Engineer who wants to take up Nursing Degree

gemini_star, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2006

Hi! let me ask first a few questions... are you and your wife willing to leave your jobs and study nursing? have you check out other schools? It will only be a good move if you are willing to sacrifice everything including time and your jobs. Money is not the problem since it's cheaper here. Second coursers for nursing usually takes 2 - 3 years.

Hello.
I'm a telecom Engineer here in USA who's currently holding an H1-B visa. My wife and I are planning to go back to the phil.to take up a Nursing Course. Do you think this is a good move ? If yes, how long will it take to finish the course since we're both have a previous degree ? We also inquire if we just going to enroll on the RN program in a local community college here in Washington but due to shortage of instructors and a lot of students enrolling on the course, the waiting time is 2 yrs.
I appreciate your help.

uberdoog · Jun 5, 2006

it's like asking what the meaning of life is and whether you have hair on your chest. whether coming back to the philippines is a good move or not, well, you're the best judge of that, bitoy (have you had your head checked recently? you want to come back?).

seriously, the h1b visa is often what starting nurses/teachers get and you've already got that. and neither do telecom workers get paid peanuts. so why, ,why, prithee pray tell, would you want to come back to the philippines to take up a nursing degree?

which of course brings us to our next point: there's more you're not telling us. like the fact that your wife probably gets an h4 which means she gets to tag along with you there but can't work. bummer. (i'm shooting in the dark here so help me).

it's really going to take you the better part of 3 years counting all the study and hoops you hafta jump through if you come back. if you've got a lot saved up, then upkeep shouldn't be a prob. the economy sucks bigtime. and gets worse all the time. you'll also lose your h1b. given our moro-moro politics, you risk being at the wrong place at the wrong time. so whatchathink?

hello.
i'm a telecom engineer here in usa who's currently holding an h1-b visa.

Ethan_mike · Jun 6, 2006

Bitoy123, there are a few things you might want to consider before going back to school..

a.) Going back to school sucks..believe me..I know, I am a second courser. I managed to finished it, but I hated every day of it.

b.) Retrogression will hit visas available for nurses soon. US State Dept estimates cutoff at around OCT 2006

c.) Theyre gonna make BS Nursing a 5 year course. Next year they say.

So unless you have some really strong options, id suggest you think about it. Hard.. by the way, waiting period for an E-3 visa once retrogression kicks in will be about 5 years, if demand for visas stay the same...worse if it will escalate. Right now, theyre processing those filed last July 2001.

jonRNMD · Jun 6, 2006

hey uberdoog.....

1. not everyone wants to leave the philippines.....one wanting to come back or choose to stay doesnt necessitate one to have his head checked for mental illness as what you indicate.....a lot of filipinos who studied abroad are coming back to help the motherland....

2. nurses are qualified to file for immigrant visa and NOT H1B visas like what you think....you better check out the facts pal!

3. bitoy's decision to come back and study is NOT your decision. he is merely asking for advice and if you cant contribute anything except criticism, then i suggest you mellow down and just mind your own business....

this is a forum for nurses who want facts and for those who needs sound advice.

Bitoy123 · Jun 7, 2006

Guys

Thanks for the suggestion.I will seriously think about it.BTW, I'm also a canadian citizen and I will be going there to the phil this year to check if it's a good move to study or not.

Regards.

gigidmdrn · Jun 7, 2006

Hi Bitoy

I got classmates who are md's and canadian citizens who opted to be nurses. some are practicing their nursing profession for 6 months and live a very comfortable life in Toronto.

Good luck on what your decision would be.

lawrence01 · Jun 7, 2006

Just to clarify a bit: nurses are under schedule A and although schedule A is under Employment based petitions it is quite seperate from the other employment based petitions (EB1, 2 ,3). We shouldn't even concern ourselves regarding other visas except for Schedule A only (Nurses and PTs). Everybody can check out the months currently being processed for schedule A and it is currently Feb 8, 2006 for the Nebraska Service Center (May 22 '06 update). Texas is Jan. 19, 2006 (May 22, '06 update). Other I-140 petitons (other than schedule A) likewise are more or less on almost the same months as the schedule A's). Plus we all know that the dates their are not real-time because some posters (and Carl Shusterman himself - check out his current video seminar) are even reporting approvals (USCIS part only) in just a month or even less after Notice of Receipt (filling).

In addition, if someone wants to study nursing now he need not worry about the current impending retrogression because by the time he finished his/her studies 2-4 years from now (or GOD forbid 5 years) there would have been a new Immigration Policy in place. Even the application and requirements for NCLEX, etc.. would be slightly different. It would be probably much easier for him/her compared to our current state right now.

P.S. I'm not a lawyer or pretending to be an expert but everything I said can be read and seen at the websites listed on a sticky above and these are just base on my crude interpretations of the infos readily available to everyone (from the 'net).

That is all. Just my two cents. :twocents:

nrswnabee · Jun 7, 2006

hi, bitoy 123. i know it's none of my business but wouldn't it be too drastic for both you and your wife to move back to the phils. and study? what about the steady stream of income to support you? the kids? unless of course you've won the lottery or you're just wondering what to do with your excessive inheritance/savings (or your earnings as a comedian, heh??), i feel you're risking a whole lot with your plans. it would seem better if one of you pursues nursing as a second career while one acts as the "stabilizer". at least, should anything go awry, you are cushioned from the blow.

to lawrence, appreciate your clarification...as always.

uberdoog · Jun 9, 2006

read it again, doc. everything including the last paragraph. you don't seem to get it.

hey uberdoog.....
1. not everyone wants to leave the philippines.....one wanting to come back or choose to stay doesnt necessitate one to have his head checked for mental illness as what you indicate.....a lot of filipinos who studied abroad are coming back to help the motherland....
2. nurses are qualified to file for immigrant visa and not h1b visas like what you think....you better check out the facts pal!
3. bitoy's decision to come back and study is not your decision. he is merely asking for advice and if you cant contribute anything except criticism, then i suggest you mellow down and just mind your own business....
this is a forum for nurses who want facts and for those who needs sound advice.

Lone Stranger · Jun 9, 2006

hey uberdoog.....
1. not everyone wants to leave the philippines.....one wanting to come back or choose to stay doesnt necessitate one to have his head checked for mental illness as what you indicate.....a lot of filipinos who studied abroad are coming back to help the motherland....
2. nurses are qualified to file for immigrant visa and NOT H1B visas like what you think....you better check out the facts pal!
3. bitoy's decision to come back and study is NOT your decision. he is merely asking for advice and if you cant contribute anything except criticism, then i suggest you mellow down and just mind your own business....
this is a forum for nurses who want facts and for those who needs sound advice.

Your point is taken but you have to read the whole message to understand the context. Uberdoog wasn't criticizing but setting a tone of disbelief and caution. As you will note in the last paragraph, he stated the facts relevant to making that decision and even ended with the question of "what do you think?" That translates to "what is your decision?" Also your pleadings of patriotism are very nice but may I ask why you took up nursing, doctor? What do you think the bulk of the discussions in this forum are about if not moving on to another country?

lawrence01 · Jun 9, 2006

Your point is taken but you have to read the whole message to understand the context. Uberdoog wasn't criticizing but setting a tone of disbelief and caution. As you will note in the last paragraph, he stated the facts relevant to making that decision and even ended with the question of "what do you think?" That translates to "what is your decision?" Also your pleadings of patriotism are very nice but may I ask why you took up nursing, doctor? What do you think the bulk of the discussions in this forum are about if not moving on to another country?

Well, to tell you honestly I really don't know how to take that particular post as well. I can't blame JonRNMD for interpreting it that way. Some people might interpret some poster's statements as being sarcastic, racist, or anything else and this is where most arguments arise.

So, posters must as much as possible post statements that are straight, simple and polite so that it can't be wrongly interpreted. But note that some posters really do purposely be rude, give out wrong info. and some pretending to be applicants or nurses but really aren't and many more other web crawlers out there. These are the innate problems of any forum. That is why it is a good thing that allnurses.com have excellent dedicated moderators to weed out the bad posters.