Any 2nd career RNs going back to their previous careers???

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jul 6, 2004

I would go back to my first career, if there were any way to make a decent living at it. I worked in machining and manufacturing- factory work.

I was very good at it, but manufacturing is all but dead in the US. I kept getting laid off over and over as the companies I worked for closed up shop in the US and moved all their manufacturing to Mexico.

allnurses Guide · Jul 6, 2004

Hi there -
I was a magazine editor until starting nursing school in May 2002.
Graduated from nursing school in August 2003 and started working as an RN in September 2003.
Passed the boards with flying colors, doing well at work according to supervisors and colleagues...
...but not liking the job!
Just curious: Any other 2nd career nurses considering going back to their "old" jobs?
(I actually have already resigned from the hospital and will start a new editing job in 2 weeks...so my decision's already made!)
.

Before entering the nursing field, my first love was art/design/illustration. I actually quit nursing school at one point and was going to get my teaching certificate to go along with a BA in Visual Art that I had previously earned.

I then decided once and for all that teaching was NOT for me and that I'd be better at nursing.

Now that I've been an RN for a little while and I've seen how stressful it is, I wish I had gotten that teaching certificate! =)

I'll probably never go back to being a designer, though. Too few jobs in this area, the pay is too low, and my first design job was a miserable failure.

I envy you though. Good for you! =)

dizzy_walnut · Jul 6, 2004

i'm a licensed medtech before if took nursing in 1991.i never realized i would love the job when i took a nursing job in the hospital where i'm working now.in my country, the philippines, nurses are paid verrrrrry low!but i enjoy being a nurse. not like when i used to work as a medtech,just confined in the four-walled corners of the clinical laboratory.i was assigned at the ER for 10 mos when i joined the hosp in 1999.then i was trained for 2 wks at the OR/RR and has been till now.we do all the works,including housekeeping, lifting pts,being on call 24hrs a day!i got lucky in the english exams and cgfns. now, i'm reviewing for the nclex.just got my visa last may.hope to be in baltimore before winter.just think of it as fun.i'm sure you'll learn to love the job.:)

KarenAR · Jul 6, 2004

Heart:

Yep, I forgot to mention it was an accelerated program!!!

I think if it had been a "full-length" program, I probably would not have finished nursing school. But my program was so fast, I was out and working before finally deciding that nursing (at least bedside nursing) is not for me!

Hellllllo Nurse:

I am so sorry that the career you'd rather be in has "dried up" like that. I think it is really cool that you love that work, though. I don't hear that about manufacturing very often. Pretty cool! Well, here's hoping the industry makes a comeback in the U.S. for you and everyone else in the same boat! ; )

RealNurseWitch:

There's lots of stuff you can do with art/design/illustration (as I'm sure you know already!). Have you ever thought of being a designer for a company that produces health-related products (anything from pharmaceutical packaging to promotional pens to patient education materials or patient education websites or nonprofit health organizations' websites, etc.)?

Don't give up on it, if it is your dream. I also thought there weren't any jobs in editing where I'm living now, but I found a great one via careerbuilder.com. You can sign up to get e-mails on jobs that match your interests...and just keep that info coming to you while you continue to work as an RN.

Just curious, how was your first design job "a miserable failure"?

allnurses Guide · Jul 7, 2004

Well, it was the only job that I've ever had in the graphic design field. I was working for a company that makes high school and college graduation announcements and other accessories. It took me a year and a half after graduation to get that job, it was over an hour drive to and from my house, it only paid nine bucks an hour, I didn't get along with my boss, and I stayed pretty isolated most of the day, either behind the computer or behind a workbench in the corner of the factory, making displays. Employees were rather dispensable at this place. A lot of people got fired from there while I was working there... and I ended up being one of them. But I hated the job so much and was so unhappy that I was actually relieved when they finally let me go.

I'm actually not much of a designer; much more of an illustrator. And I'm very UN-neat; that hurt me at that job because so much of my work had to be SO CLEAN.

Between that time and the time I started working in the medical field (five years ago, as an aide), I was in retail. :)

I'd love to find a good illustrating gig. I wouldn't mind still nursing part time if I could find a good gig.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 7, 2004

I was in public affairs both military and civilian prior to becoming an LPN when I was 34, and then an RN when I was 36. I did like it very much but I also like nursing. However, furthering my education is what will get me ahead of the game - IMHO of course. I do love ER nursing, but realistically, can I keep up this pace till I'm 65? Probably not.

KarenAR · Jul 7, 2004

RealNurseWitch -

My first magazine job was for a company headed by a ROYAL jerk. He and I were like oil & water. Thankfully everyone else I worked with there was wonderful (except for two others, who were the jerk's brother and sister).

At that job, in 1995, I was salaried at $12,000 a year, working full time and plenty of overtime, and had NO benefits. But it was the only real magazine publisher in town, and we did put out good products that we could be proud of, so I stayed for a while. Finally got a raise - to a whopping $14,000/year. Then finally decided I couldn't afford to work there anymore, so I left.

Was a crappy job situation, but gave me good experience!!!

NurseDiva04 · Jul 13, 2004

I am starting nursing school in a couple of months. I have 20+ years in IT. I am not going to totally close that door. However, I want to fulfill a lifetime dream to be in healthcare.

mary761 · Aug 9, 2004

Count me in. I was a teacher, then went thru CNA training so I could scope out nursing before I took the plunge. I was a CNA for a few months and LOVED it. I STILL love being a CNA. When the local nursing program expanded, I got in a year before I expected to. So Karen, you and I are alike--rushed thru before really getting a chance to look around!

I wish I had listened to those little doubts I've had since first semester, but everyone kept telling me things would get better. They haven't, and I'm not going to spend the rest of my life dreading work every day. My first GN position was so awful I didn't even take my boards. So I'm back to being a CNA until I renew my teaching certificate. Some say I really didn't give nursing a chance, but really--how long do you have to poke yourself in the eye with a stick to figure out you don't like it?!

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Aug 11, 2004

I'm just curious....if you discovered that you didn't enjoy nursing that much - could you possibly have looked into another job within the nursing field? It seems as though there are so many possibilities out there, could you have gotten involved in the wrong path? For example, let's say you're an ER nurse and would have felt differently if you were a school nurse?

I currently am a student and once I do leave my current profession - there will be no turning back because I can't return to that job.

Like I said...I was just curious.

Thanks!

:balloons:

mary761 · Aug 11, 2004

Unfortunately, in my state school nurses are considered a luxury, so there are very few positions. The few that are available are staffed by LPN's and CNA's. In outpatient nursing, cost is also a consideration. MD's hire primarily CMA's and LPN's. The few that hire RN's are specialists that want nurses with several years of hospital experience in that specialty. Of course, the specialty areas in the hospital usually want nurses with at least a year of med-surg experience. New grads CAN get hired in a specialty area, but only if they agree to work for that facility 18-24 months after completing training. (Understandable, I guess, given the costs of training a new nurse.)

bionurse · Aug 11, 2004

I really don't know. But I plan to start working on my Master's in Biology next summer during my break. I have worked in education as a high school teacher, a community college instructor and as a Pathologists' Assistant. I feel that one can nevr have too much education.