Career changer with many questions (cross post)

[angelofmusic219]

Hello all,

I posted this on the NJ page and then found this group afterwords. Maybe this is the more logical place for this discussion. My apologies up front for the length! :typing

Anyway, I'm new here and am considering a career change into nursing at the age of 30. Some quick background: I spent 5 years teaching in various capacities from 1st through 8th grade, none of which panned out into a job I could live with for the long term. I left teaching in 2005 and returned to school to learn to be a paralegal, which is my current profession. I like the people I work with, but it really does not have much of a future for me in terms of both advancement of position or salary. I have a strong care-giver personality, am reasonably intelligent (graduated summa cum laude) and have a strong desire to continually learn new things. I'd like to move into nursing, but I've got so many questions circulating in my head. I'll try to make this as succinct as possible.

1. Is there really the nurse shortage that everyone says there is? I was told there was a teacher shortage 13 years ago when I was looking into college majors and after I graduated, I spent 5 years banging my head against a wall searching for it. Please, tell it like it is.

2. How important is academic pedigree for nurses? Is it worth it to go into debt for a more prestigious private school education or not? I've already got a bachelor's degree, so going for a second bachelors in nursing would be the road I choose. Right or wrong, I know from speaking with the attorneys I work with that those who graduate from Ivy League law schools almost always earn more than equally qualified attorneys who graduate from less prestigious schools. Does the same hold true for nursing?

3. To work or not to work? This time, education is on my dime, so I've got to consider the very practical end of things. On the upside, I'm a little older, more mature than I was at 22 and have nearly 10 years of professional life experience. However, I've also got a mortgage to pay, so quitting my job and not working at all is just not realistic for me. Right now I'm very attracted to FDU's program because they offer evening classes, allowing me to keep my current job while I learn, even if it takes 2+ years. However, the prospect of biting the bullet and going to school full time to be finished sooner (and presumably able to begin working as a nurse sooner) is also equally attractive. Has anyone out there successfully gone to school full time and worked part time?

4. Gotta love NJ and it's financial dramas. I know there have been a number of hospital closings in recent years here. Does anyone here live in Jersey and commute to NY to work? What's the job scene like there? Pay differential? Do you feel it's worth it for the extra commuting time?

I know I've thrown a LOT out there. Please answer whatever you feel you can. Any insight from those who have gone before is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading and thank you in advance for responding! :)

~Rebecca