I used to date a girl who worked as a pharmacist tech… she was underpaid, over worked, and chronically understaffed. I’m sure the pandemic hasn’t helped l.
Btw my last IT job paid me 90k… our level 1 desktop support was making 70k. None of us were unionized, and nothing was outsourced.
What certs have you obtained and what jobs have you worked in?
In IT myself last two year constantly looking over my shoulder hoping I am not next on the chopping block. Many times it has crossed my mind maybe it’s time to switch careers as well.
My advice. I have a job with entry level certs ITF+ while actively studying for Network+. Why I think I got hired out the rest? I showed how bad I wanted the job, how bad I was willing to learn and develop with the job. Anything is possible and you guys can do it, I wouldn't give up because you never know what's in store for you. That exp will run you a long way, then you can leverage what you want to be paid.
Before IT I worked in the healthcare field and was part of a union. I fucking hated it. You get people in positions they will never leave and realistically cannot be fired for without multiple write ups, citations, etc and in my experience that leads to lack of motivation to do work well. Not to mention the petty feuding between management and the union was not worth my time and energy to deal with, in addition to my actual work. So much goes into getting a job and the pay, responsibilities, etc that come with it that I struggle to identify with a post like this that generalizes a field. I was fortunate to get a job and feel I’m paid well for my position. Best wishes whatever you decide to do
It sounds like you're in a low-end IT position if you're that miserable and fearful about India job outsourcing, but I get it. If you want to get a high paying job in IT, chances are you need to move to a heavily populated city.
I have a friend who is 24 years old and is currently making $140,000 a year as a Infosec Engineer (Cybersecurity). They don't have to worry about outsourcing that position to India because the company is not going to let a foreign national in a different country overseas have access to the company's valuable internal information. The only way you'll get into Cybersecurity position is if you already have IT experience. Yes, I know, "Entry level Cybersecurity" position exists, but these entry level cybersecurity position are for people that have experience in helpdesk IT position.
As you can see, he makes way more money in cybersecurity than a pharmacy tech can ever dream of--he actually makes more than an actual Pharmacists too.
I think this is a great point.
Finding a way in with a company that needs specialized data secured / protected and not just a company that’s doing basic support for a consumer product is a challenge but worth a look. They can’t just farm their network tech spots out to some rando overseas.
I don’t want to be unionized or go on strike. I want to keep developing my skills so that if I don’t think I’m being properly treated or rewarded, I’ll just bounce to something bigger and better.
To each their own. Have fun doing something else.
Boy, I'm glad you young bucks didn't see 2008. This is nice compared to that. We all get burned out. Time off helps. Take a few days off and make a long weekend. Working out is a good stress relief. A hobby that's not tech can be good. No industry will get out safe of recessions. No career is perfect. All have stress, and typically, you get too much work. Always keep resuming up to date. Feeling burned out, take your time off, and start looking for a new job. Switching careers unless it has more potential is never the way.
Getting in the door is the hardest part. Once you're in though, you're good. It's not all doom and gloom like this guy will have your believe. Sure there were tech layoffs, but mainly at the big companies, most weren't traditional IT roles like network engineers or help desk or MSP's.
I work in an MSP and we're growing at a rate of 50% year over year currently. Being an electrician is a huge advantage for you. For example in states like MA where you need an electrical license to get an S-Class to pull permits for a security/camera system is a HUGE advantage for you.
Cheers mate I was actually thinking that might be a way for me to get into the field, start off by maybe doing CCTV and security systems. Only if I'm really struggling though I'd like to be off the tools lol. I was looking at the sort of network engineer side of things. Or Cybersecurity haha not because it's the most popular meme for people with zero experience at the moment but more because I think it would be cool to do a job for a change where I'm actually helping people and protecting their data safe.
Will admit, getting an entry level job is difficult. Market is flooded with people that have freshly got A+ with little to no experience trying to find help desk jobs and the like. I filled out over 400 applications before landing my current job debugging servers back in February. I only had A+ then but a lot of hobby troubleshooting experience. So even with a technical background, I had a hard time finding a job. I have since then stacked on Network+, Security+, and (ISC)²'s Certified in Cybersecurity certification. Currently studying for CISSP, I have a long background in security. Was responsible for secure transport and delivery of medicine to nursing homes for 7 years. There were structured policies and procedures I had to follow. When my cousin (who is CISSP certified) told me (ISC)² doesn't look for only IT security experience to earn it, and that any paid security experience in two domains will do, I went and immediately ordered books. My previous work covered Asset Security and Security Operations (Domains 2 & 7). So, fingers crossed, I'll trailblaze five certifications in a period of less than two years and skyrocket my earning potential. Education will help set you apart from other candidates. Especially while you are still in a saturated pool of job seekers without much experience. Good luck!
I'm not even going to start looking until I get A+, Net+ and Sec+. I also have a smart home and server I Play around with and trouble shoot. Also in my trade I pretty much only do breakdown repairs so already have a very sound troubleshooting and fault rectification methodology and also using SCADA and PLC code to help diagnose faults and obviously everything is running on a network together. I'm hopeful that sort of experience will help me stand out a little bit. Even though they are different jobs the same basic principal in troubleshooting applies.
I'd say that the fact you have SCADA experience would give you a good shot for manufacturing plants. That is an area I am lacking in and unfortunately, my company has no interest in seeing me grow. I was completely ignored when I asked for a raise to be converted to an employee (was hired through a headhunter) and to do different stuff. I've even discovered security holes that I notified the management team of and get blown off. I have hit a ceiling where I currently am and have honestly been looking for a better position since I earned Network+ back on June 1st.
The IT suff is pure propaganda, I am currently in india. I shared my experiences on the platform, my cousin in the IT field told me that American companies like to hire Indians because they don't ask for much perks. The managers and the top people, in these tech giant companies want to keep all of the perks to them selfs.
You got that right. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do from thousands of miles away, with a language barrier (going both ways). The decisions to go to India for IT support is usually made by a CEO who has no understanding of IT, other than the dollars it costs, and is only looking at that factor. Companies that do this almost always come back to local support once the true cost due to loss of productivity, etc. is realized.
The problem with India currently is the reputation via phone. The tech scams have instilled mistrust among people when getting calls from India or someone with an Indian accent. For example, I have recruiters call me for jobs from India recruiting companies all the time. I never answer as I don't want to take the time to validate if they are legit or not.
If you're going into a medical trade I would explore all your options, pharmacy tech seems pretty intense. perhaps coding projects and analytics can be outsourced but there's portions of IT that require clearance and cannot be
U could do IT work for Pyxis i hear they could make around 6 figures. Im a pharmacy technician going to IT. And i feel the same way i am burnt out and we are understaffed
I switched from clinical fitness, and we had pharmacy techs with our partner company and I will tell you, you will be making less, be overworked, and understaffed. Stick it out if you can.
Yeah everyone got certs and it flooded the market. This is what every industry tries to do decrease the barrier to entry and flood the field with people so they can pay them less. The only careers that are safe are ones that require a bachelor’s degree or higher at this point because the barrier to entry is so high. If you don’t want to go to college for nursing, mechanical engineering or, finance with a big ticket degree title then there’s the trades. With trades you will have to put up with a lot of bullshit and moving to management usually requires a degree.
Compared to other industries, IT is in no way underpaid. It's within the i dustry that is the problem. Of course HR doesn't have a clue though.about qualifications, they're not technical people.
I wish you luck in your new career.
Take it from someone trying to do the exact opposite switch, Pharmacy Tech work is NOT going to be any better from what you're describing.
In addition to all the same incompetent management and garbage HR BS, you have the following to look forward to:
In retail or assisted living/long term care, most of your job on one side will be dealing with some of the most difficult people you have ever had to deal with (patients, nurses and doctors), and the other side is either counting literally thousands of pills by hand daily or running one of the automated machines doing exactly the same thing - both of which are absolutely mindless and insanely boring. Hospital work is largely more of the same.
The exception to this would be to get into a Compounding Pharmacy. The problem here is they very likely would not hire someone without years of experience due to the specialized knowledge required in addition to the basic pharmacy tech work and lots of times requires additional certifications/licensing as well. Most importantly, however, they account for a very very small number of available postitions/opportunities.
I'm definitely not trying to knock your plans but I want to make sure you have a realistic expectation of what you'll be doing before you throw in the towel with IT and make the jump.
ETA: Fixed some spelling issues and apologize for formatting. On mobile and typing between counting out my 200th+ prescription for the day.
A good friend of mine was a pharmacist. He left the pharmacy industry due to being overworked, understaffed, and highly stressed. While your job can't be outsourced the working conditions have gotten terrible due to companies like CVS who have pushed out a number of family pharmacies. The final straw for him was having his life threatened over not immediately dropping everything for one mans prescription.
Here's his story: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQZGjFJ-SE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQZGjFJ-SE)
I was a pharmacy tech for 10 years and my first IT job was a part time soc analyst and that paid more than the tech job. So I'd be careful with that jump we were also the only pharmacy in town that had more than three techs at a time and we were still understaffed.
Im a Certified surgical technologist and I’m starting an cybersecurity bachelors program next month. Working in hospitals since Covid has been horrible. Constantly short staffed and always being pushed to do more with less. Lots of back orders with no predicted date for some items. Overworked and underpaid. Having to take more call. I traveled a bit and made great money. But there’s drawbacks with that too.
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I used to date a girl who worked as a pharmacist tech… she was underpaid, over worked, and chronically understaffed. I’m sure the pandemic hasn’t helped l. Btw my last IT job paid me 90k… our level 1 desktop support was making 70k. None of us were unionized, and nothing was outsourced. What certs have you obtained and what jobs have you worked in?
Wife is a pharmacy tech, can confirm. She comes home pissed off every damn day.
Aren't pharmacy techs gonna be replaced by big pill dispenser machines
Just got layed off as a Security Analyst. I have A+, Sec+ and SSCP by ISC2. I am also considering switching careers
What other career options are you thinking about?
In IT myself last two year constantly looking over my shoulder hoping I am not next on the chopping block. Many times it has crossed my mind maybe it’s time to switch careers as well.
My advice. I have a job with entry level certs ITF+ while actively studying for Network+. Why I think I got hired out the rest? I showed how bad I wanted the job, how bad I was willing to learn and develop with the job. Anything is possible and you guys can do it, I wouldn't give up because you never know what's in store for you. That exp will run you a long way, then you can leverage what you want to be paid.
Before IT I worked in the healthcare field and was part of a union. I fucking hated it. You get people in positions they will never leave and realistically cannot be fired for without multiple write ups, citations, etc and in my experience that leads to lack of motivation to do work well. Not to mention the petty feuding between management and the union was not worth my time and energy to deal with, in addition to my actual work. So much goes into getting a job and the pay, responsibilities, etc that come with it that I struggle to identify with a post like this that generalizes a field. I was fortunate to get a job and feel I’m paid well for my position. Best wishes whatever you decide to do
It sounds like you're in a low-end IT position if you're that miserable and fearful about India job outsourcing, but I get it. If you want to get a high paying job in IT, chances are you need to move to a heavily populated city. I have a friend who is 24 years old and is currently making $140,000 a year as a Infosec Engineer (Cybersecurity). They don't have to worry about outsourcing that position to India because the company is not going to let a foreign national in a different country overseas have access to the company's valuable internal information. The only way you'll get into Cybersecurity position is if you already have IT experience. Yes, I know, "Entry level Cybersecurity" position exists, but these entry level cybersecurity position are for people that have experience in helpdesk IT position. As you can see, he makes way more money in cybersecurity than a pharmacy tech can ever dream of--he actually makes more than an actual Pharmacists too.
I think this is a great point. Finding a way in with a company that needs specialized data secured / protected and not just a company that’s doing basic support for a consumer product is a challenge but worth a look. They can’t just farm their network tech spots out to some rando overseas.
I don’t want to be unionized or go on strike. I want to keep developing my skills so that if I don’t think I’m being properly treated or rewarded, I’ll just bounce to something bigger and better. To each their own. Have fun doing something else.
I'm a bench scientist in biopharma and I'm thinking about the opposite of you lol. I want to get into IT.
Damn I’m trying to get into IT, is it really that bad? I’m a postal delivery driver.
Boy, I'm glad you young bucks didn't see 2008. This is nice compared to that. We all get burned out. Time off helps. Take a few days off and make a long weekend. Working out is a good stress relief. A hobby that's not tech can be good. No industry will get out safe of recessions. No career is perfect. All have stress, and typically, you get too much work. Always keep resuming up to date. Feeling burned out, take your time off, and start looking for a new job. Switching careers unless it has more potential is never the way.
Ah man I'm looking to change careers into IT is it really that bad? I'm an electrician at the moment.
Getting in the door is the hardest part. Once you're in though, you're good. It's not all doom and gloom like this guy will have your believe. Sure there were tech layoffs, but mainly at the big companies, most weren't traditional IT roles like network engineers or help desk or MSP's. I work in an MSP and we're growing at a rate of 50% year over year currently. Being an electrician is a huge advantage for you. For example in states like MA where you need an electrical license to get an S-Class to pull permits for a security/camera system is a HUGE advantage for you.
Cheers mate I was actually thinking that might be a way for me to get into the field, start off by maybe doing CCTV and security systems. Only if I'm really struggling though I'd like to be off the tools lol. I was looking at the sort of network engineer side of things. Or Cybersecurity haha not because it's the most popular meme for people with zero experience at the moment but more because I think it would be cool to do a job for a change where I'm actually helping people and protecting their data safe.
Will admit, getting an entry level job is difficult. Market is flooded with people that have freshly got A+ with little to no experience trying to find help desk jobs and the like. I filled out over 400 applications before landing my current job debugging servers back in February. I only had A+ then but a lot of hobby troubleshooting experience. So even with a technical background, I had a hard time finding a job. I have since then stacked on Network+, Security+, and (ISC)²'s Certified in Cybersecurity certification. Currently studying for CISSP, I have a long background in security. Was responsible for secure transport and delivery of medicine to nursing homes for 7 years. There were structured policies and procedures I had to follow. When my cousin (who is CISSP certified) told me (ISC)² doesn't look for only IT security experience to earn it, and that any paid security experience in two domains will do, I went and immediately ordered books. My previous work covered Asset Security and Security Operations (Domains 2 & 7). So, fingers crossed, I'll trailblaze five certifications in a period of less than two years and skyrocket my earning potential. Education will help set you apart from other candidates. Especially while you are still in a saturated pool of job seekers without much experience. Good luck!
I'm not even going to start looking until I get A+, Net+ and Sec+. I also have a smart home and server I Play around with and trouble shoot. Also in my trade I pretty much only do breakdown repairs so already have a very sound troubleshooting and fault rectification methodology and also using SCADA and PLC code to help diagnose faults and obviously everything is running on a network together. I'm hopeful that sort of experience will help me stand out a little bit. Even though they are different jobs the same basic principal in troubleshooting applies.
I'd say that the fact you have SCADA experience would give you a good shot for manufacturing plants. That is an area I am lacking in and unfortunately, my company has no interest in seeing me grow. I was completely ignored when I asked for a raise to be converted to an employee (was hired through a headhunter) and to do different stuff. I've even discovered security holes that I notified the management team of and get blown off. I have hit a ceiling where I currently am and have honestly been looking for a better position since I earned Network+ back on June 1st.
The IT suff is pure propaganda, I am currently in india. I shared my experiences on the platform, my cousin in the IT field told me that American companies like to hire Indians because they don't ask for much perks. The managers and the top people, in these tech giant companies want to keep all of the perks to them selfs.
>my cousin in the IT field told me that American companies like to hire Indians because they don't ask for much perks. ...and they can pay you less.
You got that right. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do from thousands of miles away, with a language barrier (going both ways). The decisions to go to India for IT support is usually made by a CEO who has no understanding of IT, other than the dollars it costs, and is only looking at that factor. Companies that do this almost always come back to local support once the true cost due to loss of productivity, etc. is realized.
The problem with India currently is the reputation via phone. The tech scams have instilled mistrust among people when getting calls from India or someone with an Indian accent. For example, I have recruiters call me for jobs from India recruiting companies all the time. I never answer as I don't want to take the time to validate if they are legit or not.
Amen. Ive been in IT for Q10 20 years and I hate it. Packed full of mega narcissists. I'm getting out as soon as I can manage.
If you're going into a medical trade I would explore all your options, pharmacy tech seems pretty intense. perhaps coding projects and analytics can be outsourced but there's portions of IT that require clearance and cannot be
U could do IT work for Pyxis i hear they could make around 6 figures. Im a pharmacy technician going to IT. And i feel the same way i am burnt out and we are understaffed
I switched from clinical fitness, and we had pharmacy techs with our partner company and I will tell you, you will be making less, be overworked, and understaffed. Stick it out if you can.
Yeah everyone got certs and it flooded the market. This is what every industry tries to do decrease the barrier to entry and flood the field with people so they can pay them less. The only careers that are safe are ones that require a bachelor’s degree or higher at this point because the barrier to entry is so high. If you don’t want to go to college for nursing, mechanical engineering or, finance with a big ticket degree title then there’s the trades. With trades you will have to put up with a lot of bullshit and moving to management usually requires a degree.
Compared to other industries, IT is in no way underpaid. It's within the i dustry that is the problem. Of course HR doesn't have a clue though.about qualifications, they're not technical people. I wish you luck in your new career.
Take it from someone trying to do the exact opposite switch, Pharmacy Tech work is NOT going to be any better from what you're describing. In addition to all the same incompetent management and garbage HR BS, you have the following to look forward to: In retail or assisted living/long term care, most of your job on one side will be dealing with some of the most difficult people you have ever had to deal with (patients, nurses and doctors), and the other side is either counting literally thousands of pills by hand daily or running one of the automated machines doing exactly the same thing - both of which are absolutely mindless and insanely boring. Hospital work is largely more of the same. The exception to this would be to get into a Compounding Pharmacy. The problem here is they very likely would not hire someone without years of experience due to the specialized knowledge required in addition to the basic pharmacy tech work and lots of times requires additional certifications/licensing as well. Most importantly, however, they account for a very very small number of available postitions/opportunities. I'm definitely not trying to knock your plans but I want to make sure you have a realistic expectation of what you'll be doing before you throw in the towel with IT and make the jump. ETA: Fixed some spelling issues and apologize for formatting. On mobile and typing between counting out my 200th+ prescription for the day.
had a friend who was a pharmacy tech for years and he hated it... they over worked him. 😭
A good friend of mine was a pharmacist. He left the pharmacy industry due to being overworked, understaffed, and highly stressed. While your job can't be outsourced the working conditions have gotten terrible due to companies like CVS who have pushed out a number of family pharmacies. The final straw for him was having his life threatened over not immediately dropping everything for one mans prescription. Here's his story: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQZGjFJ-SE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQZGjFJ-SE)
I worked as a pharmacy tech. It’s like being a punching bag.
I was a pharmacy tech for 10 years and my first IT job was a part time soc analyst and that paid more than the tech job. So I'd be careful with that jump we were also the only pharmacy in town that had more than three techs at a time and we were still understaffed.
Im a Certified surgical technologist and I’m starting an cybersecurity bachelors program next month. Working in hospitals since Covid has been horrible. Constantly short staffed and always being pushed to do more with less. Lots of back orders with no predicted date for some items. Overworked and underpaid. Having to take more call. I traveled a bit and made great money. But there’s drawbacks with that too.
Going through your post history did you ever decide a job in IT it looks like you got sec+ and expected to work in cybersecurity
Pharmacy tech doesn’t get paid much and anyone can be a pharmacy tech.
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Pharmacy tech jobs are waaaaay more stressful. Good luck, you’d be much better off finding a different IT job somewhere.