BA to MN or BSN?

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  1. BA to MN or BSN

    • 0
      MN
    • 2
      BSN

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Basically, I have a non-science BA and I am interested in a career in nursing. I am having a hard time deciding between two programs offered at my local university. One is a BA to BSN program. After a year of prereqs I would be able to complete the program in two years. Another option is the BA to MN program. The guidance counselor made it clear that the MN is not a nurse practitioner degree and is more of a advanced general nursing degree. The program would take about two years. Which one would you recommend? Does anyone know the pay difference between the two degrees? The graduate degree is obviously more expensive (40k) vs the BSN (16k).

My ultimate goal is to become a nurse practitioner, which is conferred through a DNP program at the same university. What types of DNP specialties pay the highest?

I currently work in a hospital in a non medical role. The hospital has an education assistance program, which I plan to utilize.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and ideas.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

I've never heard of MN, only MSN. Is that what it is?

My vote is for BSN, because it's hard for many master's-prepared nurses to find work without RN experience, but the same can be said about ANY new grad, it seems.

If you were working as a master's-prepared nurse in a regular nursing job, in most cases, there isn't a difference in pay, anymore. Most places have done away with a BSN differential, and it's even the same for MSN, if they're not a nurse practitioner, it seems. (correct me if I'm wrong, folks!)

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

My vote would also be for BSN for a variety of reasons. If you went for a Masters in Nursing (entry level) you might find yourself in a position where you're simultaneously both underqualified and overqualified for an entry level position. My brother is in the IT field and because he had quite a bit of experience but no certificates (there were few when he started), it was very difficult for him to find a job for a while when he first re-entered the workforce. This was a bit of a problem after he got some certifications because none of his experience was recent. He was underqualified (no recent work) and overqualified (work he did was well above entry level) so he couldn't get jobs at the entry level or even anywhere near what he could do.

Yes, there is a parallel there...

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