Does it matter if you have an ADN or BSN nowadays?

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I'm currently in school for my ADN.

Afterwards, I plan on working for a year and then returning to school to earn my BSN.

However; I'm very nervous that I won't be able to find a job or be good enough with just an associates degree in nursing. I have a young child so right now going to school full time for a bachelors degree is out of the question, unfortunately.

Is it true that jobs look down on ADNs nowadays?

Thanks. Btw I'm new here. :)

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Specializes in Pedi.

Nowadays compared to when? It's more important nowadays, IMO. Whether or not you will be able to find a job with an Associate's depends on your location. Where I live, new grad acute care jobs are BSN only.

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Yes, it does matter, especially in saturated areas where employers can have their pick. I have an ADN and most jobs do state that BSN is preferred. Now, that doesn't mean you can't find something, it just may be harder. If you are enrolled in a BSN program, that is also favorable on a resume, even if you are not done. So apply to a BSN program as soon as you get that RN license.

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Your comment is appreciated, but now I'm feeling a bit discouraged about earning an ADN. :(

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It depends on your career goals. Many health care systems are mandating that ADN prepared nurses get a BSN within a specified time period. You will also have to have a BSN if you ever want to go to graduate school and open up your career options.

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Why are you feeling discouraged about your ADN? There are many RN to BSN programs that you can do part time and online enabling you to work full time. I am currently working full time and enrolled at University of Louisiana at Lafayette in their RN to BSN program and I will finish April 2016, I started this past May. I had a previous non-nursing Bachelors but I realized nursing was what I wanted to do but I could not stop working to enroll in a full time BSN program. If you want to be competitive and get hired as a nurse, you'll do whats necessary. In my case it meant leaving NYC which is overly saturated to move to Florida where there are more opportunities.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I work in Chicago at a large medical center. An ADN new grad employee referral was hired about 8 months ago into our ICU. She was hired under the condition that she enrolled in an ADN to BSN program, which she is, and our hospital is paying for it. She is DEFINITELY the exception to the rule - first ADN that has been hired into our ICU in years - everyone has a BSN or MSN. What I'm saying - even in a saturated market, it IS possible, but very unlikely to get a hospital job at a hospital anyone would actually want to work at. For magnet hospitals and those pursuing magnet status, BSN and MSN nurses are preferred and are actually a requirement if I'm not mistaken.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hospitals are not the ONLY places to work. (rinse and repeat)

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Specializes in Progressive Care.

I graduated from an ADN program last year. All my classmates that I know of eventually found jobs. However only those who were already working in hospitals while in school got acute care jobs by being hired internally. I was one of them and my hospital is paying for me to get a BSN online.

Most my classmates who were not already in hospitals got hired in LTC, psyc and home health. So there are still jobs but there are less acute care jobs for ADN. But with the way health care is changing, there is going to be a growing need for nurses outside the acute care environment.

A lot of it also depends on your location.

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