Career switch - from 6 figure salary

renerian, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2004

I am in nursing management/home health. I make less now than I did in 86. No overtime.......while I do like my job alot, I am very tired of not being paid what I am worth. Just not in this area I guess. Good luck in your new venue and I mean that in a good way.

renerian

renerian, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2004

I am in nursing management/home health. I make less now than I did in 86. No overtime.......while I do like my job alot, I am very tired of not being paid what I am worth. Just not in this area I guess. Good luck in your new venue and I mean that in a good way.

renerian

Thornva · Jul 8, 2004

Hi Corey,
Getting a BS is a very smart thing to do.. I plan to do that as well. 90 miles is really not that far.. A good studying strategy is to read your textbook into a tape recorder and play it on the way to school.
In the panhandle of OK, distance is pretty standard. It is nothing for people to drive to Amarillo for a shopping trip. It is the closest city and it is 120 miles away. I think if you want something bad enough, you will do what it takes to get there. I hope the gas prices cooperate for you...
Good luck and take care..
mary

Mary,

Making tapes to listen to on the drive is an excellent suggestion!

Thanks,

Corey

bsnecu99 · Jul 8, 2004

Just wanted to share my situation for those of you who are thinking of changing careers -- you are not alone!
I currently work in the IT field and make 108k a year (in NJ). I have a 5 month old baby girl, who I only see for 1.5-2 hrs at night during the week, then on Sat and Sunday. That just isn't enough for me. I have decided to switch careers and become a nurse. I am going back to school in Fall. It should take me 2 1/2 years. If all goes according to plan I will take the boards Dec '06.
I have been mulling over being a nurse for some time. The IT job just doesn't satisfy me. Though the $$ is great, I feel that if I have to be away from my daughter I should be doing something more rewarding and fulfilling. I must admit, the flexible hours are a huge draw as well. As a nurse I would work 2-3 nights a week, and be able to spend my days with my daughter -- no daycare necessary! Plus, NJ has lots of opportunities for nurses.
I would like another child, but want to make sure I am at least done with my final class before giving birth. They would end up 3 yrs apart, but I don't want to risk not being able to finish school - especially with the investment we will be making (savings runs out after a year - so we are in for loans and any part time work I can get at night to try to make up some of the difference).
We have a lot to work out, but I am taking it one semester at a time. I think going back to school to be a nurse takes 100% committment - but the good news is at least in the beginning I'll see more of my daughter going to school (taking Chem and Bio first semester) than I do right now working fulltime and commuting 1.5 hours each way!.
Anyone who is in the same boat and would like support or has any questions, feel free to contact me!
Melly06

Are you nuts? :angryfire What in the world are YOU thinking? What hours do you think you are going to get being a new nurse? You will always work 3-11 or 11-7 and as a new nurse you WILL work EVERY holiday. You will come home so exhausted and burnt out you won't even be able to pick up your little one. You will be ill-tempered from lack of sleep and the junk that happens at work. You will also expose yourself and your child to umpteen communicable diseases not to mention the chance of a needlestick injury. Then your child will have no mamma. I left sales to go into nursing, and I was never so disappointed. I loved my patients and families, but the other nurses made life a living hell. I would have had to rent a POD storage unit to store all the writeups. Writeups from what, you ask? Examples: not wiping the top of a sterile normal saline top after removing top, leaving a note for another nurse to please ratchet up an IV pump on HER shift, asking why a one-time order had not been taken off, for asking my charge nurse to help me with a cooling blanket even though I was specifically told to ask about anything I did not know how to use well, for working overtime to catch up on the grevious amount of paperwork, for looking over the top of my glasses (this also got me sent to employee health and back to my eye doctor ), and other sickening and equally stupid issues. When I handed in my resignation, my evil nurse manager said, "I don't understand. Why are you leaving? I believe you can still be the nurse I want you to be." I didn't know whether to vomit or bust out laughing. I wish you well. You are going to need it. My advice is drop another couple of ten thousand dollars on your RN and go for your Masters and get away from most of the pettiness. Wish you well. :)

bsnecu99 · Jul 8, 2004

I am in nursing management/home health. I make less now than I did in 86. No overtime.......while I do like my job alot, I am very tired of not being paid what I am worth. Just not in this area I guess. Good luck in your new venue and I mean that in a good way.
renerian

Just quit a job as an admissions nurse for a home health agency. Although my job technically paid an hourly wage, anything after 8 hours suddenly became "salary." I was paid a miserable amount of fuel reimbursement. What was the worst, is that in NC, 100 miles of travel is considered "around the block." Within a 5 month period I drove in excess of 13,000 miles! They gave me some story about how Medicare demanded their agency take patients within a 60 mile/1 hour drive. But 60 miles takes over two hours on country backroads where you wait for tractors and other farm equipment to move over and Dale Earnhardt wanna-bes are riding your fenders. One hour would get you about 40 miles. I found myself being shuttled a 100 miles or more to admit patients three or four counties over because their admissions nurse called out. It was ridiculous. We had to supply and pay for our own cell phones and if you exceeded your daytime minutes, tough! Then they fried their intranet and demanded that all admissios nurses provide their own home computers and private AOL account numbers so they could e-mail you at will. And then they'd send about 50 messages/day and you were expected to reply to them when you got home from driving 300 miles and it was already 8 pm. When I refused, I was told I wasn't a team player, I didn't fit in cause all the other nurses participated. Well, who cares? I quit in disgust. Not only that, but doing home health is very dicey. Especially when you have to give IV meds and you see yet another pump that you haven't seen before. It doesn't work. The doc won't give you a T.O. for oxygen or won't call back for days, you are paged endlessly, and so on. Do not come from Ohio to North Carolina, which is what I did. This is a right to work state, meaning no unions and a fire at will state. Good luck to you.

bsnecu99 · Jul 8, 2004

Hi Corey,
Getting a BS is a very smart thing to do.. I plan to do that as well. 90 miles is really not that far.. A good studying strategy is to read your textbook into a tape recorder and play it on the way to school.
In the panhandle of OK, distance is pretty standard. It is nothing for people to drive to Amarillo for a shopping trip. It is the closest city and it is 120 miles away. I think if you want something bad enough, you will do what it takes to get there. I hope the gas prices cooperate for you...
Good luck and take care..
mary

Yes, I just quit a job as a home health admissions nurse due to the horrific amount of driving it entailed. I live in eastern NC, which we call East Carolina, and 100 miles is right around the corner. I am from Ohio and 100 miles would be two states over! :rotfl: In five months I drove more than 13,000 miles. It got to be ridiculous, especially with the summers here being excruciatingly hot and humid. I blew up both my radiator and brakes, of course had to pay to repair them both. At 28 cents a mile, it was NOT worth it. Gas rose to $2.12 and they kept telling us, "do it for the company" while the upper management kept their six figure salary. The entire corporation floated on the backs of the nurses who were paid cruddy wages and treated worse than dirt. Ugh, would NOT do that again! :crying2:

melly06 · Jul 9, 2004

After doing a lot of research, reading this board, figuring out financial scenarios, I have decided that I will not go to nursing school after all. I have decided that it's really not for me and the flexible hours is not a good reason to choose it as a career. I will not be able to stay home with my kids during the day - I'll have to get a job 9-5 as I have now, however, we will not be financially strapped or in debt 60k after nursing school.

I appreciate all of your input. This board helped me tremendously in making this decision.

s001boa · Jan 8, 2009

Melley06 OR can I call you Melley 6-figures? WOW! I knew IT had opportunities, but I never really thought they made 6-figures like that unless your some kind of manager...anyway,

Molley, do you know how hard I contemplate everyday on how I can rack in that 6fig+ as a nurse? I am currently LPN and I also acquired BS in computers first before my LPN; it was so hard to find a CS job that I had to run to nursing for a back up...I was so depressed and you said it, very $uicidal word, but I am better now.

...I did my research however, I know that while it is not typical for nurses to see 6-figs, you can attain 6figs+ if you are 1) at the right location (usually a big city), 2) climb up the nursing ladder which can come either by back-2-school (quicker way, but still a long process because of waiting lists as long as 1yr to 2yrs see...) or 3) by working for quite some time usually a 5yrs or more and getting promoted to be nurse-manager, adon, don, and maybe even nurse-admin (typically requires back2school masters level nursing)...

...I agree with the guy below "bbear" because there are actually other nursing jobs that would fork-out 6-figs NURSE-INFOMATICS (you're current IT experience would be a plus because your are basically a Nurse working with say a pharmacy company or the like working sales/internet and so on and they easily see $100,000 - 150,000+ which would be in your current range if not more ;-) );

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from bbear

May 18, 2004, 09:22 AM

Melley, if your calling is to help others (as well as have more time for your daughter), pay no attention to the nay-sayers. If you go into nursing and love it but the money does end up being a greater concern than you had anticipated, there are certainly ways you can increase your earning power in the field. CRNAs make well above what you were making in the IT field, and it is not all that uncommon for Nurse Practitioners to be making $80k-100k per year--or more. Do it first because it is your calling. Do it second for your daughter. Do it last for the money. But if you need to make more, you can.

Just a thought--with your professional background I would think that you could go into nursing informatics. That would enable you to apply your past experience to the nursing field and you might also be able to use that past experience to earn more out of the gate.

Best of luck to you!

Brian

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My life story hasn't been always easy and nothing ever came to me easy so far...I have great ideas of working as little as say a decade and retiring early by being modest and wisely investing...this would work and I just might even retire in just

So see, you want to leave a 6-fig job, but I am drooling for one...

...I personally feel that in life, a prestigious job like a 6-fig+ job can really help your prestige, and self esteem and as a guy knowing how much talent I have and not getting paid for it, it hurts so bad and I get reminded everyday when I see those cooperate CEOs making 7-fig+ and I honestly think I have better ideas than they do because frankly they don't...

Some may argue that money isn't everything, but I disagree and this is my topology: Money may not be everything but if you think again, you find out that money is right about 99% of everything...I challenge you to name anything know to man and I guarantee you there is some kind of money involved other than say the free-air we breathe which frankly I think would soon start getting taxed if not already. For example, H20 or water = may not cost much but cost money, food = $$$, utility bills = $, school especially college = $$$, a peace of mind in any way shape of form can cost big $$$, your HEALTH which is probably priority #1 cost BIG $$$ and for that reason alone you ought to start contemplating how you get to that 7-fig so that you have a peace of mind and not have to worry like I do about paying med bills like that last MRI that cost me $3,135 just to name one tiny medical expense lol..., so you see what I mean, even when you think of such things like LOVE and HAPPYNESS you really ought to think that just maybe once you get a peace of mind in form of 6-fig and feel proud and accomplished maybe you would be happy because for the first time you don't have to get controlled and slaved and bullied around by your boss and you get to travel and see the world and do what you want which = happiness on so many levels...and believe me when you are happy with such a 6-fig rewarding career you also have great health...and besides if you didn't have such great health well, you can now afford one lol...think about those greedy CEOs that can afford to eat whatever they want and remember especially as a nurse that what you eat is what makes you and the more you can afford = more quality and the best of the best = better health....think about those celebrities that spend 10s of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars on a purse/ring and here we are average Joes that can't even afford something as simple a good health that we deserve!!!

...anyways, back to what I was saying...even though I acquired that Bs of computers I still didn't get a job and later turned to nursing and trying to work my way up, I would eventually find a place that I can feel secure financially, considering that I am an INDEPENDENT INVENTOR with so much talent (and I am not bragging and I wish you could see some of a few of my ideas and the potential to help humanity), but here I am with so much to offer and not getting paid for it...someday, however, one of my inventions would make it out there as I currently have one pending on the USPTO.gov in a waiting pool awaiting approval and a couple more I am working on....

I had to decide to make things happen myself because if you wait for sb to help you or make the decision for you, then you have to deal with it whether you like it or not so instead of complaining about a failed school system that I put so much time and money into getting a BS in computers (I learned really fast it depends on what you get it in because if it were have to be BS in Nursing to start with I would easily be making 6-figs right now because I know a few companies that would hire BSN and pay $120,000+) so I didn't wait and I went on to make myself better....

The only snag though is in other to get a huge pay increase in the Nursing field you either need to know somebody that knows somebody, OR go back to school (can be a long and slow process because of waiting lists, re-taking of pre-reqs since some schools may not accept from other schools and also ACCREDITATION IS A BIG DEAL)...

...I decided to leave the floor nursing or ablest I am working on doing that because my BACK recently went out and is hard to stand, sit, walk let alone lift another soul...and to add to that, I recently came up with feet-problems (recently wearing orthotics to help with pain, because constantly in pain) I guess from long nursing hrs where I have to stand, and walk long hallways, so I am desperate to get into management because as much as I love to help people, I need help myself and I don't want to turn into those that I take care of and certainly not this early as I am not even 30yrs yet so see my frustration...I have probably some of the biggest ideas and talent and not getting paid for it and yet I am in a job that isn't as rewarding as they say it is until you get into management where there are a lucky few and I am a living witness because as LPN you get bullied by a bunch of egotistic-Rns that think they are Gods and these Rns probably don't even have a college degree and only made it through say GED; If only they knew I have way more education than such Rns because RN is only associate level and if not for the failed system, I already have a BS but in another field = computer science;

Anyways, I would go on to get my RN within the next couple yrs as I am almost done with pre-reqs then I would immediately go after MSN and straight-up skip the BSN...I mean, Y do I need 2 Bachelors, right? I am considering Nurse-Admin ($80,000 to over $150,000+ with experience and facility size, I have heard of 7-figures, yes 1,000,000 really because at Nurse-Amin level you are considered closely with MBA and OR CEOs and I know of a Nurse-Admin that is a multi-millionaire and all from salary and subsidies), Nurse-informatics ($100,000 - $125,000+), and even better Certified-Registered-Nurse-anesthetist or cRNA ($125,000 to $150,000+ and that is just for a new grad).

My post would probably get some criticism, or what have you, but I personally feel that success can be measured in how much you rack in and I would rather make 6-fig+ in an AC filled room sitting on my fanny than to slave around walking back and forth long hallways and constantly worrying about messing up and losing a license I worked so hard for and being bullied by EGOTISTIC no-good RNS and other LPNS that have been at the job for 50yrs and think they are GODs and that they know everything...I mean, these creatures can't even turn on a frigging computer if their lives depended on it and they think they all that, but they don't realize as time goes on, computers are used more and more in the health care fields and are starting to be required and I have personally worked at a couple facilities that do virtually everything including electronic auto-MARS ( I think that stands for "medical/medication admin records") and TARS (treatment admin records) and with my flood of talent and skills in the computer arena (even though I am not being appreciated or paid for it yet) I am the future as I would continue to INNOVATE (they don't call me "innovator" for nothing) and would one day own my own personally ran facility with all the technology in the world and it would not be limited to "green" = savings; I would be able to sync my office computer to my own home computer in a network of super computers and regardless of where I am in the world on a vacation for example, I can actually check on work, my slew of other businesses and also home...now that is starting to sound like the real potential of me (THIS futuristic NURSE) as I dream big and achieve even bigger....watch me rise to the top.

So I hope you understand my frustration once again and Y I long so much for a 6-fig job because with my current situation of being underpaid and what looks like an early barrage of health issues that I was hoping I won't have to deal with till say around 65yrs+, I am desperate to get higher paying job not only to help with medical costs and all [the last time I was legally robbed = the basic MRI bill I got from the hosp for an ankle scan was $3,135 even just to name a few], but also so that I may retire early by investing that 6-fig money (and trust me, there are over 1,000 ways to being a millionaire/billionaire and I know several, but FIRST I NEED MONEY TO INVEST), but you never know because there is a good chance that before long, I just might be able to get one of my innovative ideas/inventions through uspto.gov and retire even earlier than anticipated >>>

TRUST ME YOU WANT ME TO BE RICH BECAUSE IF I WAS RICH LIKE DONLAD TRUMP (STINGY SELF SERVING BILLIONAIRE ALWAYS TRYING TO GET RICHER AND DOES NOT CARE ABOUT AVRG JOEs), OR SAY THE BILL HIMSELF SIR BILL-GATES (My personal idol...love him and his philanthropic values) OR BUFFET, OR T boone Pickens (LIKE HIS GREEN WIND FARM IDEAS, BUT DON'T TELL HIM YET THAT I HAVE A POTENTIALLY GREATER IDEATHAT RIGHT ABOUT DWARFS HIS AND MAKES HIS IDEA LOOK LIKE A DROP IN THE BUCKET lol THAT I AM PRETTY SURE WOULD SOLVE ALL OUR ENERGY PROBLEMS THAT I AM CURRENTLY FINALISING TO BE SENT TO USPTO.gov), I would immediately go on as full time philanthropist and build schools, hosp, rebuild cities, mass transit lines and so on and I say this because at say 60 billion for example "BILL GATES" if I had that much, I know I won't take the cash with me to heaven so I better do something good here on earth with it see...So my fellow nurses, there are many ways of doing good either by committing your life to slaving for another man = bedside nursing or becoming your own boss and pumping huge one-time ca$h into places that matter that could actually benefit millions of people and prevent your patient' situation to start with if only medical costs were more affordable and more emphasis placed on PREVENTATIVE-CAARE like I would be elaborating on in a simple IDEA below.

How do you like the following idea? If you take/steal/use it please give credit to whom is due and at least ok:

With the following idea which I wish I had the money to do and have always wanted to do for over a decade, but I don't have the money which I am going to suggest to the new in-coming administration on their site or something would definitely help make preventative medical costs for modalities be affordable and every individual were entitled to at least get a yearly screening for example...read more below.

....How about say for instance I was a multi-millionaire I could let that money go a long way in helping out everyday Joes by DONATING say $1.5 - 2.5 Million bucks for say an MRI preferably the Aquillion-one CT scan latest 16/64 multi-slice 3d technology that sees your arteries and is much clearer it DX heart attacks, and other diseases (in less than 20secs and a cost of under 1grand per total-body-scan from head to toe in clear vivid 3d images of your insides rather than the old-school loud annoying expensive MRSs that take up to 45mins or more and cost thousands just to scan a small portion of a body part) without painful and expensive procedures....and see what I mean, that would be nice...imagine being able to get free MRIs unlimited curtsey of "THIS MILLIONAIRE NURSE" that donated it to help the average Joes in a non-profit org....see one of my simple but great ideas of reaching a lot of people with a little bit of money? Now compare that with 700 million to 1 trillion+ of some fantasy bailout we never saw a dime of...Think about it, would your insurance company not prefer to pay $100 to a couple hundred for a round trip flight to a location within the states that offered such a product rather than to eat-up the cost of say a $5,000 bill on modalities? FYI: just recently my dad was very ill and thank God he is fine now God bless his heart about 3X my age at 72yrs and still working as professor and probably better overall health than myself because he has no back issues or leg issues and I envy him that he can stand and walk for long hrs and even jog (I can barely walk without pain let alone JOG?) and also bend his back which looks like it hurts to me due to my badly compressed spine, but anyways the cost of modalities such as MRI/CT/DOPLER/CAT-SCAN and so on racked in over $100,000 in just a couple weeks of him being admitted to the hosp so see what I mean.

...So let me know if you think this is a great idea because if you do, that is nothing compared to some very cool/futuristic but possible green and innovative ideas I have on my drawing board right now and I just need to contact some of my colleagues like T. boon pickens or Bill gates or Oprah (another one of my idols with her every giving heart and love for charity...fyi: did you guys see how this Billionaire gave away dozens free cars to all guest on her show one day on life TV? Men, I wish I was there lol) to help fund the project...enough of my ranting...I have got to go do what I do best = INNOVATE ;-)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

"I am going to dream big...as big as I can so that if all I do is to achieve a small percentage of that big dream, it would be much bigger than that of my Adversaries and Disparagers...."