I originally posted this in the pre-nursing students forum and got several excellent responses. It just dawned on me that maybe I should seek advice from those that are already nurses and have been in my shoes!
As the subject line reads, I'm considering a midlife career change to nursing and I'm scared to death. I've been doing IT work for 20 years now, the past 11 in a management position. I have a wonderful husband and two young children, ages 8 and 6. I'm absolutely miserable in corporate world and I just don't feel like it's not for me. I long for the day when I can make a difference in someone's life or try and make them feel better.
I wonder what nursing will be like after being in corporate world for so long?? I'm used to working M-F, 8:30 - 5 and having ever holiday off. I know that things will change based on what shift I'm on but, in your opinion, will I still be able to spend time with my family? (I'm not sure if that's a rational fear or not.)
If you have been where I am, please tell me about it. I want to make the right decision and, most important, the right decision for my family. I love my children more than life and they are only going to be young once. If it means putting my dream of being a nurse on hold for a while, that's what I will have to do.
Thanks for taking the time to read my long drawn out story and I look forward to reading your advice...:heartbeat
My nursing class was predominately 2nd career nursing students over the age of 35. It is so common now for people to change careers to nursing. I think it's great because there is a lot of flexibility if you have a family. I will never get used to working the holidays but as a newbie you usually get Christmas day and that's not always fun with little ones. I always volunteered for every holiday except Christmas so I was guaranteed to get to spend time with my son when Santa arrived!
Nursing is very stressful and not fun most of the time but it's a solid career choice. You learn a trade and profession. Also the job market is bad right now but I'm sure by the time you graduate things will improve.
Nursing school is very tough and I definetly gained a few wrinkles and gray hairs because of all the stress! But it goes by fast and it's worth it!
My advice to you, become a nurses aid for 6 months in a nursing home and then decide. Work per diem so you can keep your current job. You will know after working there a couple of weeks if this is the right career choice for you...
As I've stated over and over in various threads, if you truly want to be a nurse, you will find a way become one. It's not about the career change, trying something new, need a new career, hate working in corporate America and sitting behind a desk all day; it's about that gut feeling that nursing is what you want regardless if they're hiring or not. Ever wanted something really really bad? that's how it should feel to you and that's what I am currently doing and I wake up each day thinking how close I am to achieving this dream. Sounds corny but it's so true!
I haven't yet read the replies but I write with a serious caveat: Health care is dominated by corporate thinking and money is the bottom line. Read as many posts as you can on this website to glean an appreciation of what it means to be a nurse. This is a second career/midlife change move for me and I am beyond disappointed. I think there are some happy nurses out there but I don't see many.
I was in your situation, sort of. I worked in IT also, but my career change was due to lay-off, my third in 7 yrs . . . I was just sick of lay-offs, so I made the switch, first to RRT and then to RN. It worked great because at the time there were jobs. If you're currently employed, I would think long and hard about making a change because you are likely to go from "miserable in your job" to miserable, unemployed, new grad RN.
I too worked in IT most of my adult life. I started nursing school a couple weeks after my 40th birthday. Combining motherhood and school wasn't too bad. I was off every weekend, and was able to make all of my kids games and school functions. Now working, that is a different story. As a new nurse, I don't always get out on time, and have gone a couple days without seeing my kids awake. I have missed soccer and softball games, and don't get to do as much at the school as I used to. Also, as I worked many years in the corporate world, and was treated as "a professional", it is sometimes hard to swallow being at the very bottom of the totem pole as a newbie nurse.
The job is at times stressful, back breaking, exasperating, and dirty. However, it is also the most wonderful job (aside from being a mom) that I could have dreamed of. I look forward to each day (usually), and I cherish the time off that I have with my family and friends. I will keep coming back as long as they let me , and I am thankful to have this career that enriches my life in so many ways. Go For IT!!!!
I originally posted this in the pre-nursing students forum and got several excellent responses. It just dawned on me that maybe I should seek advice from those that are already nurses and have been in my shoes!
As the subject line reads, I'm considering a midlife career change to nursing and I'm scared to death. I've been doing IT work for 20 years now, the past 11 in a management position. I have a wonderful husband and two young children, ages 8 and 6. I'm absolutely miserable in corporate world and I just don't feel like it's not for me. I long for the day when I can make a difference in someone's life or try and make them feel better.
I wonder what nursing will be like after being in corporate world for so long?? I'm used to working M-F, 8:30 - 5 and having ever holiday off. I know that things will change based on what shift I'm on but, in your opinion, will I still be able to spend time with my family? (I'm not sure if that's a rational fear or not.)
If you have been where I am, please tell me about it. I want to make the right decision and, most important, the right decision for my family. I love my children more than life and they are only going to be young once. If it means putting my dream of being a nurse on hold for a while, that's what I will have to do.
Thanks for taking the time to read my long drawn out story and I look forward to reading your advice...:heartbeat
Run far away.. It might become a nightmare. I have been working as a nurse for about 6 months. It took me more than 1 year to find this job. I had to relocate about 4 hours away. I was living in a MAJOR east coast city and there were and are very few if any jobs for new grads in that area. This position is on a rotating WITHIN THE WEEK sometimes schedule. It is not conductive to a quality social life. we have to work every other holiday and every other weekend. the way your facility does holidays may differ greatly. fri and sat nights are the weekend for night shift. sat and sun nights are weekends for days. since i rotate i honestly have no idea what my weekend off is. I seem to work either a sat or sun sometimes both weeks in a row. While I was in school I imagined I would find a job working 3 twelves. not 2 eights and 2 twelves. It is a difficult and demanding job and i do not think it is worth the twenty some dollars an hour it pays either. I feel like i am wasting my life in this job and am about to start a huge thread of misery and the awful last few days I have had.
i strongly, strongly suggest you find a good career counselor - not just some life coach but an actual licensed counselor - who can properly administer and interpret assessments and help you find what is going to make you happiest. Just dropping out of one career and going into it's polar opposite could be a recipe for disaster.
for the record, i was a technical writer - hated it. switched to mental health counseling - LOVED it. but i did a lot of soul searching, a lot of career counseling, and a lot of talking to friends and families (like, "what do you think i'd be good at?" and getting universally the same response) and still needed to have the employment market drop out from under me to make the switch. i was much, much happier in health care than i was in IT - in certain environments - just as in IT i was much happier in start ups than large established corporations. however i wish i'd done more research than i even did, because ultimately here i am looking for another career builder. i didn't know, for instance, that the type of degree would make all the difference in the world; also, i was still naive enough to think the real priority in healthcare business was the patient, and not the bottom line dollar. and all the naysayers yayaya i get it there's no jobs in the field. in my particular current position, an ASN will be a huge advantage, lucky me. now i'm a lot older and a little wiser, and hopefully and making good use of my varied education.
by the way - IT background and bioinformatics - what a huge advantage if that holds any interest for you!!!
, and I am thankful to have this career that enriches my life in so many ways. Go For IT!!!!
kygavin
15 Posts
My nursing class was predominately 2nd career nursing students over the age of 35. It is so common now for people to change careers to nursing. I think it's great because there is a lot of flexibility if you have a family. I will never get used to working the holidays but as a newbie you usually get Christmas day and that's not always fun with little ones. I always volunteered for every holiday except Christmas so I was guaranteed to get to spend time with my son when Santa arrived!
Nursing is very stressful and not fun most of the time but it's a solid career choice. You learn a trade and profession. Also the job market is bad right now but I'm sure by the time you graduate things will improve.
Nursing school is very tough and I definetly gained a few wrinkles and gray hairs because of all the stress! But it goes by fast and it's worth it!
My advice to you, become a nurses aid for 6 months in a nursing home and then decide. Work per diem so you can keep your current job. You will know after working there a couple of weeks if this is the right career choice for you...