Calling all RN's for Help: Do I or Don't I ???

[JaneAustenRocks]

i am in desperate need of advice and i hope you can help...i will try to be as brief as possible.

i've spent all of my adult life as a police officer. during that time i had been slowly attending community college with the plan of attending nursing school after retirement (20 years). eighteen months ago, after 15 years of dedicated service and a spotless disciplinary record, i ****** the wrong guy off, due to my affliction of female intelligence coupled with verbal ability, and was ultimately fired. i lost my salary of 65k, my health insurance, 5 weeks vacation and a huge chunk of my retirement benefits. despite the fact that i hated my job, as a result of the malevolent leadership, rampant nepotism and unchecked politics in the department, i was left completely devastated and without a plan.

since then i have focused on recovering emotionally and am now trying to develop a new career path. i have spoke with some nurses; i have been reading the boards and have read some books on nursing careers. under the old plan, with a full retirement to count on, money was never an issue. but now there is a gaping whole in my financial plan and the one area i feel completely uninformed about is the salary, benefits & career outlook for nursing in illinois, which is where i hope you may help. my plan is to finish my degree (bsn) after which i will want full-time position with benefits. after i graduate i will have 50k in student loans and 30k in credit card debt, so i need to have the best idea possible as to what my chances are for full time employment w/benefits and what i may reasonably expect to make a year. i have heard that hospitals aren't or don't want to hire full-timers to cut costs by not paying benefits. but i keep reading about the boomers who will be flooding the health care system and the great job outlook. i don't know what to believe.

to the girls (and guys too!) in the trenches... what do you think? in addition to any opinions and/or experiences you would care to share, would you please give me some hard numbers as to salaries, in different environments, with general suburb locations? another question that comes to mind: do rn's w/a bsn make more $$$ then rn's w/an adn?

thank you in advance for any and all information you would like to share.

kate

p.s. three things i've learned-

bad things happen to good people everyday; it was just my day!

everything happens for a reason!

i am exactly were i am suppose to be!

"life turns on a dime! i wonder what tomorrow is going to bring?!"

[chubbyhubby]

Kate,

I'm not in the med field (my wife is going for her BSN and my sister is an RN going for a BSN also), but I can sympathize with your job loss. I've been laid off since last year, but I hated my job (the company, not my trade) and I'm using it as an opportunity to add to my education. Al I have to offer as a reply is that my sister told me that a BSN is pretty much considered entry-level nowadays. She said some peolpe are just getting their RN, getting a job and then having their employer pay for the BSN. My wife will be looking at a 50k loan balance for her BSN when she finishes. From what I have heard, hospitals are still looking for full timers, not really for part-time. But they always look for registry, maybe that's what some are considering as part-time. I hope you find what you are looking for..... C.H.

[guest64485]

Get your associates, get a job, and have them pay for your bachelor's. Some places pay$0.25-$1 more for a bachelor's, many other places pay the same. Also, when getting your associate's, you can start work sooner. Depending on where in Illinois you are, you're looking at $20-27 per hour starting pay

[shygoofyone]

Get your associates, get a job, and have them pay for your bachelor's. Some places pay$0.25-$1 more for a bachelor's, many other places pay the same. Also, when getting your associate's, you can start work sooner. Depending on where in Illinois you are, you're looking at $20-27 per hour starting pay

That's what I'm doing! I graduate from my ADN at a community college (read: cheaper!) in 65 days and will continue on to get my BSN once I'm employed. It can be done!