Need school advice from actual nurses

Nurses Job Hunt

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I know hospitals prefer BSN to ADN RN's. Nurses with BSN's get paid more too.

My mom heard from her cosmetic nurse that a B.S. along with an ADN is just as good career-wise as a BSN (or almost as useful).

I already have my B.S. degree. Would a BSN be that much more useful than an ADN in terms of pay and job opportunities? What if I eventually want to earn an MSN?

Any advice would be great! I live in California if job markets differ.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

A lot of employers don't care about that nonnursing degree when applying for a nursing position. What they do care about is that BSN. Some facilities will offer a small differential for having it, others won't. Depending on where you are in CA, you may very well need that BSN as there are areas of CA where new grads are pounding the pavement for months or even more to get that first job.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVICU.

A BSN is almost essential in tough job markets (i.e. most major cities) where supply of new grads > demand. ADN is a faster route, but you may find yourself struggling to find employment with loans staring back at you. Go the BSN route if you can. To be honest, I've never really seen a non-nursing degree being all that useful unless it's like... a second language. Or maybe psych if you want mental health.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Critical Care.

I don't know about BSN nurses getting paid more (where I work, you're paid by years of experience and certifications, not by your degree) but I would imagine that in CA, a BSN may basically be your bare minimum, especially if you're looking at a Magnet hospital.

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

When the bean-counters are filling out the bean-counting sheets so the hospital can brag that they have XX% BSN nurses, that is what they are counting. The percent of their nursing staff with a BSN.

NOT nurses that are just as smart as BSN nurses.

NOT nurses that have an almost as useful B.S. with an ADN.

NOT nurses that could have gotten a BSN but didn't get admitted.

NOT nurses that wanted to get a BSN but couldn't afford it.

NOT nurses that didn't want to wait to get on the waiting list for a BSN program.

NOT nurses that have been nurses forever and it's just too much of a pain in the azz to go back to get their BSN.

NOT people that think a BSN nurse is stupid.

NOT even people with an MSN!

Our Union just negotiated a $1.00 an hour raise for nurses with a BSN. So, if they don't pay more now, that can change.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
A lot of employers don't care about that nonnursing degree when applying for a nursing position. What they do care about is that BSN. Some facilities will offer a small differential for having it, others won't. Depending on where you are in CA, you may very well need that BSN as there are areas of CA where new grads are pounding the pavement for months or even more to get that first job.

Being familiar with the California job market as well, I would agree with all of the above.

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I agree with all the posts. Another option for you is a direct entry MSN program or an accelerated (ABSN) program.

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