Career Advice: RN, PA, or OT

[Manz8]

Hi everyone!

I am currently a junior in college who is majoring in biology, but I am having a hard time deciding what career I should pursue after I graduate.

I have worked as a nursing assistant with the elderly for several years and really love what I do, which lead me to the decision that I want to go into healthcare. I have narrowed down my options to an occupational therapy masters program, PA school, or an accelerated BSN (and possibly will do a CRNA or NP program later on), and will have all of my prerequisites done for each program when I graduate.

While I think that all of these are good careers, I know that there are pros and cons to each, which has made me uncertain on what to pick. The cost and length of the programs are also an area of concern to me. Of the three, nursing would by far be the shortest amount of time and least expensive based on the schools I've looked into, which is why I am leaning towards it slightly more than the others.

I plan on doing more shadowing throughout the next year to help me decide, but I also was wondering what your opinions are on these careers? If you are a nurse or other health professional which of these careers would you have chosen when you were younger and why?