Yup, I hear its like 9 months unpaid FT.. Same as paying for a degree I guess. Plus, salary for an admin is supposedly 70-120k which is pretty decent for a 40hr week.
Not sure what the catch is...
I know very little about LNHA in NJ. But the one thing I could tell you is that the value of a license in NJ in much less than in NY. This results in lower salaries. The obvious reason is that since it is so easy to get it in NJ, there is a larger pool of people qualified. In addition, starting off, people assume you know much less since the schooling and internship is much less.
Now if you want to know about getting a license in NY, then I could try to provide info.
BTW, I'm not sure why it seems like NHA is such a great career. Yes, there is potential if you are on top of your game, but it is the same with any job. Maybe people think that it is easy to get a license. That may be the case in NJ/PA/IL but in NY, you are looking at a minimum of a year of internship (don't get paid) where more often than not they take full advantage of you and you work like a dog. Knowing several people that went through the program, very often the preceptor has little time for you so even after the internship, you don't know much. Besides for the year internship, you also have to take 5 courses, at about $1000/course, of which three of them have to be completed beforehand. And then you also have to find placement (not an easy feat) and get approval from the DOH, which could also take time. The only plus side is that any accredited undergrad degree is enough to be part of the program (besides the 5 courses, etc). So if one has an accredited BTL, then they will save a little time. But even assuming a guy has a degree, he is still looking at about 2 years from the time he starts the 5 courses, finds placement, gets approval, takes the exam, and gets licensed (takes another few months for them to give you a license).
Furthermore, while I do know one administrator that may work around 40 hours a week, that is not the norm (and usually they are in small facility, where the salaries are very small). While I admit I'm more the extreme, aside from working normal hours, I also go back into work once or twice a week for the evening and night shifts (followed by a full day of work). I also go in a few Sundays each month, and on call basically 24/7. Again, this is an extreme (I hope) but there is no way the average administrator works just 40 hours/week and get a nice salary. Dream on.
