the first 3 schools mentioned/cons: need to take 3 classes instead of 1)

- Cal State Long Beach (although I'm certain I wouldn't go to this school anyway. It's a bit farther than the other schools...) (pros: / cons: far )

I think tomorrow or sometime this week, I'm going to call up each school and ask them my questions. I think it will help me figure out my decision faster than trying to google everything. I guess that's just one of my flaws. I'm not really a phone person.. which is why I'd make a horrible receptionist. I mean I already know that. I've been a front desk receptionist before and I would always be horrified when the phone would ring lol. At least I was only an on-call receptionist, meaning that I didn't have to go in everyday.. I only got called in to cover for the main receptionist every time she had a day off or whatever. But yeah, maybe that just  means its worse because every time I had to go back in, it was like I kind of had to be trained all over again.. but not really. I mean I still had my notes and everything but transferring calls and such was still kind of difficult. I guess it got easier after a while because there were 2 times when I had to work a straight week of it and I guess I got used to it.

But now it's been a while since I had to work there. Hopefully after my job ends in September, I don't get calls from that place because I really don't want to go back. Maybe if they do call me, I will just decline, but if I'm desperate for money, I may  just say yes (UGH UGH UGH) lol. Anyway...I don't want my brain or head to explode from thinking about this too much. Or should I really drop everything I'm doing and figure out which school to go to ASAP? The only reason I want to hurry up and decide is just in case I do decide to go with CS or UCR, that I can get my free laptop lol. I don't even know if the laptop is good or anything but that would be nice.. to get a new toy lol. Ugh... yeah. Hopefully the next time I update this, I will have more answers from talking to people on the phone.

Until next time.

Just submitted my resume to another staffing agency (medical)

Although I barely have any medical background experience, I just submitted my resume to a medical staffing agency. Hopefully they can help me anyway. They have administrative jobs available there apparently so hopefully I can get a job doing that! I submitted my information through their "contact us" page so I am hoping to be contacted soon... I hope they can help me find a new job. If I can find a new job and leave my current job before September, I would be happy about that too. Even if it's through another staffing agency, hopefully the medical field pays more? I would really love a job in the medical field before I decided on a class. Maybe I could speak to someone in the medical field and ask them if they know anything about Career Step or other schools... maybe talk to some experienced medical coders and billers? Because it would be silly right now to just go to a hospital and ask to speak to some of them. Some random person.. how weird would that be...

Current daily thoughts

So I'm starting this blog to hopefully document my journey of finding a new career field to get into. I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Political Science in 2009 and I decided that I don't really want a future with it. I regret to say this but I feel like I picked the wrong major. I first started out as a Psychology major, then went undecided after failing my first psychology course as a freshman, then declared a Political Science major during my 3rd year of college. It was my father's advice to get into this field since he told me it would lead me to good jobs in the future. While it may be true that having a Political Science background will provide me with good jobs, what I failed to note was that I didn't think my personality really matched any of the careers associated with Political Science. Do I see myself as a lawyer? Not really. In general, I can be a pretty quiet person and I don't like to start up any arguments or drama unless maybe its my own immediate family. 

One of my friends and roommate from college graduated with a Psychology degree but after she graduated, she didn't do anything with her degree either. Strangely enough, she became a paralegal. It was initially her father's job, but right before he passed away, he convinced his boss to hire her, to replace him. So yeah, I think after a few months to a year later, she and another friend of mine went to get their paralegal certificates. Anyways, after graduating college, I started getting job assignments through temp agencies. At first I didn't know they were temp agencies - I just thought I was applying for jobs, but after they brought me in for an interview, then that's when I found out they were temp agencies. I was fine with that at first since I didn't have any job experience before that. I figure that it would help me get my foot in the door and to start working. It was a great start. Currently, I am still at a "temp" job. 

It has been almost 2 years and I have already been told that I will be getting laid off in the beginning of September. Am I sad? Not really. The job sucks as it is. All I do is fax documents all day, look up files and take crap from the service reps. When something wrong happens, most of the blame gets pointed towards me. It can be long hours since one of my co-workers is constantly out sick, vacation, or unexpected leave so I have to do overtime. My boss kind of doesn't have a clue what our entire department does all day since he newly acquired our department from a previous manager. Also, some people in the department like to cause drama and gossip and that's just annoying on another level. It can be very frustrating.. actually all the time and I actually can't wait to leave in September. The only thing I'm worried about is that my paychecks are gonna stop coming. I'm worried about how I'm gonna save money. It's already hard saving money as it is. I'm always worried about money. 

So for a while, I've been job hunting.. even before I knew I was getting laid off. I've been applying to other "office" jobs but I feel like it's no luck since I haven't gotten any calls back or anything. If I can't find anything on my own, I'm just gonna go back to my temp agency and have them help me find jobs again. This time I'll ask them to help me find a direct hire job (they can do that, right?), or a temp to hire job. I really don't want to be stuck with a job where I stuff envelopes all day... and yes they have put me in those jobs before. They are so boring and useless. I really feel like I'm wasting my time there. It just sucks that I have a bachelor's degree and I still can't find a decent permanent job. I am already 26 and I feel like I can't get my life started. Anyway, from all my job searching, I am always seeing medical billing and coding jobs so I decided to research what that was. Then I had this idea that maybe in order for me to better my chances at finding a job, I should get certified in something. 

A while ago, I dabbled in the idea of becoming a certified real estate appraiser since I worked in a real estate company for 4 months (before I got laid off...) but I'm not sure what happened to that idea. I guess I just stopped thinking of it all together, or that it doesn't sound much appealing to me anymore.. but yeah, I'm thinking to go back to school to get certified in something. I know it would make my parents (especially my father) happy that I went back to school. So yeah, my plan right now is to go back to school and learn to become a medical biller and coder, then to study hard and take the CPC exam, and later on the CCS exam. Through all my research, they say its best to start with the CPC exam especially if you have little to no experience which pretty much sounds like me. 

So here's my plan: 

- Enroll and take the course

- While I'm taking the course, try to find a job that's in the medical field. Doesn't matter what it is, just get a job that's in a doctors office or hospital. Probably a front desk receptionist, assistant or something. Anything. And work there for at least 2 years to gain experience.

- After I finish the course, take the exam (CPC or CCS but most likely CPC). 

- After passing the CPC, continue working in the medical field whatever I'm doing, while trying to look into medical coding and billing jobs.

- Study some more and then take the CCS exam

- And then hopefully by then I will become a certified medical biller and coder and can get the job I want.

I've researched it a lot and I know it's going to be tough. I really have to have my mind focused on it and then I know I can do it. I'm thinking that since I've been researching a few schools, websites, ICD-9 codes, looking at forums, blogs, and websites about this that I think I'm really familiarizing myself with it because I really want to know what I'm getting myself into. It's just hard for me to finally take the plunge because this course ranges anywhere from 600-2700 dollars from my own research. It's a lot of money to spend on...and what's making me decide even faster is that 2 schools I'm looking at has a July discount. That if I enroll by the end of the month, I will either get a free laptop, free iPad 2 or 300-325 dollars off tuition. It's a good deal! I'd probably get that free laptop but I have no idea what kind of laptop it is. I'm whatever about the iPad 2 since I already have one lol. But yeah... if I take this course, my father said he would pay it for me. I love that guy so much. 

I pretty much never have to worry about money when it comes to my education. But yeah... even though I wouldn't have to worry about money, I don't want to waste his money either. I am 90% positive I want to go this route. I also dabbled in the idea of becoming a certified pharmacy technician as well but I read that a medical coder/biller can advance up more than a pharmacy tech can. So yeah. I want a career where I can grow. I don't want to be doing the same old thing everyday and I read that being a medical coder and biller there's room for growth which is exactly what I want. It looks challenging and stressful but for me it would be a different kind of challenge and stress which is what I want to go through. I also want to make myself better for my boyfriend. I want to go back to school, get a better job, make more money for the both of us so we can finally get married, and move out of our current living situation. It's just a whole other story that I may get into later, or never since this blog is about my career journey. 

But yeah, I'm thinking this course can be a good distraction for a while too. But anyways... The first school I'm thinking of getting into Career Step. It's an online school but apparently it's widely known and one of the better schools. I've many good things about it. It's also the most expensive school I've looked into so far which is why I'm still kind of iffy... I found another blog last night about a woman documenting her experience with Career Step which is what gave me this idea to start this blog.. but that woman only posted like 3-4 entries and haven't heard from her since, and this was all last year... so hopefully I can last longer than hers. But yeah, Career Step is one of the schools that has the July promotion. Free laptop, free iPad, or 300 dollars off tuition. It's enticing, I have to admit and it's making try to make my decision fast because I want my goodies lol. Another school I'm thinking of is the UCR Extensions's program. It's also an online course and it also has the July promotion. 

Free laptop or 325 dollars off tuition.. but this course is a little cheaper than Career Step. It's still expensive though.. still in the thousands. The school third in line is not an online school - I'd have to take real classes in a real classroom. CSULA's extension center. This course is the 3rd most expensive but it also seems like it would teach me a lot. But one thing I don't think I'd like about taking a class in a real classroom is that the professor would make the students participate and talk in class. I don't like learning like that. Just leave me alone and let me do my work lol. I hate raising my hand and talking. Maybe that's just the problem with me. At least if I do online courses, then I don't have to deal with competition and people all the time and be randomly stressed out over that kind of stuff. I used to hate going into discussion courses while I was in undergrad because I really didn't like participating, especially when I wasn't comfortable with the material yet. 

But when I decide to take this course, I promise myself to try not to be like that. I promise myself that I will try to learn all the material and to be prepared before moving forward. I will take the best, most organized notes ever because I want to graduate with high honors. If I was younger and can do undergrad all over again, I would, and go a different route - maybe business or something, but it's too late for that. Anyway... the 2 other classes that peaked my interest a while ago was Pasadena City College and CSULB. PCC's course was only like 677 dollars...but I'd have to take 3 classes... so I don't know if it's worth it or if it would even prepare me for the exams I needed to take. Although I never actually called any schools to confirm (I should), their website class description never told me the information I needed to know either. Maybe tomorrow I will call each school with my questions.

My questions would be:

- Is your school accredited?

- Is your school AHIMA approved?

- How does your course prepare students for the CPC/CCS exam?

and probably more...

I heard the main person for UCR's extension didn't really know anything so now I'm leaning more towards Career Step than UCR...even though I completed my undergrad at UCR and at first it was more appealing to me. UCR's course website didn't even seem to explain that much about the course either :/ Ugh. I just don't really know yet. I kind of hope July is a slow month lol. One thing that seems time consuming is after I get certified, I would have to be re-certified after a while. It's not like once I get my certificate, I can hold it forever. I guess I would have to be re-certified often or else I would lose it. And I'm not sure how it works yet but if I have to pay every time I need to be re-certified, it would be a lot of money, right? That's just something I need to look into too. I looked into it a while ago but I also don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Right now I just need to focus on what school to go with...

Until next time.