Career Changer-Need Advice / Guidance

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Hello,

I am currently investigating Nursing as a new career path; however, because I am not currently in a medical career and I am in my late 30's, I am not sure which path to take. I am currently in the IT field as a full-time Project Manager for a large Health Insurance provider. I make a high salary but I am not fullfilled with this career. I am passionate about a career in a field that involves directly helping and serving people.

I am currently in exploration mode and I do not know which direction to take. Are there other career paths within the medical field that I should consider instead that may be just as rewarding that I could transfer into leveraging the current skill set & experience I have that may only require minor certifications etc., while also maintaining close to my current salary?

I appreciate any candid advice you may have to offer. Also, I would like to say thank you to all of you who have made the committment and sacrafice to serving others and improving lives. :yeah:

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Specializes in ICU.

I'm not sure what your current salary is,, but,, nursing is a great career choice for people like you.. who are interested in customer service and dealing with people face to face.

Maybe you can go to http://www.choosenursing.com and check it out. There are a lot of resources out there to recruit people to become nurses. As far as your age,, lol,,, I was 28 when I graduated nursing school and there was a lady in her late 50's in my graduating class... so you're never too old to become a nurse.

I'm not sure if there's a certificate program,,, or anything... You know that you could always go to work for a hospital in the IT department. You will get a better idea of the different positions within the hospital that are available. Also, a lot of big hospitals will pay for your college COMPLETELY if you decide to go to nursing school.

Good luck!

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Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.

Hello and Happy Holidays!

Listen, have you thought about the Armed Forces? I am sure the Army would make great use of the skills that you have acquired...And no, I am not a recruiter!

As far as the salary thing goes, "Army Strong, NOT Army Wealthy" but $$ isn't everything, right?

Check out: www.goarmy.com

I know that todays RN can write his or her own job description. What with many hospitals and health care facilities ramping up their IT departments and incorporating increased usage of computers there is a palpable need for IT people.

Okay, I just read what easttexasnurse31 said....DITTO that!

athena

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Specializes in Med/Surg ICU, NICU.

Nursing is my second career. I was an emergency services telecommunicator for 13 years and decided that while I was helping people I wanted to be more hands on. Started my pre requisits at the age of 31 and was 34 when I graduated nursing school. I am so happy in my choice of career my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I was definately not the oldest in my class but I wan't the youngest either. Follow your heart.

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Well, my systems job got outsourced in 2002 and I became a nurse. I hated the floor, not because I disliked patient care, but the culture of nursing is very different from IT, and frankly, I hated not having my own damned desk.

I fell into an informatics spot and love it.

Before making any decisions, check out the Nursing Informatics forum, and check out First Year in Nursing as well. It isn't butterflies and roses. It's high patient loads and mountains of paper work and documentation.

Good luck. Feel free to ask more questions.

:)

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Nursing is my second career as well. I worked for the phone company for 14 years prior to going to nursing school full time. I completed my pre-reqs while still employed at my previous job, since they paid for it.

I will be starting my LAST semester of nursing school on January 21 and I will be graduating May 16, 2009! I'll be 35 years old at the time of graduation.

I am happy in my new career choice. I also worked as a Nurse Intern while attending nursing school and I'm excited and looking forward to my new career.

If you want to do it, I say go for it. You are not too old. One of my classmates is 51 and she was a stay at home mom prior to going to nursing school. She will be a Peds nurse, since that's always been her passion.

Look at all avenues and explore all your options before making a decision.

Good luck!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
hello and happy holidays!

listen, have you thought about the armed forces? i am sure the army would make great use of the skills that you have acquired...and no, i am not a recruiter!

as far as the salary thing goes, "army strong, not army wealthy" but $$ isn't everything, right?

check out: www.goarmy.com

i know that todays rn can write his or her own job description. what with many hospitals and health care facilities ramping up their it departments and incorporating increased usage of computers there is a palpable need for it people.

okay, i just read what easttexasnurse31 said....ditto that!

athena

the op is in her late 30s, so probably not a good time to go into the military. i think nursing is a great career, and with her it experience she'd be great at explaining the #$*&^ computerized charting to the rest of us!

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

first of all, full-time project managers make much more then new graduate nurses make (you will be considered a new graduate nurse with no experience when you graduate-past degrees and jobs outside of nursing are of no benefit when you enter the profession). second, your computer skills will only transfer into nursing informatics and some computer charting. your managerial skills will transfer into anything nursing related. keep in mind, if you choose to become a nurse who works in informatics you will need to spend some time as a floor nurse first, which i think you will like since you wish to work with people. however, if you choose to leave the floors to work in nursing informatics, you will be back to where you are today away from patients and maybe being paid less (entry level nursing informatics rns do not make as much as any it project manager i know). try salary.com to see how much your region pays.

also, you will need more then a simple certification to be a registered nurse (a requirement to move into informatics nursing). read the nurisng informatics board as another suggested for more information. plus getting into nursing school and graduating is not easy. try reading the pre-nursing student forum for support and talking to college counselors regarding the accredited nursing schools near you for more information. gl! :up:

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first of all, full-time project managers make much more then new graduate nurses make (you will be considered a new graduate nurse with no experience when you graduate-past degrees and jobs outside of nursing are of no benefit when you enter the profession). second, your computer skills will only transfer into nursing informatics and some computer charting. your managerial skills will transfer into anything nursing related. keep in mind, if you choose to become a nurse who works in informatics you will need to spend some time as a floor nurse first, which i think you will like since you wish to work with people. however, if you choose to leave the floors to work in nursing informatics, you will be back to where you are today away from patients and maybe being paid less (entry level nursing informatics rns do not make as much as any it project manager i know). try salary.com to see how much your region pays.

also, you will need more then a simple certification to be a registered nurse (a requirement to move into informatics nursing). read the nurisng informatics board as another suggested for more information. plus getting into nursing school and graduating is not easy. try reading the pre-nursing student forum for support and talking to college counselors regarding the accredited nursing schools near you for more information. gl! :up:

i make less than half of what i did as a project leader/programmer, and still started at more than a new grad rn (when i was still an lpn), and close to what the adon in the nursing home makes. we're rural, so salaries are lower.

nursing is the hardest work i've ever done, for less than i made (in a big city) as a word processor with no lives depending on me.

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the op is in her late 30s, so probably not a good time to go into the military. i think nursing is a great career, and with her it experience she'd be great at explaining the #$*&^ computerized charting to the rest of us!

late 30's is not to old to enter active duty nursing in the military. did you know the army now accepts a number of nurses up to the age of 60? the standard cutoff age is mid fourties... so don't close the door or make an assumption that mid-30's is to old.

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Thanks for the honest feedback. I do have a lot to think about and all the different perspectives really help with my decision making. Maybe I have an oppurtunity to get in the medical industry without going all the way into nursing. Again, a lot to think about!

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Specializes in Mostly: Occup Health; ER; Informatics.

I was in similar shoes once. My advice, in addition to that of other replies to your thread, is to go do some volunteering first. It can get you the hands-on helping opportunity, the feel-good-about-helping feelings you want, and the pay and benes you now have. For me, it acted as a good multi-year test-drive of a potential new career. I volunteered in several settings to learn more about healthcare, and learned a ton about the careers and myself.

If that works out, consider a next step: getting a part-time nurse-aide or medical-assistant job. It will let you test-drive being truly hands-on in a paid position, which is different than volunteering. Again, you can keep your day job while you test the waters.

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