BSN...I am confused

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Hi there,

Please someone out there help me. I have a B.S. in Business, Finance and now I am out of work. I would like to get into nursing but dont' know if I can qualify to get into the BSN or do I need to get a 2 year RN first?

I have several sciences courses which I had taken 15 years ago. These might be too old?

Should I go to trade school or Community College. I read that it's hard to get into program at the community college even if you have all you prereq. And if this is the case, then it would be a waste of time if I don't get in after completing my prereq. right?

Does RN make decent money and are they treated well? Do you have to specialize to make good money? and if so, in what area and if any more schooling is involved or just on the job training?

I am sorry for the many questions but I'm still very confused. Thank you all for helping me clearing this out.:bugeyes:

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
Hi there,

Please someone out there help me. I have a B.S. in Business, Finance and now I am out of work. I would like to get into nursing but dont' know if I can qualify to get into the BSN or do I need to get a 2 year RN first?

I have several sciences courses which I had taken 15 years ago. These might be too old?

Should I go to trade school or Community College. I read that it's hard to get into program at the community college even if you have all you prereq. And if this is the case, then it would be a waste of time if I don't get in after completing my prereq. right?

Does RN make decent money and are they treated well? Do you have to specialize to make good money? and if so, in what area and if any more schooling is involved or just on the job training?

I am sorry for the many questions but I'm still very confused. Thank you all for helping me clearing this out.:bugeyes:

Since you have a degree and career experience in another field, you'll know how to go about researching as a potential career change. Investigate available nursing programs at colleges and schools in your area.

You already know you definitely want to be an RN when you don't know what to expect in terms of compensation? Utilize resources you may have used before such as salary.com, monster.com, and federal dept. of labor statistics (www.bls.gov)

Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Ortho.

You'll have to retake sciences (a&p 1, 2, microbiology) as they expire after 5 yrs. chemistry is good forever if you have the right one for the nursing program. You need to call the community college to find out more. Yes we make descent money, there are many threads on this sight on how much people make hourly in their parts of the country. I don't think it's hard to get into a community college, I got in on the first try, but I had good science gpa.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, ER, Peds ER-CPEN.

check into all the schools around you, with a few pre-req's you may qualify for an accelerated BSN program, good Luck!!

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How long your science courses are good for depends on the school you plan to attend. Either route, you will probably have to take or re-take at least some pre-reqs, then do your nursing portion with clinicals.

Unfortunately, whether your's going to a community college or a university there's no guarantee of admission even with pre-reqs. A trade school won't give you an RN, you will be able to take the LPN exam.

As far as salary, it depends on what you call "decent." I saw what the average RN salary was in the US, but I don't remember where. It varies widely depending on your location. Specializing doesn't always help with salary increases, and when it does, it's minimal. Same with the type of degree you have. Some facilities will pay more once you become certified in that specialty.

To be certified, most certifying bodies require a minimum number of hours or years before you can take their exam. That and many also require continuing education hours. You fulfill the experience requirements, study like a fiend, and take the exam. Specialty experience is acquired mainly through on the job training and continuing ed courses. You can go into advanced practice fields such as nurse practitioner specialties or anesthetist. But those require a master's degree.

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wow, seems like i've got at least 2 more years of schooling before I can start earning descent money. I'm 42 now and eventhough I like to go back to school and switch career, I don't know if I can compete with the 19/20 year olds. But I guess if I don't start now, I'll never get there. So better get myself enrolled in the pre-RN next semester I guess. Thank you for taking the time to give me these good advices.

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Specializes in Telemetry.
I don't know if I can compete with the 19/20 year olds.

Don't worry about your age. Most of the people in my class are in their 30's or 40's. It seems at my school the 19 and 20 year olds can't compete with us!

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Thanks, I just hope that after the 3 year RN schooling I'll pass the board. This is another hurdle I'm worried about. In Finance, we just graduate and got a job; it was so much easier. But I'm done with this field and needed to do something else. I think I'll need to complete at least a semester of pre-RN because my science courses are so old. I plan to go to American River College and it states that I need Biol 430, 431, 440. And the rest like english and psy, and speech...I hope that they'll waive them for me eventhough they are so anciently old. I look forward to learning again and feel quite excited of the prospect of a new career. Thankx so much again for your advice.

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Specializes in Telemetry.
thanks, i just hope that after the 3 year rn schooling i'll pass the board. this is another hurdle i'm worried about. in finance, we just graduate and got a job; it was so much easier. but i'm done with this field and needed to do something else. i think i'll need to complete at least a semester of pre-rn because my science courses are so old. i plan to go to american river college and it states that i need biol 430, 431, 440. and the rest like english and psy, and speech...i hope that they'll waive them for me eventhough they are so anciently old. i look forward to learning again and feel quite excited of the prospect of a new career. thankx so much again for your advice.

i am on my second degree as well, i spent 10 years in manufacturing, i swear all i did was move numbers from one column to the next and called it "revenue forecast, shipping schedule, and backlog." it is scary and sometime overwhelming to start over, but so far it has been very rewarding! p.s. all of my gen ed credits counted, i didn't need any additional english or math, even though they were 10 years old!

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Please look around - there are plenty of options depending on your flexibility..

There is huge assortment of programs (94+) focused on 2nd degree students BSN (those who have pre-reqs done..and have a previous non nursing degree) programs are from 11-16 months typically...

I'm looking at one of these accelerated 2nd degree student in order to get my BSN.

v/r

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Specializes in labor,motherbaby,surgical.

You should definitely become an RN with your degree in finance ,bedside nursing would only be short lived. With the degree in finance ,a management position would be easily attained.

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You should definitely become an RN with your degree in finance ,bedside nursing would only be short lived. With the degree in finance ,a management position would be easily attained.

.... the initial question was a ADN vs BSN - both are "RN Degrees" so that does not seem to be an issue...

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