Difference between AAS degree in a CC and a 4 year college nursing degree

newnew2013 · Feb 19, 2014

Both community colleges and 4 year colleges will have nursing programs that will allow you to take the NCLEX to become a registered nurse once completed.

However, many facilities are requiring the 4 year degree to even get your foot in the door. With this degree, once you pass the NCLEX, you will be a RN BSN..... and those 3 letters mean a lot in the job world and allow for more opportunity.

I would take the route that will get me to that BSN

hope that helps

good luck

nurseyNJNYC · Feb 20, 2014

Get your BSN. Hospitals won't even LOOK at you without one, unless by chance you have years of experience in your specialty, and even if you did (but you won't because you will be a new grad), they would still require you to get your BSN within X amount of years.

I took the extra long route to my BSN via LPN to ASN to BSN. Through those 7 years, the job market has changed DRASTICALLY. You used to be able to walk into a place, fill out and application, and walk out with a job. Now you really need the edge to beat the minute odds of getting a job among a growing sea of thousands of other new graduates with no experience.

nynursey_ · Mar 2, 2014

Get your BSN. Hospitals won't even LOOK at you without one unless by chance you have years of experience in your specialty, and even if you did (but you won't because you will be a new grad), they would still require you to get your BSN within X amount of years. I took the extra long route to my BSN via LPN to ASN to BSN. Through those 7 years, the job market has changed DRASTICALLY. You used to be able to walk into a place, fill out and application, and walk out with a job. Now you really need the edge to beat the minute odds of getting a job among a growing sea of thousands of other new graduates with no experience.[/quote']
I have to disagree. I was hired less than a month out of school without having a BSN. And my hospital hires a great deal of graduates with 2-year degrees. It is location dependent. Please check your hospital/locale requirements.

nurseyNJNYC · Mar 3, 2014

I have to disagree. I was hired less than a month out of school without having a BSN. And my hospital hires a great deal of graduates with 2-year degrees. It is location dependent. Please check your hospital/locale requirements.

What is it that you disagree with? I don't believe I said anything remotely untrue.

Getting your BSN is crucial to getting a job in most hospitals because many are or are striving for Magnet status. If you have a ton of experience with only an associates, most places require that you eventually get your BSN, usually within 2-5 years.

The market HAS changed drastically over a short amount of time. The job market is overly saturated with new grads because everyone ran to nursing school when the economy started to turn. I've met many former hairdressers, CNA's, secretaries, and such who thought nursing was the answer to their financial problems.

Sure, it may be possible to get a job with an associates and no experience, but most likely not in any place where most people would want to live. In the north jersey/nyc/philly area it is near impossible to just walk in and get a job as there are hundreds of applicants per nursing position. This is statistical truth. It's one thing to be hopeful and possible be "lucky", but the reality is that the market is ridiculously competitive.

You either have a really long commute or you live in the middle of nowhere, because the job market in the nyc/north jersey/philly area is pretty awful.

nynursey_ · Mar 4, 2014

What is it that you disagree with? I don't believe I said anything remotely untrue.
Getting your BSN is crucial to getting a job in most hospitals because many are or are striving for Magnet status. If you have a ton of experience with only an associates, most places require that you eventually get your BSN, usually within 2-5 years.
The market HAS changed drastically over a short amount of time. The job market is overly saturated with new grads because everyone ran to nursing school when the economy started to turn. I've met many former hairdressers, CNA's, secretaries, and such who thought nursing was the answer to their financial problems.
Sure, it may be possible to get a job with an associates and no experience, but most likely not in any place where most people would want to live. In the north jersey/nyc/philly area it is near impossible to just walk in and get a job as there are hundreds of applicants per nursing position. This is statistical truth. It's one thing to be hopeful and possible be "lucky", but the reality is that the market is ridiculously competitive.
You either have a really long commute or you live in the middle of nowhere, because the job market in the nyc/north jersey/philly area is pretty awful.

I disagree because you essentially implied that obtaining a hospital job without a BSN is impossible, and it isn't. Who says that those jobs are available in locales in which people wouldn't want to live? The town my hospital is located in is a coveted location. I don't think I got lucky. I think that my resume, skill set, and ability to learn and grow as a new nurse spoke volumes, in addition to my personality and passion for patient care. To say that a hospital won't even give the OP a "second glance" is grossly inaccurate. As I said before, my orientee class had about 20 new graduates, all holding ADN's. It is locale dependent. It is facility dependent. There is no single hospital standard that fits the mold. If that were true, NO hospitals would hire ADN's.

Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN · Mar 6, 2014

I disagree because you essentially implied that obtaining a hospital job without a BSN is impossible, and it isn't. Who says that those jobs are available in locales in which people wouldn't want to live? The town my hospital is located in is a coveted location. I don't think I got lucky. I think that my resume, skill set, and ability to learn and grow as a new nurse spoke volumes, in addition to my personality and passion for patient care. To say that a hospital won't even give the OP a "second glance" is grossly inaccurate. As I said before, my orientee class had about 20 new graduates, all holding ADN's. It is locale dependent. It is facility dependent. There is no single hospital standard that fits the mold. If that were true, NO hospitals would hire ADN's.

- It is location dependent. I worked outside the city and worked with ADNs and BSNs. However, most of the hospitals in NYC will not look at you without a BSN, and unfortunately the trend is moving out of the city and north to upstate locations where there is a surplus of new ADN grads due to numerous local community colleges. Where I used to live in NY they would hire ADNs, but they have all now changed to essentially BSN only hospitals. It is becoming harder and harder to find places that will hire ADNs. So I agree that the blanket statement that no hospital will look at you without a BSN is some what false. However, at some point, it will be true.

redtailhawk · Mar 6, 2014

A job.