High School Senior Interested In Nursing

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I am entering my senior year of high school and have recently became interested in the nursing field. I live in Massachusetts and I have no plans to move in my life. I am interested in going to college to obtain a BSN, I have looked at UMass Boston. I hear a lot of positive things about nursing, but as far as life as a new grad out in the Boston area what is job availability like? Is it worth it, or should I not go through with it and consider a different career. I was considering a career in Information Technology up until recently I decided that I would rather help people then work in an office for the rest of my life. I really need some guidance and advice from a nurse to know if I should go through with this. If I was, I would prefer to work in a big Boston hospital. They pressure us a lot in school these days with choosing a degree to study after we graduate high school.

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I'm not going to lie and say that you're definitely going to get a great job in a major Boston hospital right after graduating college. Then again, you won't be graduating until, what, 2018?? There's a lot that can change between now and then in the Boston nursing job market. No one can say what will happen. I think it's important for you to keep in mind that for the first year or two after college you may have to work in a non-"big Boston hospital." From there, though, you will have a better shot at getting the job that you want. With all of this said, I think you need to choose the career path that is still going to make you happy in 30 years. Will you be happy as a nurse or happy working in the IT field? Only you can answer that, but as someone who used to work a 40hour/week desk job, I can tell you that being a nurse makes me much happier. Ultimately, no one can possibly know what the job market is going to be like for either of these fields in 4-5 years. Choose what YOU think is going to make YOU happy. You don't know what's going to make you happy at 17? That's OK (and, I think, very normal)--people are making career changes more and more often these days. Just remember that you aren't signing up for a career for the rest of your life at age 17 no matter what anyone tells you. You have time.

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There are some great things about studying nursing in college, like you will be engaged, busy, learning practical skills, learning communication and interpersonal skills. I'm sure you know the large number of HS Seniors who flounder in college and wonder what college is really for. If you major in nursing, it will be pretty clear what college is for! Also, the field of Health Information Management (Healthcare IT, basically) also called Informatics is huge and getting huger. If you want to combine both of your interests, a BSN is a great foundation degree, and then later pick up more education in informatics if you want to move in that direction.

The prestige & high pay of the downtown Boston hospitals are sometimes open to new grads, but it's pretty random, depending on the ebb & flow of hospital finances, nurses retiring, health policy changes, things completely beyond prediction. Right now, new grads are rarely being hired downtown. But it could change.

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Specializes in Pedi.

When I graduated six years ago, nearly everyone I graduated with who was staying in Mass was hired at one of the big Boston hospitals. As someone who worked at one for 5 years, it's not all it's cracked up to be, but it is good experience. My floor hired no new grads from September 2008 to July of 2011 but then they started hiring them again. Whether you will be able to get a job when you graduate depends on a lot of things. From what I know about it, you can't enter the nursing program as a freshman at UMass Boston. I believe you have to enter undeclared and then apply to the nursing program and there's no guarantee. It's also exclusively a commuter school, so if you want the full college experience it's a little different. There are a lot of BSN programs in Boston- BC, Northeastern, Simmons and many outside of the city. Check out multiple schools before you make your decision.

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Specializes in ED-- Med Surg, clinical.

Hi Mike, good start to a great career, try not to worry toomuc,

1-- get done with HS

2-- get into college

3--4 years later, there will be so many people ready or already retiring

4--pick a good college, keep grades up,

5- you shouldnt have an issue with a job when you get out of school

Good luck, S

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Hi Mike, good start to a great career, try not to worry toomuc,

1-- get done with HS

2-- get into college

3--4 years later, there will be so many people ready or already retiring

4--pick a good college, keep grades up,

5- you shouldnt have an issue with a job when you get out of school

Good luck, S

That is not necessarily true. The market in Boston is tight. Several of the community facilities are not even offering new grad internship unless you have a BSN....Beverly Hospital is one of them.

My daughter is pursuing this right now. The market for schools is a competitive market requiring a good SAT/ACT and GPA. I believe in four years the market will be better than it is right now....IF the economy improves. My daughter is looking at early decision to increase her chances. It's a tight market right now....but an over all good choice.

OP IT is a good field as well....one you can get into after nursing for Health IT is a growing field.

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