K.G.
I am so sorry for your loss...life is one day at a time...don't rush things.
I am thinking of taking online courses to continue my education so that part I can't answer to but I was a pharmacy tech for 9 years so I can impart some insight into that field.
I found Pharmacy teching to be a rewarding career. I would still be doing it if it paid better. You can work at hospitals, mail order pharmacies, and retail pharmacies. You will gather the patient info, input that info into the computer, deal with insurance denials as they occur...(quite regularly)..., call MD offices to verify perscriptions if directions are ambiguous or illegiable, dispense the medications as perscribed, label the bottles, the pharmacist will check that you did your job right and verify the quanity and the directions, then you will bag the perscription and sell it at the register...if there is no cashier to do so...and you will at times offer help with questions as long as those questions are not too technical. You may be in charge of ordering materials, restocking shelves, organizing stock, cleaning the pharmacy, mini audits, etc. I loved the work and I still meet former customers who tell me how much I am missed. I graduated from Nursing school 2 years ago and am now an RN at a local hospital. My suggestion to you is that if you can afford it, do both skills online, as that way if you can't find a job in one field you may have better luck in the other. You may even be able to do the medical billing from home which maybe a plus for that field. Medical Transcribing is also a good field to get into as they pay very well and you can do that from home in most cases.
Good Luck with whatever road you choose. Remember it is never to late to go to school. I was 36 when I went back to get my degree in Nursing. I have 4 children, 2 dogs, and a wonderful husband to help me get through. It was hard but I wouldn't change a thing and the time I spent at school is a dim memory for the kids. And that was only 2 years ago!!!
God Bless,
K.