FNP or NOT ?

The salary would probably be doable, if not at first, then certainly with a few years experience in most geographical regions. The average NP salary is now ~98K. (2013 National Salary Survey Results on ADVANCE for NPs & PAs)

My advice would be to pursue it if it is really something that you want to do. You currently have 13 years until you want to retire and it will be ~8-10 years after completing an NP program (considering you still have to finish your BSN, apply and enter an FNP program). There is money out there to cover the cost of your education which may help with your financial decision. You may also want to look for an inexpensive state school and try to pay for some of the tuition while continuing to work as an RN.

It would also help to work in a hospital that has tuition reimbursement. They paid for about $10,000 of my tuition and my whole BSN. It really helps.

I say go for it! I'm in my late 40's and start my FNP program in Jan. There's a thread somewhere about older students on here, and there are plenty of people like you and me that are either changing or advancing our careers at this time in our lives. The way I look at it is this: I'm going to be 53 in a few years....I can be an RN at 53, or a FNP at 53. Either way, I can't change my age....but I can change what I'm doing in my career.

Wow! Thank you all for your positive input. I agree I can’t change my age but I can change how I work. I am going to go for it.

I am going to look into working for Indian Health Service as it seem to have a great need nationally. I may be able to get full reimbursement of my tuition if I play my cards right.

Onward and upwards to all thanks again.

Pilot2FNP this is the EXACT advice I give to people who say they're too old to go back to school! So silly! You're going to be that age anyway (God willing) so do you want to be that age as a nurse or as a NP?