Im 34 with a family. I've been on healthcare for 11 years. Im currently a Med Assistant. My employer provides tuition assistance, but only for *one* degree.
I was pursuing nursing initially and i was on a roll at first, passing A&P, micro,psych,etc... The only thing i had left to do was take general chemistry, organic chemistry, and pass an entrance exam.
So when i went for the general chemistry, i was doing fine until i got to the equations then i started failing... I had no choice but to withdraw instead of receiving a D or F. On a side note, i was also dealing with my father's death and my wife's unemployment all at the same time, so i dont think that helped either.
I got really discouraged and ended up changing majors to Accounting, thinking i could probably transition to the business side of healthcare instead.
Its been 18 months now since i switched and my excitement has slowly vanished due to my transition being unsuccessful. Ive gotten a few interviews for internships, ended up not winning any of them, no interviews for entry level positions. I know its because of my 11 years in Patient care but i chose to ignore it and be optimistic... Boy do i feel like an idiot.
This led to me taking another look at nursing, wondering maybe i gave up too easily last time around. Honestly, accounting school work wasn't really that difficult, it was interesting and i dont mind the work, but at the same time i feel kind of attached to patient care for some strange reason i can't put my finger on. I've been doing this for a decade, I've never been in any field this long before.
Problem is im supposed to graduate next semester from accounting, June 2020. I have 5 classes left (2 in accounting and 3 in liberal arts electives). Again, this is my first degree, no money out of my pocket, its being mostly paid for.
Should I switch before i graduate or just finish my BA in accounting first since its only 1 more semester?
As for nursing school options, im looking at the following:
1. Stay at my current school for the BSN. Science prerequisites have *no expiration* at my school's BSN program. So i would basically pick up where i left off, pass the two chemistry classes and take the entrance exam.
2. Go to community college for the ASN. While they only need 1 chemistry, i would have to retake only A&P 1 and 2 because this school has a 5 year expiration on sciences. I honestly don't care if i have to retake them, I'll do whatever it takes.
3. Go to an LPN school for 11 months. No prerequisites required. Just an GED-type entrance exam.
Im sorry for the long post but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I'm going to say finish the accounting degree WHILE taking your remaining prerequisites.
BECAUSE you may not get into a program right away- you may discover chemistry is your kryptonite, you will need to support yourself for a while and accounting pays well- I could go on and on.
My vote is also for you to finish your Accounting degree. If you had 2 yrs to go, then stop and pursue Nursing, but with 1 semester to go, you never know when it might come in handy.
Why not finish your degree and try for an ABSN program? Of course, after you take your chemistry course which you need. Not sure if you need to take/retake any other prereqs, but most ABSN programs are anywhere from 12 months-18 months.
The good thing is, if you finish your degree at least you have something to fall back on just in case!
I'm going to say finish the accounting degree WHILE taking your remaining prerequisites.
BECAUSE you may not get into a program right away- you may discover chemistry is your kryptonite, you will need to support yourself for a while and accounting pays well- I could go on and on.
100% agree. Accounting can pay decently and have good hours that are family friendly. Nursing, while pay is usually good, can have cockamamie hours that are not conducive to a social, or family, life. Good luck with your decision
There are only so many internships out there vs applications for them. Nursing is the same way. Due to market saturation, not all new grads get a job, or desired job, right out of school
You didn't make a mistake, you are just facing some challenges and you can face challenges with nursing. You may have to work in a nursing home for a year or two, maybe more before you can get a hospital job, you may not get to be the type of nurse you want. You could go to school to be an ER nurse and end up only a med-surg nurse etc. You went to school to be an accountant and you will definitely graduate as an accountant. Please don't give up on accounting because you can own your own practice without all of the stress that you will face as nurse. Many people don't have an analytical mind to do accounting so they are stuck with nursing. Keep plugging those applications in. This is nothing new, nurses after graduation get tons of rejection letters and have to get jobs at starbucks temporarily, many just completely give up and don't even use the degree. Yes it can turn out alright for you as a nurse but you only have a bump in the road with accounting and are giving up too easily.
There are only so many internships out there vs applications for them. Nursing is the same way. Due to market saturation, not all new grads get a job, or desired job, right out of school
5 hours ago, Workitinurfava said:
You didn't make a mistake, you are just facing some challenges and you can face challenges with nursing. You may have to work in a nursing home for a year or two, maybe more before you can get a hospital job, you may not get to be the type of nurse you want. You could go to school to be an ER nurse and end up only a med-surg nurse etc. You went to school to be an accountant and you will definitely graduate as an accountant. Please don't give up on accounting because you can own your own practice without all of the stress that you will face as nurse. Many people don't have an analytical mind to do accounting so they are stuck with nursing. Keep plugging those applications in. This is nothing new, nurses after graduation get tons of rejection letters and have to get jobs at starbucks temporarily, many just completely give up and don't even use the degree. Yes it can turn out alright for you as a nurse but you only have a bump in the road with accounting and are giving up too easily.
But the thing is my background is already in healthcare. I have 11 years experience. I started as an EMT and am currently a medical assistant. I can easily imagine that being a "no experience" problem for accounting recruiters. im sure it already has been all this time. Don't get me wrong, I've gone to my school's career center and they gave me a resume make over and they did their best to "tailor" my non-accounting experience in patient care.
As a new grad nurse, correct me if mistaken, but wouldn't my 11 years in patient care give me a leg up so to speak? I mean im already working at a hospital. I work around RNs. Also, im totally in favor of working 12 hours x 3 days a week.
As a new grad nurse, correct me if mistaken, but wouldn't my 11 years in patient care give me a leg up so to speak? I mean im already working at a hospital. I work around RNs. Also, im totally in favor of working 12 hours x 3 days a week.
Your experience may or may not help. There are CNAs with x years experience on here who thought they were a shoe in, and later, still looking for a job. Others w/o experience get a job w/o issues. And any scenario in between. Job saturation is a thing in many areas. Keep that in mind.
Accounting, you will generally not have any experience, as it's specialized area of business.
You sound like you have your mind made up, which it has to work for you. Some of us are just trying to tell you the realities of nursing. There's a big difference between working with RNs and being an RN. Good luck with your adventure!
Before making any decisions about this, how is the nursing market for new graduates in your area? I am asking because you may not find a nursing job either even if you get a nursing degree if your area is suturated with nurses.
Before making any decisions about this, how is the nursing market for new graduates in your area? I am asking because you may not find a nursing job either even if you get a nursing degree if your area is suturated with nurses.
Im in NYC. I've seen a ton of RN openings on indeed. I've also checked individual hospital career sites and RN is the one thing i see an abundace of. Two years ago, my coworker (also a med assistant) finished his ABSN and started working at our hospital as an RN 1 month later. Funny thing, he had a prior degree in accounting too, worked for 3 places, and decided to become an MA and pursue RN instead of the CPA.
However, going by the consensus of what everyone is saying here, something is telling me i should finish the accounting as a back up.
But the thing is my background is already in healthcare. I have 11 years experience. I started as an EMT and am currently a medical assistant. I can easily imagine that being a "no experience" problem for accounting recruiters. im sure it already has been all this time. Don't get me wrong, I've gone to my school's career center and they gave me a resume make over and they did their best to "tailor" my non-accounting experience in patient care.
As a new grad nurse, correct me if mistaken, but wouldn't my 11 years in patient care give me a leg up so to speak? I mean im already working at a hospital. I work around RNs. Also, im totally in favor of working 12 hours x 3 days a week.
So you should know healthcare isn't for you, if you would even consider accounting with that much healthcare experience. 11 years of healthcare experience and you are working on an accounting degree? I hope it works out for you as a nurse but I won't be shocked when I see a, I was going for accounting but now I regret being a nurse. I was a CNA for many years working around nurses and thought I knew what it would feel like working as a nurse but boy was I in for a rude awakening when I became an RN and had to deal with RN responsibilities.
So you should know healthcare isn't for you, if you would even consider accounting with that much healthcare experience. 11 years of healthcare experience and you are working on an accounting degree? I hope it works out for you as a nurse but I won't be shocked when I see a, I was going for accounting but now I regret being a nurse. I was a CNA for many years working around nurses and thought I knew what it would feel like working as a nurse but boy was I in for a rude awakening when I became an RN and had to deal with RN responsibilities.
I hear what you're saying. I had looked into other healthcare specialties before deciding to go the accounting route. Namely respiratory therapy and occupational therapy.
RRT has 3 schools in my area: A public community college with an alleged 2 year waitlist, a private 2 year college that costs $60,000 (again, for an AAS that will make me b/w $50,000-$60,000 to begin with), and a 4 year private school offering a B.S. but requires way more pre-reqs than nursing itself.
OT, aside from the drawback of being a masters degree (and soon a PhD in 2025), has two schools nearest me and both require a crap-load of pre-reqs.
When I picked accounting, I thought a) I could probably transition into the financial/business side of healthcare with it and b) Flexibility (i.e. Accountants are needed in every industry, so I could go outside of healthcare if I chose).
I'd love to stay in healthcare but it's a matter of what to do next to a) progress further in it and b) is a good return on investment in terms of salary (not trying to sound materialistic, but I would be lying if I said money wasn't an important factor, especially when I have family to feed and take care of).
Im in NYC. I've seen a ton of RN openings on indeed. I've also checked individual hospital career sites and RN is the one thing i see an abundace of. Two years ago, my coworker (also a med assistant) finished his ABSN and started working at our hospital as an RN 1 month later. Funny thing, he had a prior degree in accounting too, worked for 3 places, and decided to become an MA and pursue RN instead of the CPA.
However, going by the consensus of what everyone is saying here, something is telling me i should finish the accounting as a back up.
Weird. On here, NYC is one of the toughest markets along with the SoCal area.
Talk to HR at your facility and see what they think, pay scale, etc
I would finish the accounting as a backup. Because if you dont like nursing, can't find a job, or whatever, you have something to fall back on
NICU Guy, BSN, RN
4,161 Posts
My vote is also for you to finish your Accounting degree. If you had 2 yrs to go, then stop and pursue Nursing, but with 1 semester to go, you never know when it might come in handy.