AA or BS degree

U.S.A. New York

Published

Does it really make a difference with regards to pay or otherwise?

I would like to pursue my masters in anesthesist. However, Columbia and Suny downstate are the only schools that offer this program in metro NY.

I must be able to work. I don't think student loans will cover all of my expenses.

Any advice?

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Depends on contract & facility. At my place, BS is about $2000/yr more than Assoc. But every RN gets an extra $1000 for each year of RN experience, so BSN pay by itself is not much of a difference.

Assoc vs BS makes a difference in your wallet when it comes to going back to school because in NYC, thanks to RNs many years of union activity and collective bargaining, pretty good tuition reimbursement for advanced education and continuing education is a standard for nurses here. So, you can let the employer pay for you to finish your education:

Get the Associates degree, then get an RN job.

Pay attention to the tuition reimbursement benefit when job hunting. Ask for the details - how much per year does the employer pay up to? how many credits? is there a cap? Which degrees do they reimburse for? (mine pays for anything health-related - not necessarily nursing - all the way up to Phd). Each facility will be different - depending on whether its union or non-union, or which union it is and what other benefits are in the contract.

Get the associates, take the job with the best offer and THEN go back to school for the BSN - and the hospital youre working for reimburses you for it. Up to 100% -- and no student loan is needed. Also, you usually have to agree to work for them for a period of time after receiving the reimbursement.

Same thing goes for the Masters. Hospital reimburses tuition. There may be some cap on credits or cost per year -- like the hospital pays you back $10,000 per year of education expenses or the cost of 16 credits per year, whichever is lesser.

Usually it covers the full cost of SUNY and CUNY at least - or a private college's p/t cost.

Good luck.

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Thank you so much for the advice, J.T. Someone replied earlier and suggested that I search the archives for this subject. However, I was unable to find what I was looking for. So, thanks again!

MJ

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what about somebody who has a BA degree and an associates degree in nursing? Does that equal a BSN in an employers eyes? I am in this situation now and I am having a hard time deciding whether I should get the BSN or just get my associates degree. Since I have a Bachelors degree, i will be able to go straight into a masters degree with an associates in nursing. I am just wondering what makes more sense. do I need the BSN? Any advice would be much appreciated!

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Specializes in ICU/CCU (PCCN); Heme/Onc/BMT.

I guess I will never understand the hesitiation towards education. :o

I went "the A.S. in Nursing to B.S. in Nursing" route while working as an RN (Someone mentioned this "route" in another post on this thread.) I believe that this is a wonderful way to further one's education in one's chosen profession. Is it worth it from a financial point of view? I'm making 25 cents/hour differential with this B.S. It may not be the greatest, but it's something. But I did not go through the B.S. program in nursing with the goal of making oodles of money. I went because I hold a high value towards education. And since nursing deals with healthcare, a field which is ever changing, ever presenting society with challenges from many realities of life, and ever becoming more "technical", I believed obtaining at LEAST a B.S. in Nursing was a worthwhile investment of time, money and energy. And while working towards that B.S. in Nursing, I appreciated the networking as well as the academic challenges. Met a lot of good people during that time in my life. Together we shared a lot of experience, strength and hope regarding our profession and how we impact the lives of the people and communities we care for. This, alone, made getting those "two extra letters" worth the time and effort.

Ted

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Some schools will take a BS in another area (not all, so be careful), I don't know about the BA. It may prevent you from getting specific management or education positions. To teach, I believe they are pretty strict with the BS. If you have a BS already, then the BSN won't take you long. The BSN (after the Assoc.) is not hard, except chemistry. It's just time consuming. I agree that you should take advantage of reimbursement opportunities, but be prepared to be in school longer, as it tends to drag out that way (unless you have no other commitments- but work itself is a big deal). :rotfl:

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