[ursus57]

I am starting vocational school for LPN in a few days. 51 and lean toward helping others, good people skills and I have a thick skin in situations that require it. Aerospace then manufactured housing is in my background. I hope to end up with a career that is more flexible than manufacturing, along with being in a growth market. I can be more mobile in my job choices. The assisting others and teaching aspects of nursing really appeal to me. Anything that helps me to complete school with my sense of wanting to help others intact, will be much appreciated. Male and a nurse at 51...frank

[openseas]

After 20 years as a Navy Hospital Corpsman and retiring in 2004 I wanted to be a cop. Well after 4 years of doing 12 hour shifts and being exposed to the worse that society can offer (both bad guys and fellow deputies) I realized that I just had to get back into healthcare. The civilians don't give a !@#$ sbout your military training and competentcies, so back to school I went. Now as an LPN I am vey limited compared to what I could do in the Navy, but it sure beast what I was doing.

David

[OldMareLPN]

I went from 26 years in the pc/programming business (started out in DOS) to just finishing up one year as a LPN.

Personally, for me this has been great. I am a bit muffled because nursing school is so different than reality.

But what I enjoyed in pc i.e. intellectual challenge, is in nursing. You can always buy a better book, or study one of your old texts. They read much better after you graduate.

As a nurse I have found being part of a team much different when I was a solo programmer, but a skill easily learned and improved upon.

Best part of being a nurse....when you answer the phone and they say 'can I speak to the nurse' and I say 'Thats me!!!!!'

Oh yeh....I'm 56.

Have fun!

[socalpca]

I was a beach lifeguard for 14 years until I suffered a pretty bad knee injury that severely limited my ability to do my job. I'm about to finish my first year as a RN on a medical-oncology unit and I'm very happy I made the career switch. Not only do I have more job security, but the opportunities for advancement and learning are much greater.

[LinfieldNursingGuy]

Hey PhilaGuy, I am switching from 10+ years as a Graphic Designer for a engineering software company to Nursing. I just got accepted to Nursing school and start class in 5 weeks! I haven't been so motivated or excited for a job/school in a very long time. I look forward to being out of the corporate world.

Good luck to you. I don't know how competitive your programs are in your area, but it is always safe to shoot for A's in all of your classes. My head is still a little in the clouds, but my wife (who is a nurse) is helping keep me focused and grounded for the classes ahead. Good Luck!

[Firehawk734]

I wanted to let it be known to the original poster as well that I am an Electrical Engineer and been in the Auto Industry for the last 8+ years, and I am also now going back to become a nurse. There is just no fulfillment in ENgineering for me, and I believe I was born to help people. I should have listened to this urge in high school, but I did not. I wanted to go for medicine at the time but didn't want to go through all that schooling, so I went to Engineering. Turns out now that I might as well have gone to be a doctor in the first place lol.

Oh well, you live and learn.

[mcknis]

Started with 3yrs of law enforcement/security and have since made the change to nursing over 3 yrs ago. Will be graduating in less than 40 days and cannot wait to start. Have thought about going back into the security/LE arena while working as an RN but not quite sure as of yet. Best of luck to you and keep up the great work.

[Protonprimary]

Congratulations to all of you who've shown the courage to take such a large leap from the comfort ( and perhaps boredom and lack of fulfillment ) of a long term career to do something your heart calls you to.

I started out in chemistry and computer science in the early 80's and got a Ph.D. in chemistry. That turned into technical software design/programming, which turned into systems architecture for retail and financial services. The interesting thing about that career path, to me, is that I repeatedly just took the next job or promotion, automatically. There was never a time that I stopped and said, "what do I really want to do?" or "what do i really care about?" When I finally did, 'Pow!' I knew immediately that it was time to take the career search seriously, and after some fair amount of study and reflection, I came to my current path: I'm entering a program toward a Family Nurse Practitioner specialty. I have not been this excited about a career move in about 20 years.

Since that decision, I've taken all my prereq's, spent a year working a couple of days a week as a CNA and have gotten my long-lost study skills back into shape.

Even with the significant reduction in pay in the future and the reduction in work flexibility that nursing will entail, the change in my mood, perspective and spiritual health are already worth it.

--thomas

[Firehawk734]

Originally Posted by Protonprimary

Congratulations to all of you who've shown the courage to take such a large leap from the comfort ( and perhaps boredom and lack of fulfillment ) of a long term career to do something your heart calls you to.

I started out in chemistry and computer science in the early 80's and got a Ph.D. in chemistry. That turned into technical software design/programming, which turned into systems architecture for retail and financial services. The interesting thing about that career path, to me, is that I repeatedly just took the next job or promotion, automatically. There was never a time that I stopped and said, "what do I really want to do?" or "what do i really care about?" When I finally did, 'Pow!' I knew immediately that it was time to take the career search seriously, and after some fair amount of study and reflection, I came to my current path: I'm entering a program toward a Family Nurse Practitioner specialty. I have not been this excited about a career move in about 20 years.

Since that decision, I've taken all my prereq's, spent a year working a couple of days a week as a CNA and have gotten my long-lost study skills back into shape.

Even with the significant reduction in pay in the future and the reduction in work flexibility that nursing will entail, the change in my mood, perspective and spiritual health are already worth it.

--thomas

Are there engineering boards where people feel the same way you and I do about a career change into engineering? LOL I couldn't imagine it! I absolutely cannot stand my field. I knew it half way through school but was too far invested into the degree to change, and there was no way I was going to change majors and have to go through even more school at the time.

[cityhawk]

Originally Posted by Protonprimary

Congratulations to all of you who've shown the courage to take such a large leap from the comfort ( and perhaps boredom and lack of fulfillment ) of a long term career to do something your heart calls you to.

I started out in chemistry and computer science in the early 80's and got a Ph.D. in chemistry. That turned into technical software design/programming, which turned into systems architecture for retail and financial services. The interesting thing about that career path, to me, is that I repeatedly just took the next job or promotion, automatically. There was never a time that I stopped and said, "what do I really want to do?" or "what do i really care about?" When I finally did, 'Pow!' I knew immediately that it was time to take the career search seriously, and after some fair amount of study and reflection, I came to my current path: I'm entering a program toward a Family Nurse Practitioner specialty. I have not been this excited about a career move in about 20 years.

Since that decision, I've taken all my prereq's, spent a year working a couple of days a week as a CNA and have gotten my long-lost study skills back into shape.

Even with the significant reduction in pay in the future and the reduction in work flexibility that nursing will entail, the change in my mood, perspective and spiritual health are already worth it.

--thomas

It is always great to meet others in a similar boat. There have been times since I started on this path when I've been hounded by headhunters for software jobs (the software industry has rebounded somewhat since I started this) when I had moments of self-doubt. But I am already feeling much happier and more spiritually fulfilled.