Nursing as a major career change

[slogerot]

I'm seriously considering getting my BSN after 8 years in marketing (I have a bachelor's degree in journalism). I'm trying to figure out the right way to go about it and would appreciate some advice. I'm 30, married, have a preschooler and am pregnant with #2 (due in January, and he'll be our last kid). I work full-time. The nursing program I'm interested in requires several pre-reqs I don't have from my previous degree, so I'm looking at taking them one or two at a time over the next couple of years at the local community college, and then applying to nursing school. I think at that point I'd have to quit my job because I can't imagine trying to do nursing school while working FT. I also like the idea of taking the pre-reqs slowly to get my feet wet and remind myself what school is like.

I've heard it's good to work as a CNA to get some experience before nursing school, but with a family to support I'm afraid it won't be feasible for me to quit my job to do that full-time. Are part-time CNA gigs common? Or is that something I shouldn't worry about?

Also, in terms of paying for school, we'll be able to save up a bunch before I quit my job, but I imagine the amount we can save would probably just cover some tuition. Would you take out loans to cover living expenses as well? My husband is a teacher and while it's not impossible to live off of his salary, it's not easy either. This is part of the reason I'd wait until our oldest is out of daycare to jump in feet-first.

Any advice/been there done that stories would be appreciated.

[sunbaby0811]

bumping for you

I'm in a similar situation and am curious how others paid for school as well. I work FT now. We can nearly live off my husband's salary, but will need to still pay for daycare for 1 child when I go back to school FT (we have 2 in dc now). Ideally I will work a little bit to cover that and have enough in savings to pay for tuition, but I have to start buckling down with my savings to meet that goal (yuck! LOL)

Good luck to you!!