This is my first although I've been "lurking" here on allnurses for a while and enjoying all the questions and articles. It's helped me get to this point on my pre-nursing journey. I am having some doubts about my plans however, so I wanted to post about where I'm at and see what advice you may be able to offer me.
I'm 31 years old and I've been working full-time for an engineering company for 5 years. (I'm not an engineer though - I do GIS mapping and project management.) The company I work for is in the energy industry which has been suffering a major downturn and while my job is a good one now, I don't expect it will be around in 5 years. I have a BA is in Sociology (completely unrelated to my current job!), and before I got this job, I spent the 4 years after college doing volunteer work overseas doing linguistic research, mapping and management.
Over the last few months I've been thinking about going back to school for nursing and there were a number of things that led to that. My husband is disabled (serious mental illness), so we decided not to have kids and it's likely that he'll never work. I was always hoping to quit my job at the engineering company once we had kids and stay home with them. Now that's not happening, so if I am going to be working another 30+ years, I want to do something meaningful for my work.
Now my tentative plan is to do my pre-reqs in the next year and a half (while still working full-time) and then do a 12-month Accelerated BSN program. My husband does not work at all, so we'd be living off of savings and loans during the 12-months+ I'm out of work. I currently make about $30/hr and live in NE Pennsylvania. My nurse friends in the area make about that same amount with about 3 years of experience.
It looks like my pre-reqs will be about $12K (which we can pay cash for) and then my BSN program will be about $42K (minus some scholarships hopefully) which will mostly be loans, plus we will need money to live on that year.
So, if you made it through reading all that - I'd love to hear your opinions and advice. Am I making a foolish decision financially or otherwise to become a nurse? I want to become a nurse, but I don't want to jeopardize our future. Thanks!
I'm not sure how I can do my pre-reqs any cheaper. I have to take 26 credits since my science classes are over 10 years old, so that's only $352/credit hour at a community college plus books, fees, etc. Does that still sound like a lot?
Rates depend on what your local cc charges. Butler BC3.EDU here is really low for Butler county residents. $141 / credit, full time $1,500 + $41 Per Credit
outside Butler county $241/credit, full time $3,000 + $41 Per Credit
Add $25/credit for online courses.
Add a one time lab fee $35 per lab course.
Beaver county is higher for non-beaver county ccbc.edu
Maricopa online might offer courses that cost you less. I paid about $600 for 3cr Soc101 from them, back in 2011.
I too am a second-career nurse and when I did my prereqs (I majored in graphic design for my first career, so no science classes to be had!), the community classes were so impacted physically that I ended up fulfilling several of my prereqs online ... at CCs that were hours away (but in the same state). I imagine you could do that same in PA.
Like others have said, it's a lot of money but if you feel like it's something you can do, then go for it. Keep in mind, however, that it's a lot more than just schooling if you want to make sure you get a job after you graduate. It's especially hard if you are going the accelerated route where you won't have a lot of time to get into that hustle (i.e. volunteering, getting a nursing assistant job, and otherwise doing every darn thing you can do to to make sure you get hired when you come to the end of this daunting journey).
I have also heard from instructors of accelerated programs that the students are extremely stressed and so rushed through everything that they don't feel prepared when they graduate (and then complaints from seasoned nurses about those who went through the accelerated nursing school mill and were terrible to work with). Is it possible to take things a little more slowly and get into a traditional BSN? When I first considered nursing school I thought about the extremely expensive accelerated option but, after much consideration, ended up going traditional. Even though it's taken 3 years, I was able to maintain my full time job for the majority of the program (I then left to start working full time in a hospital as a nursing assistant at a hospital that is my top choice to apply for residency after I graduate -- my partner has done a lot to support me financially but, if I was on my own, I would also be just fine financially), volunteer, be involved in my campus organization and set myself up to be as well-rounded and desirable a candidate as I could possibly be. I am truly exhausted but so fulfilled.
One thing I'm curious about, though, is what kind of support system do you have? It's been annoying enough with friends and family thinking I'm using school as a cop-out for the multitude of get-togethers because they simply have no clue how hard I'm working. Is your husband able to maintain with you having a significant amount of your time being dedicated to school? What are the risks to his stability? What are the resources you have to help with this? Even if it's just for the length of the accelerated program, that is still a long time of disruption.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and share your thoughts, la chica suerte.
Is it possible to take things a little more slowly and get into a traditional BSN?
I looked at some other programs, but I did not find any traditional BSN programs in this area that would be much cheaper. I may be able to transfer in some credits, but like you said, I'd probably spend 3 years and still pay approximately the same per year as I would for the Accelerated Program. I could do an ASN in two years, for less money, but I'd really rather go the BSN route with where I'm at right now.
I can see the downsides to the Accelerated Program that you mentioned, but from talking to a friend who has been working in a local hospital for 20+ years, she said graduates of this particular program are actually sought after in local hospitals, since they have shown they have survived the rigorous work needed to complete the program. So that could possibly cancel out the negative effects of the shorter amount of time my whole education will take (less time to volunteer, build relationships, etc.) and help me toward getting a job. (Our rural area is still hiring many new nurses.) I am also in the process of applying to shadow in a hospital now, and after that I may try to volunteer there as well. That would give me some exposure during my 1.5 years of prerequisites, and then possibly also during my 1 year of nursing education.
One thing I'm curious about, though, is what kind of support system do you have?
That's definitely a concern, for my husband's health. He's quite stable now, having just gotten out of the hospital, but that certainly can change quickly! We have a good support system for him right now, with his dad and sister close by and willing to help, and my family as well. With our schedules now, I don't really see him much on weekdays (he is sleeping when I leave for work in the morning, and usually goes to bed 1-2 hours after I get home in the evening), and he is becoming more responsible for his own care, although I do drive him to all of his appointments and get and arrange his meds for him.
Thanks again for your thoughts. They definitely gave me some good things to think about as I plan for the future!
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TC3200
205 Posts
Rates depend on what your local cc charges. Butler BC3.EDU here is really low for Butler county residents. $141 / credit, full time $1,500 + $41 Per Credit
outside Butler county $241/credit, full time $3,000 + $41 Per Credit
Add $25/credit for online courses.
Add a one time lab fee $35 per lab course.
Beaver county is higher for non-beaver county ccbc.edu
Maricopa online might offer courses that cost you less. I paid about $600 for 3cr Soc101 from them, back in 2011.