Already Have a B.S. - What's the best route?

[Steezy]

Hello Everyone!

I'm 24 years old and have a B.S. but after working in my field for awhile, I've realized I would like to become a nurse instead. I feel like I'm in quite the predicament though because I currently work full time and I won't be able to take a full year off to do any kind of accelerated one year program. So instead I'm looking at an A.A.S. at the local community college. It's also much more affordable

The program is two years but since I already have a B.S. I think some of my credits will transfer so that I could possibly end up just taking specific nursing courses (allowing me to still work at least part time.) My question with this option is .. will I still be able to get an M.S.N. with this since I have the B.S.? Or, do you need to specifically have a B.S.N. to get an M.S.N.? I also noticed that the degree isn't an A.S.N. so will this affect me negatively in terms of getting a job in the future?

Thanks to anyone that replies :)

[caliotter3]

You can find specific answers to your questions by inquiring at the programs that you are interested in, as different programs often have different requirements and different ways of approaching things. Good luck with your nursing school endeavors.

[elkpark]

There are some MSN programs that take Associate's degree grads without BSNs (they incorporate the additional BSN content into the graduate program), but, obviously, this would limit your choices of graduate programs dramatically.

The other consideration to keep in mind is that there are kazillions of BSN-completion program for Associate's grads out there, both on-line and bricks & mortar, generally designed for people who are working full-time and comparatively painless (compared to nursing school itself!) to complete. You can always complete a BSN at your leisure once you're finished with an AAS and licensed (if you choose to). Since you already have a BS, you would probably have most or all of the general ed requirements already and would just need the actual nursing courses, so you could probably be done fairly quickly. That would give you a much wider choice of MSN programs.

In terms of getting jobs with an ASN vs. AAS, as long as your Associate's degree prepares/qualifies you for RN licensure, employers won't really care -- they just care that you're licensed.