Anyone start their career late in Life? - Page 89

New1,

If you don't mind my asking, why were you "canned"? I am seriously considering a change in careers myself at the ripe old age of 31 but I don't want to just walk into it without knowing all of the downsides. I too have heard that with the shortage of nurses, I could easily get any RN job I wanted but as I have learned from this website, that's not always the case. I am currently a Masters level counselor and went into this career just assuming I would be paid well. I mean after all, I will have earned a Masters. Come to find out, it doesn't pay what I thought it would. I would still like a career where I can help people but I have a family to support.

Hello,

The pay is actually quite good in the beginning if you are at a large city hospital, as I started in. In Philadelphia starting salary for an RN/BSN is hovering around 60,000 at the top hospitals. Realize, of course, that the city has 9% tax and that commuting costs in the short run could eat up any salary differential that you may receive if you could get work closer to where you live. It also seems that these top institutions are more willing to give new comers a chance.

If you chose a nursing program, it is better to get your BSN as this is the new hiring standard and it takes about the same amount of time as the CC route. In the current economy, there are many an unemployed BSN; however, there may be a different scenario for you by the time you graduate. Your counseling skills will be much valued but you will not receive a pay differential because of your previous degrees. A nurse is a nurse.

As for landing the first job, the more connections you have, the better. The only reason I was interviewed was that my partner knew the wife of the nurse manager, who then referred me to another department that had an opening that was not advertised. It also must happen within the first 6 months, otherwise you are history, ie, no longer a new grad.

To answer your question, I was basically "canned" as a "mismatch of work styles and skills." Technically I was not "canned." I did not meet the probationary period. The facts are as follows: received 1-and-half-inch thick training manual week 4-out-of-6 week orientation (only after I "hounded the clinical nurse specialist" for it) and had 16 different preceptors. The CNS informed me, "We messed up your orientation."). If you read up on nursing research, you are supposed to have one primary preceptor. As a former college professor, it is akin to giving your students the syllabus two-thirds the way through the course.

I believe that I fell through the cracks. And because I went through a condensed BSN, I did not have enough experience to know about the pitfalls. So you know, nursing is exceptionally demanding, especially when new. As I've experienced this includes: 12-hour shifts, rotation over night, chaos and disorganization.

I made many mistakes, as to be expected, and there were so many things that I did not know. With the amount of experience I had, I feel that I could not overcome the haphazardness of my training.

I hope this helps you as you make your choice.

I turned 50 in February and graduated in March of this year as an ADN. When I returned to school with three boys in tow, I had to start over since it had been so long. I did the pre-reqs to the pre-reqs. I am glad that I did it and have my RN. The only problem is not taking the NCLEX until October, I am still looking for work. I have applied for several job postings, but they all want an experienced RN. Urgh!! I am getting frustrated and I haven't even started working!! I have been told that the residency programs will start again this spring, but they go fast. I will have to bird-dog the website for the openings. I am going to be a year out by they and not feeling like a new grad, just an unemployed RN. It is hard to believe that will all the hype about become a nurse and they jobs are plentiful...maybe after you get that first one. I guess I am tired of living the life of a broke student, especially at Christmas. All I want to do is go to work. I miss being at the hospital. That is why I changed careers. I want to help people, not sit at home on the computer all day putting in application after application.

Any words of encouragement for this "mature" new grad??

I am not sure what part of the country you live in, but I feel your pain. I do not know if you already have an undergraduate degree, but you might consider riding out the depressed economy by pursuing your BSN. In this way, you are eligible for financial aid to finish your degree, you can make more connections, and as an ADN grad, you probably have superior hands on skills as compared to theory rich but skills poor BSN'ers. For electives you might consider alternative skills sets such as hospital administration, computer skills, etc... that may complement the BSN and give you broader employment options. I hope these suggestions help. This economy stinks.

Just posting this job for you.

Behavior Specialist (BSC), Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS), Mobile Therapist (MT), Psychologist Job in Philadelphia 19102, Pennsylvania US



With your master's in counseling, is it more lucrative for you to re-direct? When I was let go, management talked about the similarities btw waitressing and nursing. It is true. Now, I'm a waitress. lol. sigh..

Hi New1, I read some of your posts, and I am hoping something positive will happen for you. I just became RN two weeks ago, at 37. While that is still relatively young, I also wonder what the future holds. Thankfully, I do have a job, but it is very disheartening to note that thousands are feeling hopeless when they took a chance on something that is supposed to be a "sure thing".

When I decided to return to school, I was not expecting this. Ironically, I waited for nursing because there was a recession then, when I finished high school 20 years ago. And as you mentioned, upgrading is not an option for many who are already broke. I think it will be another year or more of this unfortunately. In the meantime, I guess just keep applying. Someone out there must have some compassion, aside from a space to fill. Some of my friends were looking for just under a year, and recently landed RN jobs. So there is always hope. Somewhere, I do believe someone always will need a nurse...

Good luck in your search.

Thank you for your empathy! Would you mind letting me know what part of the country you are in? I wonder if this makes a difference in terms of getting that first job.

I recently had an interview scheduled at a hospital which the recruiter then canceled two days before d/t my "2009 degree" (12/14 to be exact). This happened after multiple discussions and that she had copies of both official and unofficial transcripts. I missed my 6 month window by a long stretch.

After relating my story to an hr recruiter and adjunct faculty of nursing that the dean of my nursing school hooked me up with, and hearing her response, I have decided to move on. Upon the recommendation of the first recruiter to attend a nurse refresher course, I briefly thought about it. The idea was nixed after the other nursing hr person told me that that experience "would not count" as real experience. A third recruiter that I spoke with informed me that because I had attended a GN residency, I would be disqualified from most programs. I am not willing to relocate for a nursing job as this is the reason why I exited my last profession.

So, I feel that now is the time for me to use this and my other collection of degrees toward other avenues. I saw a job in health advocacy/education for kids thru college age and I am excited to see that there are such positions. I will apply -- cross your fingers! I will find a way to use my nursing background towards some kind of career!

Hi there. I am in Canada, and relocating to AB for my job. I got the job through a nurse on this site actually, and we've become friends. I am very fortunate to have met her.
The economy sucks here just as bad, but people are still finding jobs slowly. Have you considered agency or clinical work as a nurse? Something to keep you in the loop? You have not been out of school that long really. Maybe continue with your other pursuits, while you submit nursing resumes. The new year is approaching...all it takes is one resume in the right hands to get you hired. All I'm suggesting is to not completely give up on the idea. I had 2 more offers after I accepted this one, which I am relocating for. You just never know.

It can be if you are smart about it and experienced. What I mean by that is, if you are in business for yourself (own your own practice and not work in another person's practice) and you have counselors/NPs/psychologists that work out of your practice then yes, it can be. This would mean that I would have to get about 5+ years or more of experience (as I have heard that it takes about that long to get really good at counseling), then open my own business, over time hire in-home/mobile therapists, buy a building or office suite, recruit mental health workers, and charge everyone who works out of my office 25%. I would be looking at 7-10 years before I started making decent money.

I looked at the link you posted and I currently have a job doing in-home or mobile therapy. When you look at the ad it sounds pretty reasonable, right? However, they do not tell you the whole story. It is not $30-35 an hour 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, it is 30-35 an hour for every hour you bill. That means between driving time, cancellations, no-shows, late clients, etc, you may only bill about 50-60 percent of your day. I may work a 9-10 hour day and bill about 6 clients. Then there is the paperwork associated with the counseling that you cannot bill for. There are also one hour weekly supervision sessions with my supervisor because I am a provisionally licensed counselor, one hour weekly or bi-weekly team meetings, monthly 1 hour family support team meetings for some of my clients, phone calls with clients, family members, my office, my supervisor, case workers, submitting billing paperwork, etc. All of this is time that you work that you don't get paid for. The money comes from the time you see clients. You also have to take into account that because I am a Master's level counselor, I cannot bill adults through Medicaid, I can only bill children and considering children are in school until about 3:30 and usually go to bed between 8-9, I have a short window of time that I can see them. If you do do in-home therapy about 80-90% of your clients will be children. I have nothing against my profession, rather I enjoy it to some degree. I really don't have a "boss" as I am a contracted worker, I dress how I want, I make my own schedule, I don't have to worry about someone telling me I screwed up and to get a form right or I am fired. And with that laxed position comes an okay, but not great paycheck. I actually do better than the ad you posted. Medicaid pays about $60 an hour to do in-home therapy and the place I work for takes out about 25% to cover the referral base, taking care of my billing, and providing me with supervision for the 2 years until I am fully licensed. Full time counselors will bill about 20 hours a week. You can do the math. Some counselors work more. I have heard of some counselors billing 30 hours a week. That is crazy when you take into account all of the other work that goes along with it.

Again, not a bad living but I figure with an MSN in PMHNP, I can make more than double what I am making now and do a lot of the same things. And I am willing to give up some of the autonomy and freedom if it means doubling my salary.

Wow! It is amazing to see what is involved in a different industry.

I imagine that if you redirected to nursing now, by the time you will have graduated the economy
will have turned and your opportunities will be much better.

What I did notice in my short "career" as a graduate nurse in a hospital associated with
a university, was that many nurse pursued their master's while nursing and enjoying tuition
benefits.

Good luck!