Associate or Bachelor degree?

What jobs you can get with an associates will depend on the region you are in and what kind of job you want. Generally speaking most hospitals are moving towards requiring bachelors degrees, and those who have one will typically be more competitive at hospitals that don't require it. In the area where I am at the jobs that new graduates of associates programs get are typically in home health, psych, and nursing home but this will also vary by region.

Check with your local hospitals as they are usually the employers that are picky about degree type.

You can go to a job posting site and see what they ask for in their job listings, but you can usually find someone in recruiting at the hospital who is more than willing to answer your questions.

FWIW, in my area (metro area but not a majorly huge city), the hospitals will hire ADN's but they require you to get your BSN within 5 or 6 years of hire. Both hospitals in the area will help pay for the BSN if you go to their affiliated school as well.

Also, you can frequently find work as an ADN RN, but you may not be able to advance without the BSN. Totally depends on your area and where you want to work (ie nursing homes are usually more flexible with the ADN, the 'non bedside' patient care jobs are usually more demanding of a higher degree).

My current Director of Nursing has an ADN. The hospitals I've worked in, both in Florida and Alabama, do not require a BSN. Since the actual nursing classes are the same, employers around here do not differentiate. If you are an RN, you've taken the same state boards and have the same scope of practice. It really does just depend on what area you are in.

Thank you very much I will do my research and go from there. I really appreciate it :)

Just wanted to say, your age is not an issue whatsoever.....tons of people go into nursing in their 40s, 50s and even 60s. I'm, 45 and just starting school...

Thank you for your feedback!

I know this is a couple months old, but unless you're getting everything paid for, I ALWAYS recommend doing an ADN first. You can always "upgrade" any time after, and you'll pay a hell of a lot less money.

I went through school about the same age as you with a child. It was important to me to start working as an RN as quickly as possible to support my family.

Yes after crunching numbers, and putting a lot of thought into it the only way I'll be able to make it is if I start with an Associate's degree get into the field and then get a BSN. Thank you very much for your feedback, I just got done with all my prerequisites and I turned in my application to the Associates degree nursing program so hopefully I get the call and I'll be on my way soon!