If not nursing then what?

[SheriffLauren]

I am someone who never had a real job before becoming a nurse. I mowed lawns and landscapes for people under the table before graduating. Now that I work I always think...what about when I want to step away from bedside nursing-what if I step away from nursing all together?

What career interests any of you? What would you do other than nursing or what have you done before nursing?

-Detective work for me

[pookashellz]

my dream job is to create a successful business teaching cooking classes online.

"plan B / not a dream job but better than nursing" is web development.

[Buddy Christ]

carpenter

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

Before nursing I was a motorcycle courier. It damn well nearly killed me though, which is how I ended up being a nurse. In the late 1990s I took a short break from nursing to become a desktop publisher. I was self taught from a book and got a great job in a management consultancy who treated us really well. They used to take us on a free skiing vacation every year to Europe. I went back to nursing because I had to be currently working in it to be able to emigrate over to the US. It turned out to be the best thing I ever did because I got into the ICU which has stood me very well over the past 15 years. I enjoyed desktop publishing only because it was very predictable, and I worked in a very comfortable office with no exposure to the general public, and got to play music on my headphones all day. It got old eventually though, as most things do. It was easy but it wasn't a passion. Medicine is my passion. but I know I can't stay in bedside nursing forever because my body can't handle it, which is why I'm in grad school. As an NP I'll still be able to be involved in medicine but won't have to kill myself doing it.