Was your education worth it?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all,

This post is particularly about the financial aspect of nursing & becoming a nurse. I'm a pre-nursing major (sophmore) & have already had to take out several student loans.

Has anyone else had to take out loans while working towards their degree? How successful were you at paying them back? Was it worth it?

I know college can be looked at as in "investment", yet I'm so stressed about this because I really want to be a nurse, but then again I'm afraid of the debt I will accumulate & not being able to pay it back.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Since I posted this thread and read everyone's response I have been looking for additional scholarships & grants (which I never thought about before) to help pay for my schooling to keep my debt minimal as possible! I have applied for a couple as well. As I mentioned in the post, I will also be starting a job next month to save just in case I have to pay out of pocket. Thanks everyone for the responses and advice! It was very helpful.

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Hi all,

This post is particularly about the financial aspect of nursing & becoming a nurse. I'm a pre-nursing major (sophmore) & have already had to take out several student loans.

Has anyone else had to take out loans while working towards their degree? How successful were you at paying them back? Was it worth it?

I know college can be looked at as in "investment", yet I'm so stressed about this because I really want to be a nurse, but then again I'm afraid of the debt I will accumulate & not being able to pay it back.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Excellent reason to get an ADN first, then do a 1 year RN-BSN bridge. I'm looked down upon for "only" having an ADN (thus far). For all those that look down on ADNs going that route, all I have to say is have fun paying off your debt. Mine is paid :)

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My debt was manageable at graduation, but then the USAF paid off the remainder of my loans - I consider well-managed debt the cost of doing business, so to speak.

Yep - it was worth every single penny. I can't imagine NOT doing what I do.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Excellent reason to get an ADN first, then do a 1 year RN-BSN bridge. I'm looked down upon for "only" having an ADN (thus far). For all those that look down on ADNs going that route, all I have to say is have fun paying off your debt. Mine is paid :)

*** Employers want grads with a lot of debt. They are seen as less likely to vote with their feet when faced with poor pay or working condition.

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I owe $23,000 from my ADN program, and I will owe at least $10,000 more after my RN to BSN. I will be applying for jobs soon, so that may help with some of the debt. I never once have regretted taking out loans. If I wouldn't have took out these loans to attend school then I would have ended up staying a waitress for who knows how longs, and I value my education and becoming a more intelligent person more than anything. Also by going to school, my husband decided to he wanted to get a degree also, so yes my education is worth every penny.

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I owe $23,000 from my ADN program, and I will owe at least $10,000 more after my RN to BSN. I will be applying for jobs soon, so that may help with some of the debt. I never once have regretted taking out loans. If I wouldn't have took out these loans to attend school then I would have ended up staying a waitress for who knows how longs, and I value my education and becoming a more intelligent person more than anything. Also by going to school, my husband decided to he wanted to get a degree also, so yes my education is worth every penny.

In district community college ADN programs are relatively inexpensive. I spent 7,000 on my ADN. (That includes all prerequisites) No loans, paid monthly with my 1-2 day a week job. My 1 year it will take to get my BSN will cost 8,000. VERY well worth it. My first 2 months of working I made up all the $7,000 I spent for my ADN. :)

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

I haven't even graduated (yet) and while I don't owe any loans or have a degree (yet), I still think my education has been worth it. Prior to my admission in nursing school, I was working at a job making less than $8/hr (minimum wage). A month after being accepted into the nursing program, I managed to get a healthcare related job for $10.80/hr, not including the shift and weekend differentials which (in combination), nearly doubled my hourly wages. After completing a term/year of nursing school, I got a promotion as a PCA, which added an additional 30 cents an hour on top of the differentials. It may not be much, but I currently work plenty of hours and work OT (which I can make about $19-20/hr). Had I not even GONE to college, I would still be working at McDonald's, making 7.50 or so an hour.

When I graduate from nursing school, I will be looking at an even bigger pay increase (more than double my base rate), NOT TO MENTION all the doors that open and the opportunities that appear for advancement for having a BSN or MSN. At McDonald's, I did not have any marketable skills, and moving up the ladder would have been very difficult. As for pay increases? Yeah, right. This is Mickey D's we're talking about. Even with "half" a degree, I have more skills (drawing blood, inserting/d'cing catheters, collecting vitals, I/Os, etc) that can be applied to MANY different areas. I can work in nursing homes, home health, hospitals, and even some doctor's offices.

I can only imagine that once I progress with a BSN and work on my Master's, my education would have paid for itself tenfold, not just financially, but emotionally as well.

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ThePrincessBride, I like your attitude. The avatar could be more apropos (no RUS or Andre the Giant?), but good attitude! You'll do fine.

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Princessbride, how do you manage working during the program? I plan on working full-time and everyone just tells me in crazy and I might fail out, but I don't really have a choice.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
ThePrincessBride, I like your attitude. The avatar could be more apropos (no RUS or Andre the Giant?), but good attitude! You'll do fine.

You're right. I definitely need to change my avatar.

Thanks so much! It means a lot coming from you!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
Princessbride, how do you manage working during the program? I plan on working full-time and everyone just tells me in crazy and I might fail out, but I don't really have a choice.

Nonsense! Most people in my program work and do fine. I've learned that printing out calendars and marking the days that I have a test/quiz in bold helps me so that when I schedule, I don't schedule my work days the day before the quiz (gives me some time to study). I also don't believe in procrastination. For midterms, I like to start studying seven days before the exam. For finals, I give myself an extra week so I don't fall behind. It also helps that I have flexible jobs, one is part-time, and the other is a casual position. During the breaks, I pick up a lot of hours and make as much as I possibly can. I also take advantage of shift and weekend differentials. Two weekend shift differentials adds up to about a 8 hour shift during the week.

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In district community college ADN programs are relatively inexpensive. I spent 7,000 on my ADN. (That includes all prerequisites) No loans, paid monthly with my 1-2 day a week job. My 1 year it will take to get my BSN will cost 8,000. VERY well worth it. My first 2 months of working I made up all the $7,000 I spent for my ADN. :)

The cost of my ADN wasn't 23,000, I took out the loans specifically for living expenses. I could of worked during the program but didn't want to because I have a baby at home. I would rather owe money than miss more precious time with him. Worth every penny.

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