How old is too old?

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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this is my first time on this forum. i have been reading for a while and enjoy all the questions and comments....it has been very helpful in my quest.

my question to you all is "how old is too old?". i am 52 years old and just working on my pre-requisites. yes, you read that right. this means that i will be about 54 when i apply for nursing school. am i crazy? has my ship sailed and i should just hang it up? i have always wanted to be a nurse. i listened to my mother, who completed 8th grade tell me that i would never be able to go to college. i listened to her and 2 days after graduation from h.s. i was married. eight years and 2 babies later i was divorced. then i was a single mom trying to make ends meet. i finally signed up for some college classes, even though my mom was giving me those mom looks and making me feel it was a stupid thing to do. i made a's in my classes and that only encouraged me more. mom was shocked. i met a man who lived 3 hours from me and was raising his two kids. we were married a few months later and my life has been devoted to raising children. finally, i am to a place in my life where i can do something i want to do.

the community college i attend takes a total of 60 nursing students in their program. forty during the day, twenty at night. most 4 year colleges are the same. the community college had 400 applicants last semester. my chances are very slim at best. this will be a total career change for me. i am so excited to finally do this. i am strong and very encouraged. i am so scared at the same time. i don't want to waste anyone's precious time or money. this is an agonizing decision. you all are nurses, some may be my age. do i stand a chance? do i push on?

thank you for your help.

mb

I am 55. I have two Masters Degrees, MSN and MBA. I am underemployed. I equate my job to flipping hamburgers. I work as a Med/Surg staff nurse. With my education and background I should be the Hospital Administrator. I checked the job board and that position is not open. So do I just give up and go get that greeter's job at Walmart I keep eyeing?

No! The median age of nurses is going up, not down. More and more nurses in hospitals are getting older. And older nursing students is becoming the norm. The industry as a whole is going to have embrace the older nurse. With a job growth rate of 25% there are not going to be enough nurses to fill the open positions. Older nurses with experience will migrate to the less physical jobs. The younger nurses will fill these vacated roles.

Pursue your dream. 55 is the new 35. We got replacement parts for those things that wear out. You have at least 25 years to enjoy doing something you are passionate about. It is time to retire when you loose your passion. Hopefully your passion fails way before your body does. I have a vision of us all pushing walkers down the hall with built in scanners and drug boxes. I want a horn on mine so I can get the young kids out of the way!

Specializes in ER.

You mention being “in the right place at the right time” when you got your job, but forgot the part “with the right educational credentials”. As for the people you mention who haven’t benefitted from their years of education, was there any genuine depth of thought put into their decisions to enroll in school and risk their financial security? What, exactly, did your friend think he was going to do with a criminal justice degree? Did he check the jobs that would be available to him at that level of education, and if, over the prior ten years, there were any like that available in his area? Did he even figure out how much salary he would have to make to pay for the investment in his schooling, or to repay loans? As for your sister, I truly don’t intend this as an insult, but I have to question either the marketability of her degrees, her academic record, her initiative, or, possibly, all three.

My sister has a bachelor's in Fine arts and history, minor in English and a Masters in philosophy. She went to teaching college as well so that she is able to teach High School English, History, and art.

Were her decisions in education smart? I will be the first to admit that most of our family asked ourselves what the H*** she was thinking, but she was young and art is her passion, her dream. She took a chance, and so far it hasn't paid off.

Our friend who took a gamble on the criminal justice degree did so because it is his dream to be a police officer. Having a degree increases your chances of getting into a police department or law enforcement. He decided to do this after getting out of the Navy and not being able to find a job in this field. Living in the dense urban area that we are in, there are many opportunities, however because he is almost 40, he has been rejected from the coast guard outright as not eligible, he has tried TSA, every department, security positions...

We also shook our heads at the chance he took, but he was delivering furniture before enlisting in the service and he had a dream for his life.

I will not ever try to dissuade a person for the decisions they make in their lives, nor will I sit and play armchair quarterback with people who are struggling to realize their dreams.

This was my point, that I think you completely missed.

IF the OP has a dream to be a nurse and would regret forever if she didn't become one then she should go for it.

If she is simply trying to improve her life standards at 52, with student loans and a new career...then research the heck out of what you are doing before you take the plunge. Decide if it is fiscally responsible, if there are even opportunities available in the region, if relocation at that point in her life is feasible, if she is prepared to face ageism, and possible unemployment for a longtime before finding a job. If she feels her health will remain stable over the next 10 years as she goes through school and begins her new career.

I would tell my own mother/grandmother to think hard about the same things.

Specializes in Cardiac/Tele Unit.

It takes a lot of guts and strength to go back to school when you are older. I am 37 and just graduated from nursing school in December. I took my NCLEX-RN last Saturday and passes with 75 questions. I even managed to graduate with honors. My husband and kids were my biggest cheerleaders and even learned how to do things on their own while I was in school.My graduating class ranged from 20-58 with the average age being around 35. I say go for it! It is never to late to follow your dream. When I was first looking into going back to school a friend of my said to me that the next couple of years are going to pass no matter what so where do you want to be when that time comes. Good luck!

Specializes in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes.

Go for it!

There was an article recently about a nurse who finally retired in her 90's or something similar that made my jaw hit the keyboard lol. So you potentially have 30 or 40 more years :nurse:

I just got rejected for a great job because I had to much senior management experience, the job was "to junior" for me. Oh well, I am going to start applying for CEO positions. Then I can get rejected for being to junior. Crazy economy.

You are only as old as you admit you are :)

I still remember when I enlisted almost a decade ago and the examination doctor was barely standing up, was frail, but still capable to make a decision whether to medically accept new soldiers or not.

One of my nursing instructors had a rule and a new nurse should be less than 40 years old. I don't see why. Compassion doesn't just disappear at the age of 40 :)

I can't even wait long enough to read others' responses. GO FOR IT. Life is short. When you are dead (if we get this crazy chance)....will you be thinking "gee, I'm glad I didn't try that...I was too old anyway"...or "darn, why didn't I try that! I knew I'd be good at that!". Whatever that counselor was thinking was irrelevant. You are not old. People live to be over 100. These days you can work in nursing until you die walking the floor to the next patient. Nursing needs nurses....and not just 20 somethings. You know so much more about the human condition if just by your experience in years. Maybe some say you are not as sharp after 40 but I do not believe that. You are as sharp as your passion is hot for anything in this world. Your husband is supportive, you have the finances available (or funding)..you have the passion....in two years...what else will you be doing anyway? Nursing IS blue collar physical and white collar intelligent....no doubt. But I have seen plenty of over 50's in better physical shape than those in their 20's....and intellectually....your mind becomes sharper the more you use it. I actually think you are wonderwoman! Don't let mom, or some random lame counselor veer you away from your dreams!!!!!!!! They all are reacting to something within THEMSELVES when they act as if you can't do it. (THEY can't do it.....NOT YOU!).

hi mb,

i am 47 years old and just applied to the program and will find out at the end of feb. i went back to school 1 1/2 yrs ago and have gotten a's in all my classes. every individual is different. some may not be as sharp as others, but only you know what you can handle. if you are wanting this as bad as it sounds, then you need to go for it. i believe you would be doing yourself an injustice if you did not follow your dream. good luck and many blessings!

michelle:yeah:

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I'm really going to have to get better at reading between the lines.

I thought the OP wanted an honest answer to an honest question.

I see now a cheering squad was what the OP wanted.

Silly me. Must be my 54 yr old brain misfiring.

You're right when you say education is not synonymous with employment. But, to be honest, when has it ever been true (with a very few exceptions)? Certainly not in my lifetime. But the truth is that NO education will DEFINITELY stand in your way. Ask any bright nondegreed individual who, despite years of valuable job experience, is prohibited from even applying for jobs that have a routine (but unnecessary) BA requirement.

You mention being "in the right place at the right time" when you got your job, but forgot the part "with the right educational credentials". As for the people you mention who haven't benefitted from their years of education, was there any genuine depth of thought put into their decisions to enroll in school and risk their financial security? What, exactly, did your friend think he was going to do with a criminal justice degree? Did he check the jobs that would be available to him at that level of education, and if, over the prior ten years, there were any like that available in his area? Did he even figure out how much salary he would have to make to pay for the investment in his schooling, or to repay loans? As for your sister, I truly don't intend this as an insult, but I have to question either the marketability of her degrees, her academic record, her initiative, or, possibly, all three.

Except for a very few underpopulated career fields that typically require in-demand technical skills, what does the typical college graduate have to offer an employer right out of college? In truth, he/she needs to identify opportunities, and sell themselves to that employer by showing how their education and experience can handle the demands of that position.

The truth is that educational institutions, from the nonethical for-profits up to the most-esteemed Ivy Leagues, are out there shilling for students and all of that lovely taxpayer-funded financial aid. Just like gullible homeowners expected their bankers to tell them they couldn't afford a mortgage during the housing boom, college students and their parents are expecting college financial officials to tell them that they should pull the plug on their educational journeys. Yeah, many of the actions by the colleges are reprehensible, but expected given that they're businesses that need to fill seats. But nothing excuses a student and his/her parents from performing basic due diligence on the financial risks of a college education, and from accepting the harsh realities of the job market. After all, formal education is but one small part of preparation for life.

You're right on. I work in higher education. People have an unrealistic view that a degree guarantees a good job with a high salary. That's not how the world works anymore. It's also true though, as you said, that a person must have a degree to be considered for most jobs. If you want to be a nurse, you have to go to nursing school.

Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Life is short. You just never know. Go for it. Especially if you can do it comfortably without getting into debt for it.

I have known lots of fit nurses in their 60's and over that did a fabulous job. And hospital nursing is not the only thing there is either if you find that too heavy.

Now, if you have no retirement and would have to take on debt my advice is the opposite!

It's something I don't think can have a "too old" age limit. I had a family member go to nursing school in her 50's. She did it as a hobby. She was retired, and all of her kids were grown and she wanted something to do. While I was in nursing school, there were older classmates. They were running circles around us younger people! Lol. It motivated me to get myself in shape and I pray I am as sharp as they are at that age. And age 52? That is NOT old to me. My parents are 58 and are very active and sharp and I couldn't imagine them not trying something new because of their age. They're probably more active than me (sad, but true lol). We even have a gyno MD here that's turning 80 this year! He's awesome. I say if it's something you want to do go for it!

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