So let me try and make a longer story very short. I am 39 now nearing my 40th birthday and have worked in the construction field since I was about 19, give or take a year in between. I did try going to college right out of high school, however while I finished some courses I registered for, most were not. I either withdrew or received a "F" simply because I would just stop attending class halfway through a semester.
Years pass, and it wasn't until almost 4 years ago that I decided to go back to school. I was working full time and started with one class, then two, and have been going to school to attain a degree in Historic Preservation. What a difference 15 years make! I love going to class and have discovered quite a few things about myself in the process. I have taken approximately 14 courses and have received an A in each. I have raised my old gpa from a 1.something to just under a 3.3.
I am very close to finishing up my degree in Historic Preservation and am contemplating making a drastic career shift to nursing. As of right now I see nursing as a more secure job moving forward, both financially and job growth. Unfortunately, I have not seen the jobs I was hoping to apply for in the Historic Preservation/Carpentry fields. Out of the few I have seen, they generally lack the benefits and/or an salary I am looking for.
I am at a crossroads here in my life, and at my age I would like to set myself on the right path. I am apparently getting a late start in my life, but I suppose it's better late than never!
Dude, just do it. I'm 46 and finishing my first year at the hospital where I work. I enjoy every day I go to work, even the most stressful, long, ***** shifts. When I went to nursing school I felt the same way you feel now and I thought I would never get a job at graduation.
Yes, some people argue that there is no nursing shortage. But here's the bottom line that most people don't talk about. There's absolutely NO shortage of nurses with bad attitudes trying to get jobs. But if you have a good attitude, care about your patients, and work well with your colleagues, then you will find a job. Believe me that employers will seek you out even while you're in nursing school doing your clinical rotations. It has nothing to do with age, gender, race, etc.
My advice? Keep working at your carpentry work while you do your pre-requisites. And keep working at your carpentry job part-time while in nursing school, or get a CNA job at a hospital. Then finish up school and get your hospital RN job. You sound honest and sincere. Just do it.
To answer your original question - Yes, I have a friend who worked construction for 20+ years and is now a fantastic ICU nurse. He frequently flies to Haiti to help build houses and nursing duties! In other words, a great guy.
There's good advice here. Either become a CNA and get your feet wet along with some financial assistance, or stay at your job until you are admitted to a program.
My story: (if it helps) I was downsized from NPR at the age of 42 and just finished my RN. Now I work in a Thoracic cardiovascular unit of a major university hospital. You can do it! It just may take longer than you think. If you're like me with a previous degree that had no math or science courses, it will take 3 years for a 2 year degree.
Thank you so much for the many helpful and motivating posts! I am definately going for it and am working towards finishing up my pre-reqs within the next few semesters. I am gonna try and focus on two at a time, but I would love to squeeze in a third while working full-time, and some side-work here and there. We will see how it goes. I have also been accepted to a local hospital as a volunteer in the ER, and will also be shadowing very soon.
Thanks for all the great posts everyone. I love this board!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Thank you for all the helpful comments guys, they are much appreciated and very helpful! I suppose I have to be more careful when I assume another field may or may not have better security then another. Lesson learned, thank you! I hit a brick wall as far as advancement goes with the company I am with almost 10 years ago. In the last 10 years I have not received a raise, nor a paid sick day, vacation day or health or dental benefits. It's a very small company with maybe only 6 employees and two owners. I am the oldest and most senior of the employees however and I just don't feel as if I can start and raise a family on my income. I probably should have left years ago when my salary stopped moving, but a combination of fear of starting somewhere new and leaving the familiar prevented it.
I will try and find something in Historic Preservation while I attend college for pre-reqs, but there will come a point where a couple of short years in nursing school will be able to offer me much more then I have now, without a doubt. I have been looking for the right construction/carpenter jobs in a couple areas pretty heavily for almost a year now and very few offer anything more then what I have now. Construction management jobs sounds okay I guess, but it also requires further schooling. Not to mention, that as of late the idea of an entire life devoted to construction bores me. I want to do something that matters to someone.
Jeremy
Nursing is an inside job, and I've worked with a lot of guys who tell me that after they've worked construction for so many years, they need an inside job. There are other benefits as well: health and dental insurance, long term disability insurance, vacation days, sick days and while jobs are hard to come by now, it isn't as seasonal as construction. It's definitely hard work, and you have to be able to work with people -- so in some ways not as easy as construction. "You cannot just pick up your tools and work on another part of the building if your clients are bugging you" is how one former construction worker put it.
I did construction cleanup for many summers and during high school. I knew of two guys that made their way into nursing. This was way before I had ever considered entering the field myself, and I thought it must have been quite a switch for them. But I never got any follow up to see how they liked it or any feedback. So it is possible.
Yeah, you can do it. I was a framing carpenter and commercial painter while I was in college for the first go around. I went through and Accelerated BSN and one of my classmates owned his own construction business. We are both about 40. It is all in what you want to do. I just passed my NCLEX-RN and am now on the job hunt. Best of luck.
wcbembe
21 Posts
Dude, just do it. I'm 46 and finishing my first year at the hospital where I work. I enjoy every day I go to work, even the most stressful, long, ***** shifts. When I went to nursing school I felt the same way you feel now and I thought I would never get a job at graduation.
Yes, some people argue that there is no nursing shortage. But here's the bottom line that most people don't talk about. There's absolutely NO shortage of nurses with bad attitudes trying to get jobs. But if you have a good attitude, care about your patients, and work well with your colleagues, then you will find a job. Believe me that employers will seek you out even while you're in nursing school doing your clinical rotations. It has nothing to do with age, gender, race, etc.
My advice? Keep working at your carpentry work while you do your pre-requisites. And keep working at your carpentry job part-time while in nursing school, or get a CNA job at a hospital. Then finish up school and get your hospital RN job. You sound honest and sincere. Just do it.