Is it safe to start out with an ADN?

Why would you get into trouble with an ADN? I don't understand your concern. I have an ADN and got hired immediately after graduation as well as my classmates. I'm also going back to school for my BSN. My job duties are no different from a BSN prepared RN. Also, we do take the same licensing test.

I have never, ever been limited in my job searches by my ADN. And yes, I know that that is true because I have been offered every job that I have interviewed for (different employment climates in different times).

You might be limited with regard to administrative positions (or so it is said). However, in my facility, I count as many ADN managers as BSN managers.

Facilities differ in their attitudes toward ADN/BSN issues. In some facilities there is a pay difference, in others not at all.

A lot depends on your local job market and the type of position you want. Some hospitals do prefer to hire BSN's -- particularly for their new grad interships in intensive care, maternity, ED, etc. But in other communities, it makes no difference what your entry level degree is.

Bottom line: Life offers no guarantees. But to get a general idea of your local job market, you'll have to ask people "in the know" in the local hospitals in your area.

An ADN and a BSN is the same pay for staff nurses. The only difference is that with a BSN you can go into management positions.

I see you are a new member, DAVISJA, and may not be aware of what it is like in other parts of the country from where you live. But in many places, hospitals do pay a small differential for having a BSN and there are lots of jobs (not just ones in management) that require a BSN. And some hospitals will prefer to hire BSN's for their new grad internships in some of their special care units -- particularly if the new ADN grad does not have experience as a CNA, LPN, etc.

That's why I urged the orignal poster to check the job market in her local area. What is true in one hospital or in one community may not be true in another.

I started with my ADN and i would never regret it! I did get my BSN, but just because I wanted to have more opportunities for advancement, management type jobs. I don't think I learned anything in my BSN program that made me a better bedside nurse, in fact I thought it was more "hoops" to jump through than anything else. ADN is the best, I would not have changed my educational path for anything! I have precepted BSNs and they have NEVER been prepared for the actually bedside nursing as well as the ADN.

Where I work your BSN is only worth 50 cents an hour, and the job description is the same. I get paid more than that for charging. CEN is worth $1 an hour,...unless you want to go into management there really isn't a lot of incentive to get your BSN,,,.....there are two large hospital based nursing schools in the area that offer ADN,..that might dictate the attitudes of employers

I think you will be fine obtaining your ADN first. You will get a job with no problems. Where I live the BSN does get more pay, 5% more than an ADN. I was an ADN for 20 years and then went back and obtained my BSN. I had one job tell me that if I did not have the BSN do not even bother to apply. It was a job in public health nursing which does require the BSN. Management also will prefer this BSN degree. If you just want an RN job outside of management or public health then an ADN is just fine.

ADN is perfectly safe. More than 50% of the nurses I work with are ADN's and they are just fine. In fact alot of them, especially new nurses are all the same. I noticed that the ADN and BSN nurses are on the same page when it comes to their initial experience working on a floor. They are just as nervous and unsure of themselves.
I plan on getting my ADN first then continuing once I start working to get my BSN. I'm 40 now and really want to start working first. Plus I think I will continue to obtain my BSN with one of the online schools.