[WDWpixieRN]

Originally Posted by nurseguy_2005

If you start a career later in life, doesnt that mean you have to work longer? I am only 24 but thinking of changing my career and going back to school....so i got about a yr or less of pre reqs then down time to wait to get accepted plus 2 yrs of nursing school
I am an IT guy and it amazes me how many IT ppl are in this forum

If you're in IT, I imagine you have some idea about why some of the IT ppl are in this forum and looking for alternative career paths!

Secondly, there was a very interesting article in Reader's Digest a month or so ago about how there's going to be a employee shortage -- period -- in a few years. Not just necessarily in healthcare. And that most of us will be working well into our 70's and 80's. Some voluntarily; others because they will have to financially.

And lastly, as I understood it, the age to become a Social Security recipient is creeping upwards. Which means that no longer will some of us be eligible to receive that wonderful retirement stipend at 62 or 65! And as was also pointed out, there's very few people who have the longevity in their careers or company that our parents (at least for the boomers) had....I've put in my 5+ years in my current company. I'm vested. The money goes with when I (finally) start an RN program and I'm ready to move on. At 50, I anticipate I'll be working until I'm at least 70 or so anyway (God and my health willing). Might as well find something I'll enjoy with some job flexibility. And will hopefully give me a sense of fulfillment at the end of the day. Heaven knows IT isn't doing that for me.

[2bnurseguy_2005]

Yeah I was neieve I guess to think that one who starts a new career late in life has to work longer. I am just trying to get a firm grasp of 401k
But I realize how many IT ppl are here and I think it's the same reason I am thinking of leaving IT..I wish everyone on here much success and luck!!


It blows me away when I read online articles about the supposed best jobs of 2006 and IT jobs are listed

[wincha]

Originally Posted by nurseguy_2005

Yeah I was neieve I guess to think that one who starts a new career late in life has to work longer. I am just trying to get a firm grasp of 401k
But I realize how many IT ppl are here and I think it's the same reason I am thinking of leaving IT..I wish everyone on here much success and luck!!


It blows me away when I read online articles about the supposed best jobs of 2006 and IT jobs are listed

advice i never expected ss to be around when i retire. even though i put money into it. put the maximum amount in your 401k as soon as you get a job. then you won't have to choose between medicine or heat when you are retired.

[2bnurseguy_2005]

Yeah I am seeing that SS wont even be here for my generation.It seems the best jobs are with the state and federal gov't
They have a good retirement plan

But I am inquiring to various nursing programs and they all seem insightful on the future of nursing! That gives me something to feel good about

[VickyRN]

Originally Posted by wdwpixie

If you're in IT, I imagine you have some idea about why some of the IT ppl are in this forum and looking for alternative career paths!

Secondly, there was a very interesting article in Reader's Digest a month or so ago about how there's going to be a employee shortage -- period -- in a few years. Not just necessarily in healthcare. And that most of us will be working well into our 70's and 80's. Some voluntarily; others because they will have to financially.

And lastly, as I understood it, the age to become a Social Security recipient is creeping upwards. Which means that no longer will some of us be eligible to receive that wonderful retirement stipend at 62 or 65! And as was also pointed out, there's very few people who have the longevity in their careers or company that our parents (at least for the boomers) had....I've put in my 5+ years in my current company. I'm vested. The money goes with when I (finally) start an RN program and I'm ready to move on. At 50, I anticipate I'll be working until I'm at least 70 or so anyway (God and my health willing). Might as well find something I'll enjoy with some job flexibility. And will hopefully give me a sense of fulfillment at the end of the day. Heaven knows IT isn't doing that for me.

Very interesting and informative post, wdwpixie

[Selke]

Originally Posted by nurseguy_2005

Yeah I was neieve I guess to think that one who starts a new career late in life has to work longer. I am just trying to get a firm grasp of 401k
But I realize how many IT ppl are here and I think it's the same reason I am thinking of leaving IT..I wish everyone on here much success and luck!!
..It blows me away when I read online articles about the supposed best jobs of 2006 and IT jobs are listed

Yeah, after the dotcom boom and bust the tech job market isn't what it was. I lived in the SFBA from Dec 2001 to Aug 2005 -- when I moved there the crash just hit, it was pretty dismal, like the Depression hit the area, which created a cognitive dissonance of sorts because well, the SFBA is so beautiful, but here were all these unemployed highly educated people ... By the time I left the IT market was in an upswing and there were more jobs, but I don't think anywhere near the late 1990s. But what's with IT jobs being in the top 10? That can't be. What about all those unemployed techies out there flipping burgers or who became nurses? Any why isn't midwifery listed as one of the top ten jobs? And what about that malpractice insurance? And and and and ....

Many folks swarmed towards nursing school, which is why there are such waiting lists, esp in CA. (I think I've read here that the waiting lists for DE master's programs are much shorter than regular RN programs, esp in CA, so I could understand going that route instead.) Nurses make a lot of money in the SFBA and are highly respected in the community. Much more so than in the midwest. I actually felt proud to be a nurse for the first time in my life.

When I was in nursing school in 1987-89, I was about the oldest in the class, at 29 or 30. Two women were in their late 30s, but this was their first college degree, so they weren't in our group. There was a small group of us who had degrees in other fields (I had an MA) and had other careers; they placed us together in clinicals. We were like the pre- pre- DE students, and several of us would have gone the DE MSN route were it available. Now there are so many older returning students with degrees in other fields, it's a flood .... (hooray for older women!!!)

I don't plan on retiring. I take after my long lived father's side, I have a low cholesterol, BP, no DM, don't smoke, &c. My SS is piddling, have no retirement $$$, and I've returned to school. I have too much to do for what remains of my life to want to sit around and retire. As a midwife, I can scale back my job if I get tireder as I get older: do office gyne, antenatal, teach, do research, write, &c, be an all-round hellraiser with political activism for women's health, reproductive rights, and midwifery (I'll take my grandkids with me to protests and rallies and legislative sessions ....).

I also will seek out a NHSC loan payback job in Chicago after graduation, and these positions are generally with county or state depts of public health, which tend to have nice gov't retirement packages. I plan on hopefully finally being able to afford to buy a house and want to buy a 3flat for investment and to live in. I've also trained my kids along the line that I've sacrificed everything to raise you, so when I'm old please don't let me live in my car. They laugh and say mom, the boundary is when you start drooling and are incontinent you're going into the nursing home (they're joking, we kid like that).

[tep]

Go For It! I Applaud Anyone Who Starts Something New Later In Life. I'm 34 (35 In March) And Am Still Considering Going For My Rn (i'm An Unemployed Lpn Now) It's Frustrating And A Lot Of Work But Caregiving Gets In Your Blood And You Just Have To Do It. Good Luck!!!

[crni01]

Yall, I am 60 years old and have wanted to get my masters degree for all my life. Something was always in the way. Now I am looking at the rest of my life and want this to teach. I am active, healthy and no chronic diseases. AM I TOO OLD TO even consider this and WILL ANY SCHOOL hire me at 65?????? Straight talk, please, and what about repayment of my loans, which I am positive I will need???

[VickyRN]

Originally Posted by crni01

Yall, I am 60 years old and have wanted to get my masters degree for all my life. Something was always in the way. Now I am looking at the rest of my life and want this to teach. I am active, healthy and no chronic diseases. AM I TOO OLD TO even consider this and WILL ANY SCHOOL hire me at 65?????? Straight talk, please, and what about repayment of my loans, which I am positive I will need???

I would contact the career advisement center at your local university or school of nursing. Many of my former nursing professors at the local university are in their 60's, some approaching 70. The shortage of nurse educators is becoming critical in many areas of the country. What is your nursing background? Which subjects would you be qualified or willing to teach? Are you current with your practice skills? I have a friend (with an MSN) who is in her 60's, who is applying to be a clinical instructor with the local BSN program. She has a vast wealth of experience, is very professional, and is up-to-date with her practice skills (still employed fulltime at the hospital).

With a Masters degree in nursing, you would be able to teach in an ADN program and also expected to have clinical groups at several different locations. In a BSN program, there is less opportunity to teach in a classroom with a Masters degree, but clinical instructors are in great demand. There are also opportunities to teach assessment/ clinical skills in simulation laboratories or to help with research projects.

There are many grant/ loan programs available for aspiring nurse educators. Places to begin inquiry:
http://www.nln.org
http://nursingworld.org/
http://aacn.campusrn.com/scholarship...larship_rn.asp
http://answers.hrsa.gov/cgi-bin/hrsa...ted=1100550076

Here is a quote from my devotional that I found very inspirational:

Do it now!
When you haven't accomplished what you'd hoped for, regret becomes a major pastime. The electrician wishes he'd become an accountant; the accountant wishes he'd been a doctor [nurse would be even better!]. Maybe you planned to leave a legacy, but to date all you've left is a trail of unfulfilled aspirations. Well, it's not too late! You just have to be prepared to pursue your dream, hunt it down, and pay the price to fulfill it. Don't listen to complainers who've settled for less and want you to do the same. Remember, your goal isn't necessarily to live longer; it's to live to the max!

Charles Lindberg, the first man to fly the Atlantic said: "If I could fly for 10 years before I was killed in a crash, it still would be a worthwhile trade for an ordinary lifetime. Who values life more - aviators who spend it doing what they love, or misers who hoard it like pennies throughout their ant-like days?"

Who knows, your whole life may have been preparation for this moment. Look at Winston Churchill; instead of retiring after WWII, he went on to win the Nobel Prize in literature. And when Heinrich Schliemann retired from business to look for Homer's legendary city of Troy - he found it!

Among the saddest words in Scripture are, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Time passes... days slip by... years fly... so do it now while there's time!

Copyright: The Word for You Today
http://www.wordforyou.com/about/default.aspx

[WDWpixieRN]

Originally Posted by crni01

and what about repayment of my loans, which I am positive I will need???

I think I've read on these boards that some schools charge very reduced rates, or free, for 60, 65+ aged folks to attend school. That might just apply only to community colleges as I saw recently that my school does that and I think the age was 70. Not sure if universities do that, but it would seem something else you might check in to, particularly if you have a choice of several locations to attend!

Best Wishes to you! I think it sounds like a wonderful thing to be doing. They just did a blurb on the news here last week in St. Louis about the nursing crunch and how it related to lack of educators more than anything else.
WB11 Newstory

Hopefully this along with any other research you do will give you the inspiration and the knowledge you need to move forward!