Future NYC Nursing Student Needs Advice

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I am in a major crossroads in my life and I need all the help and opinions I can get. I have worked a dead end job for 10 years (pays well, the work is meaningless, upper management is abusive) and I am ready to move on. I am 40 years old & looking to quit work and go to school full time to become an RN ASAP. I have heard so many things about nursing but I am afraid that I will not be able to find a job after I graduate. I would be using my husband's GI Bill and I really do not have room for failure. This decision has been keeping me up at night. I was also thinking of going into Sonography but feel in nursing there is more opportunity

What do you think is a better option to major--Nursing or Diagnostic Medical Sonography?

What are the best options for an AAS program in the New York Metro Area in Nursing?

How difficult will it be to find work after graduation? I ideally would like to work and go for my BSN/MSN immediately after being licensed, probably fully online. I would like to become an NP down the road.

Thank you everyone out there who replies. I know many of you are in this situation too.

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Nursing student here, however I've worked in the medical field as a secretary 10+ years. Definitely more opportunities in the nursing field for growth and money. There are still plenty of nurses with adn degrees getting jobs, it just may not be your dream job at first. Most of my friends whom recently graduated in NY with adn, start in skilled nursing facilities/vns....get experience and enroll in a bridge program then go on to jobs in the hospital. I've straddle the fence between nursing and diagnostic sonogram plenty of times. Ultimately, I picked nursing because I love challenges it comes with and I know I want to play a role in diagnosis and health promotion in underserved communities (fnp) . I didn't want to walk in a room, do a sonogram and more than likely never see my patient again...I want a connection.

I would look into community colleges for adn programs.

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Turtleki-thanks for replying and for the advice. I was worried that going to a community college that I would constantly get closed out of classes, etc. what school did you attend? I was thinking Monroe College in the Bronx or ASA in Brooklyn. I attended BMCC for a couple semesters. So many options-I need to start in the Fall 2018. Does it really matter what program you attend if it's an accreditated one?

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I went to nassau community college for my pre reqs and never had a problem getting classes. To be honest, most people drop classes so I never heard many people complain about it. Only students who had trouble was those who picked non matriculated, I picked a major ( mathematics and sciences).

I would do research on accreditation and how it could affect you when trying to climb up the ladder academically/ where you may want to relocate to. Im not that knowledgeable on accreditation to be honest. I would really research these for profit schools very closely.

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Specializes in RN.

I'm also in NYC, and am in my 2nd semester of pre-requisites (at age 41) in hopes to applying to nursing programs soon. I'm not sure I have the *best* advice, but I can tell you I've been happy with my decision to wade into this a bit gradually -- starting with a night/Saturday class or two at community college to meet pre-requisites (which you'll probably need to matter what to some extent), going to open houses at all the nursing schools in the city, etc. I've found the best info I get comes from just getting to know other students in my class, many who already work in the health field, have attended other schools in the city, etc.

If you can afford to pay $50-80K+ for a bachelors, private nursing school *seems* easier to get into if you go the NYU, Phillips College or similar route. I've been kinda surprised the public programs in NYC are so damn competitive -- but I got my first bachelors (not science, though) 20 yrs ago at a State U in Texas, so maybe it's different there. Anyway, Hunter and Lehman are supposed to be fantastic, but extremely competitive. There are other SUNY/CUNY universities in other stretches of Brooklyn, Queens to explore I'm sure.

From what I'm told by everyone so far, the school you go to does not matter. It's the certificate itself and the experience you can bring to the job.

I still wonder, for example, if an $80K NYU nursing degree will get you an $80K/yr first nursing job at NYU more easily, but I have not heard that this is true necessarily.

Good luck to you!

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I'm thinking of going back to BMCC since I already went there a few years ago and took some of the pre-reqs. I did well, 4.0 average. I do not want to work and go to school full time because my current sales job would not allow for school-10 hour days, 5 days a week. Plus I want to finish ASAP. Im not getting any younger and since I'm using the GI Bill I feel like I can do this now.

Do you think its better coming from a background in healthcare? Does it even matter when getting your first nursing job?

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