Two Completely Different Questions

Small Time Crooked

Okeyday, since you guys are great at this helping and advising thing;

1.) I'm looking into taking a 10 week pharmacy technician course. I have no college background and a GED certificate, are there any jobs for me in this market realistically? It just sounds kinda like the type of job I'd need some more schooling than 10 weeks for.

2.) My more "important" question, I suppose: I'm a local performer rapper in my area (Illinois, Northwest Suburbs). I was wondering if anyone has information that could help me better promote myself? I currently work under contract with a very new and very small time record label and while that helps a bit I'd like to start expanding my fan base on my own. I do flyers and all that jazzfunkery locally. Is there something I'm missing to better advertise my moniker?

BoomShake

Don't know anything about 1

2) internet, Internet, INTERNET.
Get yourself up on Twitter and Facebook and a website. Create a wikipedia page; this is the first place many people will go to look up an artist they've just heard about. Interact with fans. Interact with other local artists and build connections. Share samples or free tracks - People are infinitely more likely to click a link than they are to do anything a physical flyer says.

NODe

1) You just need to make sure that whatever course you're doing is going to be considered valid by people doing the hiring. My experience is with lab technicians in Canada, but that's a one year course and some private labs hire "technicians" with no specific schooling in that field because you really don't need much training for a certain tier of work.
So, yeah, it's possible that 10 weeks is a reasonable training time for pharmacy technician.

Ruckus

I worked as a "pharmacy technician" in Canada with little or no training, definitely nothing formal. Especially in small towns, if you can read, count, and you've never been convicted of being in possession of narcotics or theft, you're qualified to be a pharmacy tech.

NODe

That makes sense....you should probably look in to whether or not you even need the 10 week course, unless it's a stepping stone to further education.

Small Time Crooked

Ah ha! Thanks BoomShake, I've already set up a bunch of different networking sites that all intertwine together somehow, I'ma start working on my Wikipedia page soon enough. Only problem I have about sharing free tracks is my manager won't lemme put things up on the internet yet so I've kinda halted my networking to a standstill. I should update the link in my signature because that's all very sophomoric music from a year ago.

NODe and Ruckus, I'm going to look into it. I'm kinda sure that a little bit of education is a prerequisite for a pharm tech position in the States, since it seems like every time I've looked into the job they have "are you certified?" as an inquiry on their questionnaires. My ma kinda threw the thought my way because I've always had a penchant for reciting chemical names verbatim.

Thanks a bunch homeboys! You make Small Time a very happy, happy man.

Daenris

at least 6 years ago when I got my pharmacy tech license in Illinois, all that was required was like $40, a high school diplomma (my bachelor's was apparently not enough to convince them I had graduated high school), and a form that you mailed in. A few weeks later they mailed back my license certificate.