I've always gone to community college with the intent of transferring to a 4-year school and getting a degree in linguistics, art history, or women's studies (all of which seem wildly impractical since I don't know what I'd do with any of it, but those happen to be my interests). I have one semester left before I can transfer.
I currently work as a CNA in LTC and I like it a lot. I could see myself doing it long term, but the money isn't enough, so I've been thinking of nursing school. The only thing that's holding me back is wondering if I'll later regret not majoring in, say, art history. I wish I could be a nurse with a degree in art history (lol) but that's not very do-able either. I never saw myself becoming a nurse, but I never saw myself doing CNA work either, and I ended up liking it a lot.
I just picked up a packet for a community college transfer program (2 years long) at the end of which you're eligible to take the NCLEX-RN. If you were in my position, would you go for it? I'm a very good student, but I know that nursing programs are really competitive and I might not even get for next year. If I don't, should I transfer to some other school and pursue my "frivolous" non-nursing degree while I wait? What do most pre-nursing students do if they don't get accepted right away?
Sorry this was so long and convoluted. I am rushing to type this out before work.
I want to thank everyone for their perspectives. I'm still trying to come to a decision, and I think I need to sleep on it for a while, although I'm leaning towards nursing school.
My first degree was Electrical Engineering and I minored in Physics. (I loved Physics!) Anyway, spent years as a rocket scientist for the USAF and NASA. Impressive on a resume, well paying and BORING AS HADES!!! I just couldn't do it anymore.
Everyone should care about personal enlightenment. Whether you have to major in it or not is another matter.
As an administrative assistant with my English degree I was making $17 an hour. It's a tough economy right now but has your sister tried finding admin jobs? They didn't find out what my major was until my first annual review- all that mattered was that I had a BA.
Personal enlightenment, like love, is very, very nice to have around, but I have yet to find a mortgage company, a bank or a utility company that will accept it for payment.
$17 is good...but that all depends on where you live as to whether or not that is a livable wage.
The true Hallmark to a REAL job is how portable is your job? If your company shut it's doors tomorrow, how long would it take you to find another one paying the same?
That is the wonderful thing about nursing...it has portability out the wazoo.
$17 is good...but that all depends on where you live as to whether or not that is a livable wage.
You said your sister can barely make minimum wage- regardless of where you are living $17/hr is well above minimum wage. I supported myself on half of that in NYC, so I don't think it's a question of livable but rather how comfortably livable. And now that I think about it, the retail and food service jobs I had before that also paid above minimum wage- so I guess your example with your sister was probably hyperbole.
I certainly won't argue that nursing is a great career in terms of flexibility and job outlook- this is the pre-nursing student forum after all. But nursing isn't the only "REAL" job out there, and all the portability in the world is empty if you spend a huge chunk of your time working a job that makes you miserable.
The true hallmark of a 'real' job is NOT how portable it is!
Most people in high powered careers do NOT have jobs that are particularly portable. Often they need to live in areas where there a need for their specific skill. You go to Hollywood if you are in the entertainment business, Washington DC if you want to be in the center of Federal power politics, Seattle Washington for aeronautics or computer software, etc...
fuzzywuzzy, CNA
1,816 Posts
I want to thank everyone for their perspectives. I'm still trying to come to a decision, and I think I need to sleep on it for a while, although I'm leaning towards nursing school.