Happier With Your Second Career?

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Jun 29, 2010

this is a question for all of you who have started nursing as a second career.
1. what was career #1? pre-school teacher
2. are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? yes
3. did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? nope.
4. was/is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? ummm not really sure. but i do like it here and it's a good fit. :)
5. have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? nope was the change in career worth it? yup
6. are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? not really
7. i don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? happy with nursing paycheck
8. how has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? or not much change? hmmm? is this about healthcare? if so, i wish i had better benefits now. didn't need any way back then; dh was the provider
9. what did your family think about your career change? i'm not sure. i just said i was going to do it.
looking forward to reading everyone's answers

Saysfaa · Jun 29, 2010

Oh, this would be so much fun to do.

Morphed, can "started nursing" be defined as "started preparing for nursing" as well as "started working as a nurse" or would you rather not?

morphed · Jun 29, 2010

Oh, this would be so much fun to do.
Morphed, can "started nursing" be defined as "started preparing for nursing" as well as "started working as a nurse" or would you rather not?

Surprise me :)

CathyLew · Jun 29, 2010

1. what was career #1? vet tech

2. are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? yep! the vet tech thing was fun.... just because of the animals.

3. did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? because i found out what my supervisor made..... and i could not live on what i made, or what she made! i needed to find a job that paid better. (shallow me!)

4. was/is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? nothing like they show on tv! and real nursing is nothing like nursing school

5. have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? was the change in career worth it? it was worth it. the question...do you live to work, or work to live? i now have a job i look forward to going to. and make the money i need to live. (not get by, but live)

6. are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? by far

7. i don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? abso-frigging-lootly!

8. how has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? or not much change? from none to some

9. what did your family think about your career change? my father was a pharmacist ..and all the time growing up he told me never to become a nurse. over worked, under paid...etc.... when i told him that is what i was going for, he said- go for it! its a great job, you will love it!

MsBruiser · Jun 29, 2010

1.What was career #1? Business consultant

2.Are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? Absolutely3.Did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? Because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? I was very unhappy doing my other job

4.Was/Is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? Overall better – but with certain caveats

5.Have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? Was the change in career worth it? Sometimes I think I should have stayed. But then a good day at work makes me think “are you crazy?” The change was worth it – most of the time (maybe 80-85% of the time).

6.Are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? Significantly lower in terms of pay and prestige and control over my workday/environment

7.I don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? Although I earn much less, I think it is a very good paycheck for the level of education required and the work I do. I never feel underpaid.8.How has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? Or not much change? Much better benefits. Much more job security.

9.What did your family think about your career change? They thought/think I was absolutely and completely off of my rocker to make the switch.

Saysfaa · Jun 29, 2010

:) It's probably not that unusual of a path, on the other hand, maybe it is these days.

This is a question for all of you who have started nursing as a second career.

1. What was career #1? Mom

2. Are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? No, that was great also.

3. Did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? Because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? Yes, I have to leave my first career because it has an end built in, although it has been a very good career that I enjoyed.

4. Was/Is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? All of the above. As good as: a lot of it has been about what I thought it would be. Better than: I thought I would like all the learning involved, I had no idea how much I would like that. Worse than: I didn't realize how restricitive it would be - between scope of practice restrictions and time restrictions - that is the biggest change so far, my first career had very wide curbs.

5. Have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? Was the change in career worth it? N/A and yes, it has been worth it.

6. Are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? N/A, so totally different ladders, I can't compare them. Or maybe I just can't think in terms of prestige of the job - my inbetween "mom" career and "preparing for nursing" job was cleaning kennels, which I loved doing, I liked the work itself, the hours were great, and so on - I did get a lot of strange looks from dh's coworkers though.

7. I don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? It will be better but not all that much once taxes are factored in. A large aspect of my former career was conserving money - I considered my income to be what Dh didn't spend because I was there to do it instead of hiring it done or to do the legwork involved in finding the best values. Since a penny saved is worth two pennies earned (you have to make two pennies to actually get a penny's worth of purchase), and I didn't have to pay any taxes on anything I earned (saved) - it won't be a big of a difference as most people would think.

8. How has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? Or not much change? Not much change, dh has always had pretty good benefits.

9. What did your family think about your career change? They liked the idea of some help with their college. They are frequently very amused at my journey ($150 for a USED text book!), (scrubs look cool), (no, Mom, do not drop the class you have an A in). They are sometimes embarrassed (who takes the ACT with their mother?). Mostly, they think it is cool. Extended family think it is great.

ScoopsPerson · Jun 29, 2010

1. what was career #1? product marketing mgr in the silicon chip industry

2. are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? sometimes

3. did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? i moved to part of country that did not have an electronic circuit presence. i had been in the industry for over 25 years and was pretty burnt out.

4. was/is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? i have to say worse. the disrespect for the job i do amazes me constantly. i don't feel like a "professional" ...i feel like a houskeeper/waitress/garbage woman. i do physical labor and rarely get a break or lunch break.

5. have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? was the change in career worth it? yes and yes.

6. are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? ummmm career #1

7. i don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? i am happy with my nursing paycheck but it was better before.

8. how has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? or not much change? no change.

9. what did your family think about your career change? they thought i was insane.

Trauma Columnist · Jun 30, 2010

1. what was career #1? usn

2. are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? yes

3. did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? it was very difficult to be married and have kids in the military - hubby was also active duty.

4. was/is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be?much better

5. have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? was the change in career worth it?very much worth it

6. are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1?yes. i have gone back to school and have a bsn, msn, and two post-msn certificates

7. i don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before?i make much more as an advanced practice nurse than i did in the military.

8. how has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? or not much change?my benefits are much better now.

9. what did your family think about your career change?family was and still is very successful.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 30, 2010

1. What was career #1? Business

2. Are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? Love both but was burned out on #1

3. Did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? No Because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? Again I wasn't unhappy just bored and burnt

4. Was/Is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? Many times better but sometimes about what I expected.

5. Have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? Rarely, it was time to move on. Was the change in career worth it? Most days absolutely!

6. Are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? No but I was in business over 20 years. I'm not really interested in climbing the ladder although I'd like to enrich myself and my options by getting my NP

7. I don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? If I continue to do lots of overtime it is comparable and when I get my NP it should be better.

8. How has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? Better

9. What did your family think about your career change? I come from a long line of Nurses so they thought it was amusing but cool.

Mission · Jun 30, 2010

1. what was career #1? programmer/project manager

2. are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1?yes, this is much more fulfilling

3. did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)?had a good job but it felt meaningless. i felt like a cube monkey. i did programming/project management for applications used by nurses and doctors. i knew there was a better way to do things but no one would listen to me because i wasn't a clinician

4. was/is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be?i'm actually doing nursing informatics research which i love love love! clinical nursing (which i still do per diem) is pretty much what i expected but i spent a year shadowing nurses while doing an ehr implementation so i really knew what i was getting into

5. have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? was the change in career worth it? never looked back, i love what i'm doing.

6. are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? right now i'm making less money but with much better benefits and better work/life balance. i'm currently finishing my phd in nursing so i'll surpass career#1 in the ladder after that.

7. i don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before?as i said, i made more than double what i'm making now, plus i got huge yearly bonuses. but my life is much better

8. how has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? or not much change?benefits are much better

9. what did your family think about your career change?my mom kind of looked at it as a step down at first but now she is really supportive. i met my husband a few months after i returned to school so he has always been supportive.

HiHoCherry-O · Jun 30, 2010

1. what was career #1?paramedic-firefighter

2. are you happier with nursing as a career than you were with career #1? not a big leap but enjoyed working for the fire department better. i have yet to work somewhere where the closeness of the group is similar.

3. did you get into nursing because you had a dead end job? because you were unhappy with career #1 (although you had a good job)? fire department is kind of dead end, you can either work in the field or go into some aspect of management; at least the department i worked in. i was not unhappy and would have stayed until i retired but my dh got a job in another state (better for him).

4. was/is nursing as good as, better than, or worse than you thought it would be? kind of all the above. it is about what i expected; better in the sense that i get to see the outcome for some people, whereas that did not happen in fd. worse because it is amazing at how little respect some people have for nurses. funny, people are happy to see the fd show up, but think they know everything once they come in contact with the nurse:rolleyes:

5. have you ever thought that you should have stayed with your original career? was the change in career worth it? would have stayed if i did not move; but have to admit, i was getting a little burned out in the fd too. there's so much more mobility in nursing.

6. are you higher up the career ladder in nursing or were you higher with career #1? higher with career #1

7. i don't want to start a discussion on nursing pay again, but are you happier with your nursing paycheck or was it better before? ironically, where i moved from the nurses made way more money; where i live now, it is the opposite.

8. how has your benefits been affected by your change in career, better or worse? or not much change? better retirement with fd; get benies through dh

9. what did your family think about your career change? dh was definitely for me going into nursing (something about working with a bunch of guys didn't sit well with him).:dancgrp:

mother and siblings were all for it as well. ironically it was my pcp at the time who warned me i would not like being a nurse.