[Unsurefuture]

I'm a senior in high school, I've decided to go into the Air Force but as a career I want to be a nurse, I think. I would just like to hear your experiences bad or good and what you can tell me what are the pros and cons of being a nurse. Would you change your career, do you regret being a nurse or is it simply the most amazing job you could have chosen?! o yea and are you able to depend on just your own pay or do you still worry about not paying off next months rent?

[kbettencourt]

To get through Nursing school is a feat in itself, I went in my late 30's, The big question is why do you want to be a Nurse? you will never be rich but you will always have a job. If you want to make good money you have to do the time, I mean weekends and late shift hours. A study shows Hospital Nurses make 50-60 grand a year but they do the time. I always wanted to be a nurse, I was a Nurses aid for 17 years and loved it. But Nursing is not the same. I did not find the job that I like yet. Alot of hard work and commitment. The problem today is Nurses go to be Nurses for the money, Nursing is not about money. Good luck

[dopaminequeenRN]

First let me say you sound like an amazing person. Anyone who wants to serve our country and be a nurse has my utmost respect. I had no desire whatsoever to be a nurse when I started college. My dream was to become a journalist. While in college, I got a job as a nurses aid because all of my buddies were nursing majors and they talked me into it. So, i did it. I was scared $h!tle$$! I just knew I was going to screw up and get fired. But guess what? I absolutely fell in love with my job. I finished my journalism degree, went straight to LPN school, the straight to RN! When I was twelve years old I had to have eye surgery. I was scared to death. I had never been in the hospital. The nurse who cared for me was so kind. She gave me a blanket from the warmer and a stuffed teddy bear. I never forgot that nurse. She was always in the back of my mind. I thought, "What if I could do that for someone else? What could be better than that?" Nursing is the hardest job you will ever love. There are more things wrong with it than right. I stay with it because of all those scared twelve-year old's and 99 year olds who need comfort. Best of luck to you!

[kbettencourt]

Thank you,
Kathy

[wtbcrna]

Originally Posted by Unsurefuture

I'm a senior in high school, I've decided to go into the Air Force but as a career I want to be a nurse, I think. I would just like to hear your experiences bad or good and what you can tell me what are the pros and cons of being a nurse. Would you change your career, do you regret being a nurse or is it simply the most amazing job you could have chosen?! o yea and are you able to depend on just your own pay or do you still worry about not paying off next months rent?

So, do plan on joining the AF as an enlisted and then pursue your nursing degree later?

You should know that if that is your plan then if you are going AD it will probably add at least 4+yrs to the time it normally takes to get your nursing degree. Now if you plan on joining as an enlisted and going reserves/NG it will still add usually a yr to two years more at least to the time in getting your degree in nursing. (If a recruiter has told you something different about AD then you should be very wary. I have worked with numerous med techs whom were promised that they would be able to go to school on AD and it never happened.)

Now if you are set on joining the AF as enlisted person....I would advise steering clear of med tech, med admin, nutr, and most medical enlisted jobs. You should focus more on line side AF jobs (preferably ones w/o high deployment tempos). Picking a job like that will give you the most chance of going to school while on AD. Also, your supervisor(s) are the sole persons that decide if you will get to go to school on AD(it doesn't matter what the recruiter says). Something else that a recruiter probably won't tell you is that you will have to finish your CDCs, in most cases, before you can start college even if it is on your own time.

I have enjoyed my time as a nurse. About half of the AF nurses are prior enlisted, and of those the vast majority were in 6+ yrs before going back to school. Many of those actually separated in order to go to school.

I make more money than most of my civilian counterparts. I have been a nurse for 9yrs now six of which have been in the AF. Right now my gross pay is slightly less than 7000 a month of which only my base pay is taxable.

Good Luck!