Associates or Bsn?

[nurse_jacob]

Hello everybody I'm just trying to get an idea of what path to pursue in the nursing field and would like input. I'm starting my nursing program in the summer of 2017 at the community college and the university. I'm in the co ep program so it's the RN to Bsn pathway. My problem is paying for this program since I'll have to keep my regular job to pay for it. I was wondering could I just do my Rn in associate of nursing and work in the hospital setting or doctors office then do my Bsn after my associates in nursing?

I have been hearing that nurses who hold an associates degree have a harder time finding a job and by 2020 all nurses are to hold a Bsn degree just to work at hospital, community clinics, and doctors offices. Just a little bit about me i will be graduating from Arizona State University with a B.s in Medical Microbiology in 2017 Spring. I currently reside in Phoenix Arizona but relocated here from Oahu (Hawaiian Islands) and want to move back home to Oahu but I'm hearing that the hospitals there will only hire nurses with a Bsn as well. I want to become a nurse practitioner or nurse anesthetist in the end so I can start working by helping people. I would love to hear nurses experiences in this from Arizona and Oahu so I would know what to expect and how I can snag a job as a nurse.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

If you want to practice nursing in Hawaii, you will need a BSN. Nursing employment markets in Hawaii are clogged with too many nurses and not enough jobs, so you will need as much of a competitive advantage as possible if you don't want to be an unemployed new grad RN.

[SapphireKitten, CNA]

Get your BSN first! It will take more time at once, but you'll be glad once you graduate. You'll have an advantage for jobs over all non BSN nurses. You also never have to worry about going back to school! Unless of course you want to advance to your masters or further, but that's obviously not required.