Asking Strangers on the Internet for Advice

[SpanishHeart27]

PLEASE SEE UPDATE BELOW!!!

I think it is a good idea to ask strangers on the internet for advice this time.

My old career pursuit was becoming a sign language interpreter. A lot of events happened where I found out that I have an auditory processing problem with a lot of noises. I struggle greatly under a lot of noise which interpreters need a great concentration to block those out.

So my life is on a new path. That new path concerns this: career pursuit. I have gotten my A.A. degree at college which takes care a portion of my education. I have narrowed it down to three options to look into: pharmacy technician (suggested to me by a consulting agent), veterinary technician, and translator.

I went to a consulting agent who assessed my skills. I scored high in attention-to-detail. My highest education skills are numerical (I don't like math but I do well at it), abstract, verbal, and organizing. I prefer to work alone than with people but I don't mind supervision from time-to-time.

In short:

Pros: Attention-to-detail, rigorous worker, highest skills are numerical (I don't like math but I do well at it), abstract, verbal, and organizing. I prefer to work alone but I don't mind some supervision.

Cons: I will not do anything with management, sales, chemistry based work, or with lots of people and noise.


Concerns about choices:

>Pharmacy Technician (concerns): I feel nuetral about pharmacy technician work from what I read about the field.

Some places of employment require to answer the phone (calling doctors and such). Which I have answered the phone before at a prior job but I had to make reservations and persuade someone in selling rooms (A hotel job, which I HATED trying to sell anyone anything). I was told my former manager that I deal with people best on a one-on-one situations.

My mom and boyfriend claim I have decent customer service skills from my last job.

Plus, my mom is informing me about pharmacy technician related jobs where I can fill out prescriptions without dealing with people and mail them at a company. Which this leans into my preference of working alone but I don't mind supervision from time-to-time.

As for the math portion, I have heard it is simple math in this job field. Is this true?

I have also noticed that there is little to no chemistry work involved in this job.

Also, it is quick to receive a certificate in a program at my local college. Which this means I will most likely get a job quickly.

>Veterinary technician (concerns): I don't like chemistry at all. I have taken classes for it in high school and college. I performed poorly. This job seems to not deal with people so much and I could do work that is a less noisy environment. Tasks like drawing blood or doing injections doesn't bother me at all. I love animals. If anyone knows or is experienced in this work, please tell me as much as you know.

>Translator (concerns): I have heard the words "interpreter" and "translator" used interchangeably when they are different. Translators deal with the written work, documents, etc. I have excelled in foreign languages easily and I enjoy it.
However, In an article I read, people who do best in this field socialize with a lot of people who speak the language to get better at. Socializing wears me down incredibly and I feel drained by it in a matter of a few hours.

I understand that foreign language skills take years to build over time even after training. I am honestly scared if I don't know how to put something in its proper translation and meaning (i.e. idioms) due to a lack of understanding.

I would appreciate feed back in order to make a choice.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

UPDATE:
Based on replies from this thread, I am directing my attention to translating. Pharmacy technician and veterinary technician have been ruled out. If you want to post replies on advice regarding translating still, you are welcome too.

[Decanie]

I did not fully read it, but I felt the need to comment on vet tech as a career choice:

Vet techs work with people. They are dealing with clients over the phone, they are checking in clients and taking vitals before the vet sees them, checking clients out and educating them, etc. and vets are actually quite noisy. The animals are very noisy, especially if the office does boarding, too. I would highly recommend volunteering at a vet before considering going to vet tech school. I worked in dog grooming for 5+ years and briefly at a vet's office when I was considering becoming a vet tech myself. Being a vet tech is also a VERY physically demanding job.

[SpanishHeart27]

Decanie

I did not fully read it, but I felt the need to comment on vet tech as a career choice:

Vet techs work with people. They are dealing with clients over the phone, they are checking in clients and taking vitals before the vet sees them, checking clients out and educating them, etc. and vets are actually quite noisy. The animals are very noisy, especially if the office does boarding, too. I would highly recommend volunteering at a vet before considering going to vet tech school. I worked in dog grooming for 5+ years and briefly at a vet's office when I was considering becoming a vet tech myself. Being a vet tech is also a VERY physically demanding job.

Thank you for your input. I didn't realize that this position could be noisy.

[Kokujo]

In reference to the Pharmacy Technician option you are considering, it's worth saying that even though you don't require a very in depth understanding of chemistry, you'd still be expected to have a background knowledge of it (along with various aspects of biology, physiology, and organic chemistry), as it's expected that when trained you will be able to prepare some medicinal products yourself. Not to mention it's important be be able to give concise information to clients regarding the medication provided.

If you can get an apprenticeship at a local pharmacy you'd be able to do these studies in concord with part-time work experience, which is ideal. As a science student myself I've studied along side people requiring such general knowledge in these fields as entry into similar positions.

I'm not sure exactly how much you dislike chemistry, but I felt it was worth mentioning. Heck, you might already be perfectly aware of everything I said and be alright with that level of expected knowledge, which in that case is fine. If you're unsure about it however, it's certainly worth looking further into the exact qualifications you would need to achieve. If you live in the US things might be slightly different. I can only speak from what I know about the UK requirements.

I certainly wish you the best of luck in finding a career for yourself though. Just remember that even though you're apparently not much of a people person, passion in a profession can go a long way towards easing that anxiety. You said you really enjoy languages, so I absolutely encourage you not to lose interest in a language based career path because of your worries regarding socialising with people.

[legnanellaf5]

I think you are going about this the wrong way. You shouldnt be choosing a career path based on 1 job you can get with that education, and especially if you arent even into the subject matter they are about. I understand that you have an issue that you want to work with, but you also cant just limited yourself needlessly. It isnt like your only choices are lab work.

2 out of your 3 are based in the sciences. Yet, you said you wouldnt do anything chemistry based, you dont seem to be into science much at all and didnt do well in it in school. Idk if you are just talking about chemistry or all of them, but people who do these jobs are really into sciency fields. You would need to do chemistry and biology for the technician jobs, and so if you arent good in those classes Idk why they are even an option. You may not need it in the job itself, but you will be taking classes in that subject matter because it is what your job is based in.

So then we have translator. This seems to be the only real choice here since you do good it in. But you do have to get over yourself ab it because you cant let your introversion hold you back from a career. We cant tell you if you will get jobs speaking or doing translation for companies, but you need to be ready to do either. Being drained by socializing isnt a good enough reason to count this option out. The main thing is to learn languages that are useful, learning something liek french or chinese is good for this.

[Slutty_Eddie]

SpanishHeart27

>Pharmacy Technician (concerns): I feel nuetral about pharmacy technician work from what I read about the field.

Pharmacy Tech is a rip off degree.

If you want to be a pharmacy tech, just head up to the local drug store and ask. A lot of them will let you do it for minimum wage. Hospitals require a degree or experience, but most do not.

Quote:

>Veterinary technician (concerns):

If you can't watch at old dog die, then it's not for you.

Quote:

Translator (concerns In an article I read, people who do best in this field socialize with a lot of people who speak the language to get better at. Socializing wears me down incredibly and I feel drained by it in a matter of a few hours.

Ehh, socializing is a bad word. Learning a foreign language is about explaining yourself. The ultimate 2nd language is if you can communicate abstract ideas with your new language.

Mere socializing is not the right word. It's more like, discussing the latest soccer game. Or bands, or whatever that excites you.

Anyways, if you don't want to socialize with people, learn German or the Nordic languages. Look for a culture that you fit into. I mean, Japanese would be a terrible choice for you, since it's all about the group dynamic and you'd be expected to socializing with your co-workers for 16 hours a day. But German, where you are very direct and brief, might be better.

[Desi the fuzzy fluffhead]

I work at a an animal hospital and it's noisy quite often.
Animals love talking.
and then there's screaming, whimpering, growling, hissing.

The best thing is that you may be dealing with people, but not all the time, this probably depends on the clinic as well, but it's not that much.

Another thing to consider with that is that you're not going to be making money.

And it's going to be sad.
You may end up adopting a few animals. (A lot of people do.)


One thing you can do is see if you can get a job as a vet assistant. You'll be doing almost everything a tech would do.

[SpanishHeart27]

Kokujo

In reference to the Pharmacy Technician option you are considering, it's worth saying that even though you don't require a very in depth understanding of chemistry, you'd still be expected to have a background knowledge of it (along with various aspects of biology, physiology, and organic chemistry), as it's expected that when trained you will be able to prepare some medicinal products yourself. Not to mention it's important be be able to give concise information to clients regarding the medication provided.

If you can get an apprenticeship at a local pharmacy you'd be able to do these studies in concord with part-time work experience, which is ideal. As a science student myself I've studied along side people requiring such general knowledge in these fields as entry into similar positions.

I'm not sure exactly how much you dislike chemistry, but I felt it was worth mentioning. Heck, you might already be perfectly aware of everything I said and be alright with that level of expected knowledge, which in that case is fine. If you're unsure about it however, it's certainly worth looking further into the exact qualifications you would need to achieve. If you live in the US things might be slightly different. I can only speak from what I know about the UK requirements.

I certainly wish you the best of luck in finding a career for yourself though. Just remember that even though you're apparently not much of a people person, passion in a profession can go a long way towards easing that anxiety. You said you really enjoy languages, so I absolutely encourage you not to lose interest in a language based career path because of your worries regarding socialising with people.

You have a point in regards to the pharmacy tech. That isn't the place for me. I wanted to confirm to not take the wrong path.

Yes, I am not much of a people person. It doesn't mean I am unlikable. A lot of people say I am kind, helpful, and upbeat. It just takes a lot of energy to keep it going.

I remember reading a book by Susan Cain called Quiet: The Power of Introverts where there was a chapter about a professor. He was well-liked by his students. He didn't get the down time he needed to recharge and became ill. Later, he made a schedule where he could have down time (i.e. he would escape to a bathroom stall just to regain his composure).

The best thing I can do is make something like a scheduled down time. Possibly attend a therapy or something of the like to cope with my discomfort of socialising. I need to find accommodations in order to succeed.

Thank you so much for your advice. This helps me onto the right track.

[SpanishHeart27]

legnanellaf5

I think you are going about this the wrong way. You shouldnt be choosing a career path based on 1 job you can get with that education, and especially if you arent even into the subject matter they are about. I understand that you have an issue that you want to work with, but you also cant just limited yourself needlessly. It isnt like your only choices are lab work.

2 out of your 3 are based in the sciences. Yet, you said you wouldnt do anything chemistry based, you dont seem to be into science much at all and didnt do well in it in school. Idk if you are just talking about chemistry or all of them, but people who do these jobs are really into sciency fields. You would need to do chemistry and biology for the technician jobs, and so if you arent good in those classes Idk why they are even an option. You may not need it in the job itself, but you will be taking classes in that subject matter because it is what your job is based in.

So then we have translator. This seems to be the only real choice here since you do good it in. But you do have to get over yourself ab it because you cant let your introversion hold you back from a career. We cant tell you if you will get jobs speaking or doing translation for companies, but you need to be ready to do either. Being drained by socializing isnt a good enough reason to count this option out. The main thing is to learn languages that are useful, learning something liek french or chinese is good for this.

When I referred to events in my post, one of them was confusion about working with people. I have been given down right negative feedback (even from people who I thought were friends) where it demolished a lot of my confidence. Even an identity crisis about something else that happened to me. I know now that I am rebuilding what took a hard hit.

I shouldn't give up foreign languages because of that. You're right. The best thing I can do is learn how to cope with people. In my case, I am a sensitive person. I have wrestled with this a lot of my life. At my prior job working at the hotel, one of the guests called me "incompetent" and reviewed me that I should get fired even though I was helping him with everything. I cried so hard over this and it took me weeks to get over it. Then again, that was sales and customer service. Probably not even close to what a translator would work on.

I have been sensitive since I was young. I would cry at the drop of a hat. I can talk to a therapist and see about working this out where I am not as sensitive and build confidence in working with people better.

Thank you for your advice.

[SpanishHeart27]

Slutty_Eddie

SpanishHeart27

>Pharmacy Technician (concerns): I feel nuetral about pharmacy technician work from what I read about the field.

Pharmacy Tech is a rip off degree.

If you want to be a pharmacy tech, just head up to the local drug store and ask. A lot of them will let you do it for minimum wage. Hospitals require a degree or experience, but most do not.

Quote:

>Veterinary technician (concerns):

If you can't watch at old dog die, then it's not for you.

Quote:

Translator (concerns In an article I read, people who do best in this field socialize with a lot of people who speak the language to get better at. Socializing wears me down incredibly and I feel drained by it in a matter of a few hours.

Ehh, socializing is a bad word. Learning a foreign language is about explaining yourself. The ultimate 2nd language is if you can communicate abstract ideas with your new language.

Mere socializing is not the right word. It's more like, discussing the latest soccer game. Or bands, or whatever that excites you.

Anyways, if you don't want to socialize with people, learn German or the Nordic languages. Look for a culture that you fit into. I mean, Japanese would be a terrible choice for you, since it's all about the group dynamic and you'd be expected to socializing with your co-workers for 16 hours a day. But German, where you are very direct and brief, might be better.

That eliminates Pharmacy Tech.

Watching an old dog die would tear me up but I would accept it as a part of life. I would eliminate that one too. For the fact of chemistry and that I would probably get too attached, in regards to my sensitive side.

As I have posted to legnanellaf5:

"When I referred to events in my post, one of them was confusion about working with people. I have been given down right negative feedback (even from people who I thought were friends) where it demolished a lot of my confidence. Even an identity crisis about something else that happened to me. I know now that I am rebuilding what took a hard hit.

I shouldn't give up foreign languages because of that. You're right. The best thing I can do is learn how to cope with people. In my case, I am a sensitive person. I have wrestled with this a lot of my life. At my prior job working at the hotel, one of the guests called me 'incompetent' and reviewed me that I should get fired even though I was helping him with everything. I cried so hard over this and it took me weeks to get over it. Then again, that was sales and customer service. Probably not even close to what a translator would work on.

I have been sensitive since I was young. I would cry at the drop of a hat. I can talk to a therapist and see about working this out where I am not as sensitive and build confidence in working with people better."

May be it is an anxiety issue (rebuilding my career pursuit and all), when it comes to translating, I could specialize my work for medical, law, business, or other terminology. It is possible that the socializing aspect is in more of the range of the interpreter.

You recommended German and Nordic languages? They are direct languages? Please elaborate on this. I am interested.

The most experience I have are in Spanish (+ 5 years), Japanese (~1 year), and ASL (about 1 year but I ruled this one out due to it being an interpreter role).

Thank you for taking you time to respond.

[SpanishHeart27]

Desi the fuzzy fluffhead

I work at a an animal hospital and it's noisy quite often.
Animals love talking.
and then there's screaming, whimpering, growling, hissing.

The best thing is that you may be dealing with people, but not all the time, this probably depends on the clinic as well, but it's not that much.

Another thing to consider with that is that you're not going to be making money.

And it's going to be sad.
You may end up adopting a few animals. (A lot of people do.)


One thing you can do is see if you can get a job as a vet assistant. You'll be doing almost everything a tech would do.

Yeah, it turns out to be a noisy environment.

It isn't only money that I am interested in. I want to be happy with what I want pursue. Based on these replies I have been getting back to users on Gaia, I am taking my direction into translating and working out things where I can reach my goal to succeed.

Thank you so much for your input.

I admit that I want to adopt from a shelter when I can afford pets. My family and I adopted two cats off the streets and we love them so much.

[Slutty_Eddie]

SpanishHeart27

[You recommended German and Nordic languages? They are direct languages? Please elaborate on this. I am interested.

The languages themselves are not direct, the culture around the language is very direct. You don't usually make a lot of small talk, they just launch into whatever they want.

[SpanishHeart27]

Slutty_Eddie

SpanishHeart27

[You recommended German and Nordic languages? They are direct languages? Please elaborate on this. I am interested.

The languages themselves are not direct, the culture around the language is very direct. You don't usually make a lot of small talk, they just launch into whatever they want.

I will look into this. Thank you.