Husband just got FIRED. Calling all parents and/or full time working students!

allnurses Guide · Sep 13, 2023

I am so sorry you are going through this. I have been there, done that on two occasions and I too live in California. My husband also works in tech and we are blessed that he has been at the same job for over 7 years. Yes the cost of living in CA is outrageous but it can be done.

If you have not dones so apply for SNAP. Find out where your local food bank is and use it for groceries. Also many dollar stores have milk and eggs at reduced cost. Walmart's price on eggs for 18 cage free for $2.32. We don't used animal based dairy so that helps too. Try not to rely on fast food it is so expensive and not very good for you.

I don't know what kind of tec your husband does but he should look into state and federal Jobs as they tend to be more stable.

Hppy

londonflo · Sep 13, 2023

I would add that he should apply for "unemployment" if he qualifies.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Sep 14, 2023

I am so sorry you and your husband are going through this. Prior to becoming an NP, I worked in high-tech for 20 years. Unfortunately, while one can make a lot of money in high-tech, there is pretty much zero job stability. It is very common for people to get laid off/fired often. However, tech people can usually get another job quickly. The only time I had trouble getting a new job was after the dot.com bubble burst in 2000. This instability was one of the main reasons I switched careers.

1. Have husband apply for unemployment ASAP. Also look into applying for Medi-Cal and food stamps.

2. Have husband start looking for new job ASAP.

3. This can be a good chance for hubby to look at adding some new skills/training/certifications.

4. Your husband should look into government jobs for more stability. He will make less money, but will have great job security and great benefits. Local, county, state, and the federal government, including the military, all have tech employees. He could consider joining the Reserves, as that is not full-time and is a nice way for him to have additional income on the side once he gets a new job.

I will say that every time I got fired/laid off from a tech job, I ended up with a higher paying job.

As for time required for nursing school, it is a lot of time. The first semester is usually mostly lecture, with a light clinical schedule, so you could probably work, but no more than 15-20 hours. It is recommended that nursing students not work more than 10 hours per week. After the first semester, it is really hard to work, especially for someone with a family.

Take heart - your husband will probably get another job pretty quickly. If the instability of high tech is too much, in the long term he may need to consider a government job or changing careers.

Best wishes.

Music in My Heart · Sep 15, 2023

Former engineer here...

Was always easy to find new work in my 30s... once I was in my 40s, though, being laid off was brutal... and that's what finally led me to bail out of engineering altogether and move into nursing... best career decision I ever made.

To your question... nursing school is not very difficult in terms of academics and content... in terms of pace, scheduling, and consequences, though, it is very demanding.

I would look to budget something like 60-70 hours per week for classes, clinicals, and studying.

And understand that many programs and faculty are not terribly understanding, sympathetic, or flexible about the challenges faced by their students...

For example, if you're thinking, "well, childcare should work and let me go to clinicals, but they can call me if something happens..."

Um, no... when you're in clinicals, you're generally forbidden from using a cell phone... and even if you did, if you ask to leave, you're likely to be denied or, at a minimum, face disciplinary action/probation.

Can you do it? Yes... yes, you can. But it's going to come at a price... lost time with your kids, for example, and the need to have a robust support network.

FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP · Sep 15, 2023

Music in My Heart said:

Former engineer here...

being laid off was brutal... and that's what finally led me to bail out of engineering altogether and move into nursing... best career decision I ever made.

Whenever I see lists of the best and most in-demand jobs that pay well, it always has a lot of healthcare jobs. I think healthcare is the way to go. Even for high tech folks who don't want to go into patient care, there is a large demand for health-related tech.

However, I disagree with a couple of your comments.

1. Nursing school was the hardest school I have ever gone to, and I have attended Yale and UCLA and am a classic overachiever. Perhaps you are blessed with finding nursing school easy, but I went to Hopkins and it was incredibly difficult, although I was also in one of the last accelerated BSN cohorts. None of my classmates found it easy, at least that I know of.

2. Good nursing schools want the students to graduate. Low graduation rates make a school look bad. I strongly advise prospective students to look at this when applying to nursing school. Hopkins bent over backwards to ensure that students could complete the program. They really wanted students to come forward who needed help. If a student needed to take some time off, fine, they could come back and join another class cohort if necessary. For-profit schools, however, are a completely different story. They don't care if the students graduate.

blenderbottle · Sep 16, 2023

To spend more time with family make sure to sign up for picmonic (it is about $4 a month but it is HUGE time saver).

picmonic will give you exactly what you need to know for your exam

londonflo · Sep 17, 2023

Music in My Heart said:

For example, if you're thinking, "well, childcare should work and let me go to clinicals, but they can call me if something happens..."

Um, no... when you're in clinicals, you're generally forbidden from using a cell phone... and even if you did, if you ask to leave, you're likely to be denied or, at a minimum, face disciplinary action/probation.

Always have a back-up plan for if/when your planned child care falls through. While students are not to be on their cell phones, you will be given (or ask for) the telephone of the unit so that you could receive an emergency phone call. Nursing students before the invention of the cell phone did have families who may have needed to contact them. Every student now has some need to be accessible to children/spouses as have those who went to clinicals before them. Have them call the unit.

There are such things as excused absences in most schools but there are not many. During your clinical orientation you will be informed of them (also how you will be contacted if the school closes for weather - which happens rarely). Many single parents have negotiated nursing school successfully. Have faith!

FutureRN2b8 · Oct 23, 2023

Thank you to every single one of you for your inspiring comments! May you all be blessed and be safe.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Nov 7, 2023

I went to nursing school while my boys were elementary school. My husband had a lot of flexibility and I had amazing neighbors that helped get our kids on and off the bus. What you will need to make it work is a support system. With that, anything is possible.