Handing in Resignation

[fyrephish, ADN, RN]

I have applied to my local community college's ASN program and I am hopefully awaiting an acceptance letter in the coming weeks. I've been working for a company for just under 10 years and I am planning to resign before the fall semester starts so I can focus on my studies, and also because the schedule is incompatible with my class schedule. I've already made my decision about when to give my resignation, but I'm looking for some feedback or personal anecdotes about when to resign from a job. The earliest I would resign would be 4 months ahead, and the latest would be 1 month ahead.

If I resign too early, will I be treated differently? Will there be more responsibilities passed my way?

These are some worries I've had. It has been extremely difficult for me not to share what my intended major is up until now. I wanted to keep it a secret to prevent it affecting my review or raise. But it bubbles up constantly and I keep running into nurses during my work day (I work with the public), and I love to ask them questions about their own experience becoming a nurse.

So, if you had to resign from a job to pursue school full time, how did you handle it? Thank you!

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

There's no reason to keep your major a secret. Lots of people work while in nursing school, and furthermore, a lot of people leave jobs when returning to school or pursuing a new career.

When you should resign depends on your current job, your facility's policy, and how difficult you would be to replace. For entry level jobs or when special training isn't required, 2 weeks is sufficient. For more specialized positions (like many RN positions) 4 weeks is suggested. Highly specialized positions when it may be difficult to find a qualified replacement, or that replacement may need to be trained by the person vacating the position, a longer time frame may be necessary. For the great majority of jobs, 4 weeks notice is just fine.

[shasta13]

I would not give a 4 month resignation. I don't know what line of work you are currently in, but I've worked in the business field for 15+ years and most of the companies I have been with walk you out the moment you turn in a notice. Two weeks' notice will suffice, but if you are in a specialized position and would be training your replacement, then 4 weeks is very courteous. Just be prepared to lose your job at that moment. Yes, I know that sounds dramatic, but prepare for the worst.

I am working until I begin nursing school this summer. My employer is aware I am in school now completing pre-reqs, but I won't give my resignation until June. They don't know when I'm starting nursing school.

[fyrephish, ADN, RN]

Thank you for the feedback. I think I can share my major but not necessarily give my notice until a few weeks before. I think it would take around 6 weeks to hire and train a replacement, theoretically. My experience has shown that in practice it takes much longer to fill positions. I just worry about the stress that losing a full time employee will add to my fellow employees and I really do want to leave on good terms because I like everyone there. Again, thanks for sharing your experiences.