I cannot catch a doggone break

[TwinDaddy, CNA]

I've been racking my brain as to a definitive path to an RN license. Go straight to a program, LVN or even Paramedic then bridge. Smartly, the advice I received through counselors and the like was to just dive in.

Well I was ready to do just that when I was hit with the distinct possibility of having to relocate to Dallas from Houston. That meant I didn't want to be in the middle of nursing school and having to leave to move. I was all ready to trek 50 miles each way to Wharton County JC for their LVN program. That was from August 2019 - August 2020. I could finish before moving to Dallas. Cost was low and aside from the traveling..doable. I was happy that I had a plan.

Yesterday, I was laid off from work. The income that I was looking to save from is now gone. Since I can't get student loans I was relying on it to help pay my schooling. I have a relative that can get me on as a Paramedic if I go to EMT school, which also runs August 2019 - August 2020. It is only 5 miles away. Total cost for the program is $600 for the EMT-B and $2,600 for the Paramedic. Cheaper than the LVN (but only by a thousand) and with money being more of an issue (along with time), I feel it's an option I can't ignore. I thought if I work as an EMT I could have the time and have a way to contribute to furthering my education.

Paramedic would have me working 24 hours on and 72 off on a continual basis. Has anyone else gone this way to getting their RN license? I'm very interested in your opinions and insight.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Paramedic really isn't a bridge to an RN license. You don't get any break for having been a paramedic, and someone on this forum started a thread claiming that he's a new RN and interviewers are biased against him because he's a former paramedic.

You don't say what kind of work you've been doing. I don't know how realistic it is to get a new job doing the same sort of work. I worked my way through college as a bartender, server and fry cook -- and as a maid, wedding photographer and in the photo lab.

[TwinDaddy, CNA]

I wasn't thinking I would be getting a break. What I mean is that from the colleges around me there are LVN/Paramedic to ADN programs. I work in F&B as well (manager). I could very well go the LVN route. A 50 mi drive to and from school really isn't too bad. I'm trying to minimize money going out of the home. Now if I can get a job as a CNA, PCA or Sitter then I would be in a better spot. I'm only going by what's on my plate now. A lot of it is preserving resources.