Two friends of mine recently had a baby and the hospital sent home all kinds of instructional packets, all of which included product sample, advertising materials, etc. One item they found was this advertisement for the U.S. Career Institute’s program to become a medical claims processor who works from home. The ad plays on the guilt mothers often still have about working outside the home:
I don’t have a problem, in and of itself, with suggesting that a job provides options for parents who want to be home full-time but also work. Given the fact that women still bear the primary responsibility for childcare even though most want or need to provide financial support to the family, I’m sure many women (and for that matter, a lot of men) would find them appealing (in theory, anyway; I have my doubts about a lot of the “work at home and make a gazillion dollars a week!” pitches, but I have no knowledge of this one in particular).
What bothers me is the way the ad is written to not just say, “Hey, if you are staying home with the kids but would like to work for pay as well, this is a great opportunity.” Instead, the blaring headline “I’m glad you work at home Mommy” ties into the idea that children desperately want their moms (but apparently not dads) to stay home with them, and moms who do so are being the best moms. Even among women who value their careers and always planned to return to the paid workforce, many are surprised by how much guilt they feel when they do so. They may feel guilty for leaving their child with another childcare provider, but if they actually look forward to going back to work and are excited or relieved to be there, they often feel guilty for that, too. This is a burden of guilt that new fathers do not generally share; while they may wish they could be home more with their children, they usually don’t express guilt for not doing so, largely because by working outside the home, they are actually fulfilling the normative role of what a good father does, whereas working outside the home, particularly when children are young, it incompatible with ideals of good mothering.
On the very bottom of pg. 2 it does say, “USCI is nationally accredited and approved for veterans’ education benefits!” That’s an interesting line, since the majority of people would would qualify for veterans’ educational benefits would be men (for instance, women currently make up only 15.5% of the U.S. Army). There are other elements on the brochure that seem gender-neutral — being your own boss, setting your own hours, increasing job opportunities in the field — but that line seems to be the one part that is more tailored to a male audience.
On an unrelated topic, I love the totally meaningless graph at the top right of the 2nd page: look! This one column is way bigger than the others! It is entirely lacking in any useful information — how are they defining “growth”? What is 0% referring to? What level of growth are we talking about here? For all we know, the health/medical services bar could indicated 0.000001% growth.
And just out of interest, do any of you have any experience with these types of jobs? Did it live up to the claims (particularly flexibility and the amount of money you can make)?
Comments 32
Csol — July 22, 2010
My future mother-in-law owns her own medical billing company and she makes good money. But she has 20 women under her. She only hires those with medical billing degrees from the local community college and pays them about $9 or $10 an hour.
MelissaJane — July 22, 2010
While I know nothing about this kind of job, I do work from home and I do have small children. It's a fallacy to think that one can do any kind of absorbing work (as I am sure this would be) without childcare. I've always had a nanny for the hours that I work, and as my kids have gotten older, it's become necessary for her to have them out of the house as much as possible. It's hard to explain to the three year olds that they can't have my attention for some hours of the day, when they are my major focus the rest of the time.
I mention this because that $40K a year, presumably for full time work, sounds a lot better if you're assuming that there are no childcare costs offsetting the income.
I love working at home, and I do feel more connected to my kids than I do when I'm working outside the home. But it's not like I hang out with them all day; if you brought your kids to the office, you couldn't focus on them all day either and still expect to work, and working from home is no different.
Chrys — July 22, 2010
I tutor a woman who does not have a college degree or associates degree (but is working towards getting one) who does medical coding and billing for other people. She says she typically makes $13-18 an hour. I don't know how many hours per week she works, though. She DOES have completed coursework for specific classes relative to her field.
She wants to start her own business working out of her home doing what she does now. She has the contacts to do it, but can't legally do it (she says) until she completes some additional course work or gets certified or something. I forget exactly what.
Anyway, the "work from home while caring for your kids" isn't going to happen unless, I don't know, you drug your kids or something to keep them quiet. But $10-20 an hour is in line for what my student has made in the past. But, again, I don't know how many hours one would work at a job.
How can you argue with Look! Growth!, though? It's growth! Amazing! There's even a circle around "growth"!
Alex — July 22, 2010
In addition to all the other blatant offensive, I found "the prestige of working for doctors" a bit of an off-the-wall reason to want a job, as if working for doctors makes their "prestige" rub off on you.
mom2gcnj — July 22, 2010
"Even among women who value their careers and always planned to return to the paid workforce, many are surprised by how much guilt they feel when they do so. They may feel guilty for leaving their child with another childcare provider, but if they actually look forward to going back to work and are excited or relieved to be there, they often feel guilty for that, too."
"Many [new moms] are surprised by how much guilt they feel" when they leave their infants in the care of others because they have never experienced the evolutionary driven cocktail of hormones that scream to many if not most mothers - "I need to be with my baby!!!!". Mommy guilt, in this most basic form, is not just a cultural construct. No matter how hard we try to intellectualize ourselves out of it, we are primates. As such, evolution has not designed us to readily leave our infants behind - any more than it has designed our infants to be left behind. There are biologically based reasons it is so hard.
Mo — July 22, 2010
And if it's not a larger quality company you run the risk of having quotas for the work you do as well as being classified as an "Independent contractor" rather than a regular employee, which is a nightmare for taxes. Most large medical facilities and health insurance plans will be contracted with a normal type of claims processing company or have their own departments.
Luna — July 22, 2010
And don't forget the guilt SAHMs have for not contributing any income to the family coffers. There are LOTS of people out there who are quick to judge the SAHMs as lazy (HA!) because they don't have an income.
ALC — July 22, 2010
Spouses are eligible for veterans' education benefits.
Amadi — July 22, 2010
I think it's interesting that this is given to all people giving birth in this hospital. It's telling that even a woman with a professional career would be advertised to in this way. "You're a lawyer, but stop that, stay home with your baby and take this training (in your nonexistent new parent spare time) which guarantees you absolutely nothing!" The presumptuousness of it is really appalling.
The ethical matter of the hospital handing out packets that include advertising and sample products could be fodder for a whole other post, as well.
Christie Ward — July 22, 2010
Note that re: veteran's benefits, if you are a member of the Armed Forces on August 1, 2009, the Department of Defense (DoD) may offer you the opportunity to transfer benefits to your spouse or dependent children under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill may not be used at vocational and technical schools, vocational flight schools, correspondence schools, or for training on-the-job. It may be used only at an institution of higher learning and includes graduate and undergraduate degrees, and vocational/technical training offered at that institution.
I'd be very surprised, though, if this sort of job offer REALLY quialifies for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, because it's vocational training, not a traditional degree plan.
Blackbird — July 22, 2010
Here's a link to a Brain, Child article about work-at-home jobs for parents:
http://www.brainchildmag.com/essays/summer2008_schultz.asp
antigone — July 22, 2010
I know several people who got medical coding and billing degrees and were unable to find jobs. Any jobs, not just work at home. Not this particular company, but I see most of these things as scams. Medical coding and billing is seen as a way to get into the lucrative medical field without having to deal with gross or scary stuff. A lot of people take the bait thinking they'll be a good job in it for them, and ultimately the supply exceeds demand and most job openings are not going to go to person #1295 out of coding and billing school but someone with experience in the field.
Meems — July 22, 2010
I grew up with a mother who worked from home, though not in medical billing, but rather running a therapy referral service (through a state organization). One of the major problems for her was that, because she worked at home, she was always on call - her work phone rang during dinner, in the middle of the night, when my brother or I had needed homework help...
It was very difficult to separate out work and personal time because there was no physical separation. I know I felt as though it would have been better for her to have just been in an office; even though she was physically home, she wasn't available to us, and it was constantly frustrating.
Leslie — July 26, 2010
I think the point of the ads is to give stay at home parents (moms and dads) an educational option that would allow parents to work from home. I know plenty of people who have been been sucessful working as medical coders, billers and transcriptionists from home. As a mom who works from home full time, I appreciate that I can spend time with my kids and have a flexible, full-time job at home.
USCI is approved for VA Military Education Benefits in addition to being affiliated with DANTES. In addition, students can use MyCAA funds to pay for USCI's education. Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) funds help eligible military spouses pay for career training and certification through approved schools like U.S. Career Institute.