The health care industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S. for almost two decades, and there is no sign of a slowdown. When you consider demographic factors such as the baby boomer generation continuing to age, and the Affordable Care Act is projected to give nearly 20 million Americans access to the health care system, together with the fact that pharmaceutical industry is constantly developing new and more effective medications, continued growth in the health care industry is a given.Positions for pharmacy technicians are expected to increase by 32 percent between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means that around 100,000 new jobs will be added by 2020 to the 350,000 already employed as pharmacy techs in 2012.Pharmacy Technician TrainingA high school diploma is generally required to become a pharmacy technician, and employers typically prefer candidates with some post-secondary education, ideally a pharmacy technician certificate. A few employers will hire inexperienced persons and train on the job, but most pharmacists prefer to hire pharmacy techs who have already been through a formal training program.The training programs can be found at vocational schools and community colleges, many with online education options. These programs typically take six to 12 months and include classes in the math used in pharmacies, recordkeeping and bookkeeping, dispensing medications, sanitation and safety, as well as pharmacy law. The technicians are required to learn the names, actions, uses and doses of common medications.Certification and LicensingCertification is attestation to your skills and knowledge in pharmacy technology by an independent third party organization. Two national organizations offer pharmacy tech certification: The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board and the National Healthcareer Association. Both certifications require graduating from an accredited training program and passing a comprehensive exam covering all aspects of pharmacy technology.Nearly all states require some form of licensing or registration for pharmacy technicians. A few states just require a high school diploma and a background check for registration; other states require graduation from a formal training program, a background check and passing a comprehensive exam to become licensed as a pharmacy tech.Pharmacy Tech Pay and ProspectsThe BLS reports that pharmacy technicians earned a median salary of $29,320 in 2012. Those employed at outpatient care centers earned the most, taking home an average salary of $38,750 in 2012. Those, who work in doctor’s offices and at college and university health centers are also on the high end of the pay scale, both averaging around $37,000. Techs working for department stores are at the lower end of the salary scale, only averaging $27,750 in 2012.The sky is the limit in terms of career advancement for pharmacy techs. Given the great demand for pharmacy techs, pharmacists are going to be looking out for up-and-comers to promote to more responsible position. Some technicians enjoy working in the industry so much they decide to go back to school to become a pharmacist. Earning your Pharm.D.would likely requires at least an additional five to six years of education, but your reward is a tripling of your earning power (pharmacist median salary of $116,670 in 2012).
Become a Pharmacy Technician and Join the Booming Health Care Industry
Investment Tips Based on Moon Sign for Diwali 2010
“Diwali” (Deepavali) will be celebrated in India on the 5th November 2010 (Vikram Samvat 2067). The day of Diwali is auspicious for every Hindu but it is more important for business and business community. People take various investment decisions on this day. The attempt of this article is to help investors take informed investment decisions based on their Moon signs.Aries:Arians should avoid taking rash decisions concerning investment. Speculation should be avoided generally. Property investment may give positive results. Special care should be taken before entering into any contract and signing any document. Some Arians may gain from abroad. Investment in shares of good companies may also be considered.Taurus:Natives of Taurus should exercise extreme caution while investing in property. It may be advisable to go through the history of land or builder before taking any investment decision. There may be gains from stocks if investors go by fundamentals. Greed should be avoided and investment should be made on sound analysis. Ideal investment may be government bonds, IPO’s and mutual funds. Risk free investment is better option.Gemini:The Gemini people may invest in property for long-term for real gains. If the idea is to gain quickly, this may become a cause for loss. The natives are advised to remain careful while taking loans. They may fall into some kind of debt trap if prudence is not exercised in managing debts and investments. The focus of investment should be on the shares of good companies. Investment in gold may also payoff in the long run.Cancer:Speculative gain is possible from stock market if it is done with caution. Investment should be made on good companies. Care is necessary for investment in property. It is not wise to be overambitious with respect to future price rise of property. Shares or mutual funds may be good option. Gossip and hearsay should be avoided while taking investment decision. Investment in business may also prove to be a good option.Leo:Goddess of fortune seems to be kind this year to Leos. Possibility of gain exists in shares, stocks, property and the like. The stars of fortune are smiling and if such fortune is backed by intelligent plans and investment, good money can be made. However, it will be necessary to control nerves and be watchful. Some calculated risks can be taken for extra advantage.Virgo:If investment has been made in property, the projects may get delayed. Caution should be taken while making new investment in property. Read the agreements before signing them to find the finer points. Informed investment in stock market, fixed deposits, government bonds and interest bearing securities are better options. In short, it is important to minimize risks.Libra:Librans should be extra careful while investing in property. Gains can however be made in commodities market and share market. Planned investment will be better than speculation. Investment in gold may also be done for long-term gains. For investment of any kind, a proper survey of the situation will be beneficial. Possibility of gains from foreign source also exists.Scorpio:The time is very good for those who are planning to buy property for personal use. Gains from old property or ancestral property are indicated. Share investment may also give good returns. Stars are favorable with respect to investment right now. However, some calculated risks may be necessary to convert the advantage into material gains. Investment in gold and ornaments can be made for risk free investment.Sagittarius:Extreme caution should be exercised in taking investment decisions. It is better to make efforts for maximizing earnings. Invest the hard-earned money in safe instruments like Government bonds, securities, insurance and mutual funds. It is better to avoid speculative investment. Property investment should also be done with due prudence. It is better to seek expert opinion regarding projects in which investment is to be done.Capricorn:Time is good for several types of investment. Money can be made from almost every investment, but, investment should not be done with a blind eye. Caution should be exercised with respect to property investments. Delay in delivery of projects may become a matter of concern. There may be some issues with respect to financial liquidity as well. Unnecessary expenses need to be curbed.Aquarius:Money can be made from stock market. Speculation and short-term investment may also payoff well. However, informed investment is advisable. Investment in property may also give good returns. Gains from abroad are also indicated. Stars are favorable right now and prudent investments may become rewarding. Yet, caution is advisable while signing contracts and in finalizing deals for long-term.Pisces:There may be some career-related issues for natives. Such issues can be overcome with sustained and intelligent efforts. Risky decisions with respect to career and property investment should be avoided. It is better to avoid speculation. Investment in government bonds, securities and fixed deposits may be good investment instruments. Investment in gold can also be made.
Coupling Inbound Marketing With Your Online Reputation Management
Unlike how it was in the past, marketing has changed dramatically over the years. Although traditional marketing still exists and is very important to the overall process, inbound marketing is essential at this point and pairing it with your increased reputation is a natural choice.Having a fresh, novel approach to marketingWith traditional marketing, you have to go after your customers. You have to educate them about what they want and need and you have to convince them that you have what they cannot live without. That often involves a lot of interrupting and it often leaves the customer (or potential customer) feeling irritated and put upon. On the other hand, more modern marketing (inbound marketing) takes the opposite approach in many ways. First of all, with inbound marketing, you don’t go after your customers and potential customers. You get your customers to come to you. Because of that approach, those customers and potential customers are prescreened and prequalified. You don’t have any need to twist their arms. They come to you willingly and happily.Another positive feature of inbound marketing is that you will not have to eat up most of your budget to accomplish your goals. Inbound marketing costs very little. With traditional marketing, in all likelihood, you would have been forced to spend a great deal of money in order to accomplish what you set out to do. Because of that, if you owned a small or even medium-size company, you would have had a difficult time competing with larger companies from a marketing perspective. Of course, what follows that is your professional reputation. The more successful you are at causing a stir and getting people to know you and to eventually buy your offerings (after they have believed in your credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise), the better your professional reputation will become.Marketing to the appropriate peopleWhen it comes to your marketing efforts for your business, it is important to choose the most appropriate target audience possible. Your target audience must be interested in what you have to say and in what you can do for them. They must also want to be in the market to buy what you are selling and to feel that you are the best person from whom to buy that particular product and/or service. Additionally, the usual traditional (outbound) marketing approach may no longer work for you. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that when it comes to outbound marketing efforts, the target audience has gotten very clever about thwarting your efforts. They can block your advertisements, they can put themselves on a “Do Not Call” list, etc. In other words, they have ways of avoiding you entirely.On the other hand, inbound marketing can be extremely effective and, if you do it correctly, your target audience members may not even be aware that you are trying to sell them anything at all (not even at some point in the future). When it comes to inbound marketing, the approach that the technique takes is concentrating on drawing people, converting prospects to eventual customers, closing the sale, and satisfying those customers on a long-term (or permanent) basis. Inbound marketing creates solid, enduring relationships that last for very long time and are mutually beneficial. Those relationships create a very positive feeling between the other people and you. Again, along with successfully marketing your brand, your reputation will also get a boost and it will become stronger and stronger. Inbound marketing will general more online traffic, it will create new leads, and it will allow you to ultimately increase your revenue.How do you ensure that your inbound marketing campaign is successful?The best way to ensure that your inbound marketing campaign is successful is by writing and posting top-notch content. You want to share content that is well written, innovative, insightful, and amazing to the point where other people feel compelled to share it with people they know and trust. If your content was done correctly, it will answer all of your target audience’s questions (even the ones that they haven’t asked yet). In fact, you want them to seek the answers automatically from you. If you can get them to that point, you will be good to go.Making loyal customers from target audience membersWhen it comes to the nature and approach of inbound marketing, it is important to understand that the relationship and interactions between human beings is at the heart of it. Your target audience members are critical to your professional success; however, on some level, it is even more critical that you create loyal customers who will stick with you for a very long time to come. If you can create brand champions, you won’t have anything to worry about.ConclusionUsing inbound marketing to help boost your professional reputation is a brilliant thing to do. Inbound marketing is a proven, successful, intelligent approach to marketing your brand. It is very easy to learn how to use it and it is extremely effective. You will start to see positive results within a relatively short amount of time. Outbound marketing is an approach that interrupts the target audience members to get your point across. It is a hard approach and, although it works well when paired with inbound marketing, it often doesn’t work so well by itself. On the other hand, inbound marketing has tremendous benefits for everyone involved (on both sides of the fence).