Why are you REALLY going into nursing? Honest answers please.

Nursing Students General Students

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Ok, I'm a bit frustrated with all of these posts telling us that we shouldn't go into nursing because we need a job and steady income. Sure, I do like to help people, but I need a steady job even more. So, I decided to post a poll to see if we can get some honest answers.

:p

The same reason everyone has a job: so I can pay my bills, have a nice home, and occasionally take a vacation. I work so I can buy things. I get personal fulfillment from my relationship with my husband and my friends, gardening, cooking, and playing with my pets. From my job, I need money so that I can do the things I enjoy.

Because I can see the limitations of my current field. I am a speech therapist (Master's Degree). The field itself is largely a joke. Plus, in order to make above $35K per year, I have to work in the nursing home. There are LPNs in the nursing home that make as much money as some of my fellow graduates who are working in the school system or the hospital. 6-8 years of college should earn more than that.

Lastly, I need job/financial security. After Katrina ravaged my state, a lot of my friends lost their jobs. Every day when I listened to the radio or read a newspaper, they were BEGGING for RNs. I decided the week after Katrina to go back to school. I start next fall after I finish my prereqs. I probably will go on to NP or CRNA. I see no reason not to maximize my earning potential in the field of nursing.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to make a decent living and have job security. I lost my job do to technology and casino politics, three years ago. In this town, Vegas, if you don't have any skills (education is immaterial) then, you have to make money in the tipping industry. Other than that, most jobs are poverty level at 7, 8 dollars an hour. I heard on the news this year that General Motors is laying off around 30,000 people. It's nice to know that it is extremely unlikely that you would ever hear of this happening to RNs. One good thing about nursing is that if you don't like the type of nursing you do or the place you work at, then you can move on.

75% wanting to ease the end of life for others, 25% wanting to learn more about this process for selfish reasons. $ are not a consideration, I can afford to work for free, but I want to do more than volunteer. If I have to work in a hospital, though, then I'd want to get paid!

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I went into nursing because I wanted a job that possessed some glimmering opportunities for advancement. Also, I want to assist others and be paid while doing so.

I changed my major twice before deciding on nursing. I love the rush of intense situations and I want to make a difference in someone's life so what better way to do that than be a nurse? Yes, I would do it for free.

Specializes in Nephrology.
75% wanting to ease the end of life for others, 25% wanting to learn more about this process for selfish reasons. $ are not a consideration, I can afford to work for free, but I want to do more than volunteer. If I have to work in a hospital, though, then I'd want to get paid!

How can you afford to work for free?

I would love to have that opportunity.

i have always wanted to be in the medical field and since i didnt want to spend 14 years in school to be a md this was it. i love the challenging situations you encounteras a nurse and the feeling that what you do or say may help someone else. anyone who goes into nursing for the money has their thoughts wrong because yea it is decent money but you work hard and earn every bit of it. nursing isnt an easy way to make a living.you have good days and then there are bad but to me it is worth every bit of it

Enjoyment of the healing arts + job opportunities.

I went into nursing for income/security/benefits...that's it. Not for greed, but to take care of my stay-at-home wife and children. What could be more honorable than that? I don't give a hoot about myself. If I could have the same opportunity slaughtering pigs all day, I would do it. When my wife cries because she has to work, when she can't have children because we don't have insurance, and to have some kind of retirement so I won't be a burden to my kids when they reach adulthood, nothing, not even a passion for nursing, could set my soul on fire as much. I will be the best darn nurse out there because of the same dedication that would cause me to die for them.

So, having said that, I have discovered I love nursing...bonus.

I could never slaughter pigs all day, not even just one. Anyway, it's much nicer to make a difference in nursing, then to work just to make some corporate giant rich.

It all started while I was taking care of my mom before she died. She had lung cancer and I moved back in to help take care of her. I really feel a passion for helping other people, and I always have. I just didnt know in what way. I know I can make a descent living at it. I know I will be putting my daughter through college by myself, and I want to be able to do that without my ex's lousy money.

I have had several people say I would make a good one, so I cant help think this is the direction I need to take. I know it will be really tough, but I want this really bad.

I think with the support of this group and the way nurses seem to band together, it will be much easier.

:)

For me nursing is about making a difference in someone's day. Going to a job that is going to constantly expand my mind with new information is exciting. Money for me is secondary to having a job that will make a difference in someone's life. I love to make people smile even when they feel their worst or listen when they need someone to talk to. So that is what nursing is to me! :)

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