CNA while in nursing school?

Like Rose_Queen above, I also had to work full time and go to school full time. In my particular case, I was able to make things work during my final semester preceptorship. Depending upon how flexible your work is, you may be able to do the same thing. However, as a CNA, you won't likely be able to study while at work. That can make a difference as well. I (and many others) normally suggest that people work as little as possible during nursing school. As you're a CNA, you will be able to breeze through much of the fundamental stuff but once you get past that, you'll be like everyone else.

Nursing School is often a very programmed thing. Once you're in the school "pipeline" you can't alter it to fit your schedule/life. I certainly applaud your willingness to get through your BSN in 3 vs 4 years. If you're able to blast through all your LDGE and prerequisites in your first year, then it's doable but you'll have to maintain a very high GPA in spite of the very heavy load to do it or you won't be competitive for entry to any BSN program.

Could I have done it when I started nursing school? Yes. I could have done a BSN program in just 2 years... because it would have been a 2nd Bachelors for me. Nursing school really is very hard, but most of it comes from the workload, not the academics itself. While the NCLEX was (hands-down) the hardest exam I've ever taken, nursing school itself wasn't the hardest thing I've done academically.

Keep the job, I worked as a CNA through pre-reqs and continue to work as a CNA during Nursing School. The experience will look great on a resume if you try to get into a hospital at some point and I'm not sure about you but a typical CNA job in my state pays much more than a normal on campus or retail job...