For Michelle, what started as a curiosity has now led to her making double what she made before and she’s earning high praise from her manager. Michelle had been working in home healthcare, making only $8 an hour, before deciding to enroll in pharmacy technician training at Blue Ridge Community College.
“When I was working in home health, I was always curious about the medicines patients were taking and why they needed them,” Michelle said. “Blue Ridge Community College sends out program books in the mail. I saw the pharm tech program, so I called and that’s when they told me all the information.”
When Michelle enrolled in the pharm tech training program at BRCC, she was still working full-time. To work with her schedule, she only had class one a week, from 7 to 9 p.m., over the course of 12 weeks. Fortunately, she received a lot of support, both emotionally and financially, as she went through the program.
“The teacher was very nice. He was always asking if I needed help, if there was something specific I was having trouble with – the class went by pretty fast,” she said. “And April [FastForward Career Coach] was very good with the whole process: signing up to take the test, helping to find a job and reaching out after I completed the program.”
Michelle appreciated the educational and financial support she received from FastForward. She only ended up paying $25 out of her own pocket, and the test to get her credential was also covered – if she passed. And she did.
Her typical day now finds her ringing up customers at the register, making sure their medicines are ready, counting pills, filling prescriptions, ensuring accuracy with the drugs and amounts, inputting customer’s prescriptions and getting the orders in the queue.
Her manager reached out to Blue Ridge Community College and said Michelle was an excellent employee. When we told her about the kind words from her manager, Michelle says it makes her feel good to hear such positive sentiments from her manager in her new career.
“With my other job, the only positive thing I can say was that they were flexible with hours, but they didn’t offer insurance or paid time off. Now, I am getting over 40 hours if I need to and I get paid time off,” she said. “I’m glad that I took that class, because I am making double what I was making before enrolling in FastForward.”
If you’re interested in landing a life-changing career like Michelle, reach out to your local FastForward Career Coach today to get started.