About To Take The Leap

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HELLO TO EVERYONE. I WILL BEGIN MY JOURNEY TOWARDS A ASSOCIATES IN APPLIED SCIENCE FOR NURSING THIS SUMMER. I AM MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN. (BOY 4 YEARS AND GIRL 3 MONTHS.)

I AM 30YRS. OLD AND HAVE SPENT THE PAST TEN YEARS WORKING IN THE INDUSTIAL FIELD PRIMARILY IN MACHINE SHOP ENVIRONMENTS. THIS WILL BE A DEFINITE CAREER CHANGE FOR ME AND ONE I LOOK FORWARD TO. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE STRAIN MY WORK WILL PLACE ON MY FAMILY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AND I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH MY WIFE WHO ASSURES ME SHE WILL BE 100% SUPPORTIVE. I AM MOSTLY CONCERNED BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE PRIMARY MONEY MAKER IN OUR HOUSEHOLD AND NOW I WILL BE FORCED TO REDUCE MY INCOME IN PURSUIT OF MY PERSONAL GOALS.

I SUPPOSE THE UNCERTAINTY IS WHAT SCARES ME CONCERNING MY CHILDREN, EVENTHOUGH THE HARDSHIP WILL ULTIMATELY BENEFIT THEM IN THE LONG RUN.

JUST WANTED TO HERE FROM SIMILAR PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE THE CAREER SWITCH INTO NURSING, WHO PERHAPS MAY HAVE SHARED SOME OF MY PERSONAL SITUATIONS (OR YOUR OWN UNIQUE STORY)WHILE MAKING THE LEAP.

ALSO ON A DIFFERENT NOTE,:Melody: DOES ANYONE HAVE ADVICE ON WHAT AREAS I COULD BEST USE THIS TIME TOWARDS TO BETTER PREPARE MY SELF FOR MY CLASSES(CERTAIN AREAS MAYBE YOU WISHED YOU'D HAD MORE TIME TO LEARN OR YOU FOUND THE MOST DIFFICULT)

ANY REPLY TO EITHER QUESTION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANKS TO ALL.

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.
HELLO TO EVERYONE. I WILL BEGIN MY JOURNEY TOWARDS A ASSOCIATES IN APPLIED SCIENCE FOR NURSING THIS SUMMER. I AM MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN. (BOY 4 YEARS AND GIRL 3 MONTHS.)

I AM 30YRS. OLD AND HAVE SPENT THE PAST TEN YEARS WORKING IN THE INDUSTIAL FIELD PRIMARILY IN MACHINE SHOP ENVIRONMENTS. THIS WILL BE A DEFINITE CAREER CHANGE FOR ME AND ONE I LOOK FORWARD TO. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE STRAIN MY WORK WILL PLACE ON MY FAMILY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AND I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH MY WIFE WHO ASSURES ME SHE WILL BE 100% SUPPORTIVE. I AM MOSTLY CONCERNED BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE PRIMARY MONEY MAKER IN OUR HOUSEHOLD AND NOW I WILL BE FORCED TO REDUCE MY INCOME IN PURSUIT OF MY PERSONAL GOALS.

I SUPPOSE THE UNCERTAINTY IS WHAT SCARES ME CONCERNING MY CHILDREN, EVENTHOUGH THE HARDSHIP WILL ULTIMATELY BENEFIT THEM IN THE LONG RUN.

JUST WANTED TO HERE FROM SIMILAR PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE THE CAREER SWITCH INTO NURSING, WHO PERHAPS MAY HAVE SHARED SOME OF MY PERSONAL SITUATIONS (OR YOUR OWN UNIQUE STORY)WHILE MAKING THE LEAP.

ALSO ON A DIFFERENT NOTE,:Melody: DOES ANYONE HAVE ADVICE ON WHAT AREAS I COULD BEST USE THIS TIME TOWARDS TO BETTER PREPARE MY SELF FOR MY CLASSES(CERTAIN AREAS MAYBE YOU WISHED YOU'D HAD MORE TIME TO LEARN OR YOU FOUND THE MOST DIFFICULT)

ANY REPLY TO EITHER QUESTION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANKS TO ALL.

Welcome to allnurses.com!

You'll find many men here with similar stories. Me, I'm a LPN student after a 17 years career in IT.

A & P can be a screaming PIA (pain in the azz), so can microbiology. Study up there if you think it would be helpful.

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Thank You For The Reply!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Geriatric, Behavioral Health.

Moved to Pre-Nursing Student forum.

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I agree w/ the above poster. A&P, at least for me, was the worst!! I'd rather do Organic Chem anyday.

Congratulations on your decision. I'm sure it was a very tough decision for you, especially being the breadwinner. The supportive env you have will certainly help!!

I quit a good job at a Fortune 500 company 18 mos ago. I always had nursing in the back of my mind, and after being home for several months, said this is what I wanted to do!! If I can get past the pre-reqs (which I am doing) I'll be fine! It is tough sometimes asking my husband and son to do things I would normally do. I don't like that, especially since I don't work. But if I'm not happy they're certainly not going to be happy!

Good luck!

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HELLO TO EVERYONE. I WILL BEGIN MY JOURNEY TOWARDS A ASSOCIATES IN APPLIED SCIENCE FOR NURSING THIS SUMMER. I AM MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN. (BOY 4 YEARS AND GIRL 3 MONTHS.)

I AM 30YRS. OLD AND HAVE SPENT THE PAST TEN YEARS WORKING IN THE INDUSTIAL FIELD PRIMARILY IN MACHINE SHOP ENVIRONMENTS. THIS WILL BE A DEFINITE CAREER CHANGE FOR ME AND ONE I LOOK FORWARD TO. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE STRAIN MY WORK WILL PLACE ON MY FAMILY OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AND I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS WITH MY WIFE WHO ASSURES ME SHE WILL BE 100% SUPPORTIVE. I AM MOSTLY CONCERNED BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE PRIMARY MONEY MAKER IN OUR HOUSEHOLD AND NOW I WILL BE FORCED TO REDUCE MY INCOME IN PURSUIT OF MY PERSONAL GOALS.

I SUPPOSE THE UNCERTAINTY IS WHAT SCARES ME CONCERNING MY CHILDREN, EVENTHOUGH THE HARDSHIP WILL ULTIMATELY BENEFIT THEM IN THE LONG RUN.

JUST WANTED TO HERE FROM SIMILAR PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE THE CAREER SWITCH INTO NURSING, WHO PERHAPS MAY HAVE SHARED SOME OF MY PERSONAL SITUATIONS (OR YOUR OWN UNIQUE STORY)WHILE MAKING THE LEAP.

ALSO ON A DIFFERENT NOTE,:Melody: DOES ANYONE HAVE ADVICE ON WHAT AREAS I COULD BEST USE THIS TIME TOWARDS TO BETTER PREPARE MY SELF FOR MY CLASSES(CERTAIN AREAS MAYBE YOU WISHED YOU'D HAD MORE TIME TO LEARN OR YOU FOUND THE MOST DIFFICULT)

ANY REPLY TO EITHER QUESTION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANKS TO ALL.

The hardest do deal with in getting back into college after years of not having been in school is math and Chemistry....brush up on your skills in those areas and you will have a great foundation for the other science classes that you will have to complete prior of getting into nursing school. GPA is everything in the pre-nursing classes so try to get A's nothing less than B's particularly in the science classes. Good luck and I hope you will find a way to balance work, family and school.

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Hi

I went back to school after 13 years in International Business. My husband and 2 kids were extremely supportive. I had to continue to work, so it took me a L O N G time to get through but it is the best thing I have ever done. I have been an RN for 7 years now and have not regretted becoming a nurse for 1 second. School was much easier for me as an adult. I think as an adult we have the disipline needed to get the job done. The best piece of advice I can give is to always keep up with your reading, as busy as you will be, do not get behind because it is extremely difficult to catch up. Adult students have so many other responsibilities that "all nighters" are not an option so you must stay current to stay afloat.

Best of luck to you. Nursing School was grueling but worth every moment.

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Specializes in critical care transport.

Congrads on your decision!

I am 32, and going into the nursing program this August.

I will tell you from my own experience what it did for ME.

-when you go to school, it changes you. It gave me a huge boost because it made me feel good about myself. Sometimes this causes the dynamic to change in your relationship with your spouse, and it can lead to some problems, but everyone will learn to adjust. Be real and upfront with your spouse, and try to be organized so you can spend time with your family. School can claim your life if you let it, but it doesn't have to be that way.

-school forced me to be organized. It also made me a better wife and parent, because I felt so good about my goals and myself, it gave me more energy.

-my favorite classes have been psychology an anatomy/physiology. I didn't care for chemistry (unlike another poster here, so you can see everyone has thier own view on it) but have been able to understand chemical processes of the body better. You don't have to know a whole lot of chemical reactions for anatomy/physiology, but you do understand your own body better.

-school is what you make it. I put off school until I was 28, because I had a history of hating school. I got a 2.7 in high school if that tells you anything. Now, I'm on the dean's list. If you have your game face on, you can do it! It's not always easy, but my daughter who is 9 understands to do all this BEFORE starting a family, as she has watched me since she was 5.

-don't think you are starting too late, etc. I thought of the years I wasted (10) but I thought of the additional years I'd waste if I didn't do anything.

My brother is now on his 2nd quarter of college- he's going into nursing too! And I can already tell how happy he is to be in school. We are the first "generation" to go to college. Let it be a personal enrichment experience. A good attitude goes a long way. I had the attitude that I'll do this, or I'll die trying. It's helped. I'm even on the dean's list!

Developing frindships with other people at school who are in your situation will happen, and that helps.

Going to school, if this is your first time, can feel complicated, because of all the college lingo that at least I wasn't used to.

I have been going to school part time, so I don't short change my family. If you go part time, don't think to yourself, "this will take forever." Pretty soon, you'll be accepted into a program and wonder where all the time has gone.

Lastly, feel proud- by helping yourself, you are helping your family. Good for you!

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I Can't Thank You Enough For Your Encouraging And Supportive Comments! I Guess The "fear Factor" Has The Butterflys ' A Stirring, Hearing From Someone Who Parallels My Own Situation Really Helps Me See The Possibilty Become More Of A Reality!

I Intend To Give This All I Have It Means A Great Deal To Me.

Thanks Again!

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ADVICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT! I'LL PUT IT TO GOOD USE.:thankya:

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