I envy you

[CareRx]

Some of the enthusiasm I see here (I'm fairly new to this site) reminds me of when I was first starting pharmacy school.

It is contagious in that given my recent doubts about pharmacy school, I'm thinking about trying out for nursing. I did not want to say it, but frankly given that I'm a male, I'm not sure how I would fit in in this female dominated field (and females argue about this in the engineering forums). Furthermore, while I realize many nurses are just as brilliant, I'm afraid people might think I'm lowering my standards from aspiring physics/engineering major, pharmacist, to nursing where " many times you bathe and wipe etc..." (according to a few posts on here)

In addition, I feel somewhat guilty that many people want this really bad and here I am, passing the Kaplan (not a shoe-in since I'll only hear back next month) and all that, only to be uncertain about my place in nursing. This is such a tough decision.

Recently, I received some great suggestions on here about continuing with engineering, or staying with pharmacy. I've also been thinking about just becoming a physics professor at a community college (I'd have to earn my MS).

The thing with nursing, I could start in August and be done in two years and bridge to a BSN.

Stay with pharmacy and I have 3 more years of (volume load memorization) and massive loans (unlike nursing).

Go Engineering/Physics route and take more math + earning an MS to be more marketable (still more years of school).

My career path seems so far apart, yet this is where I am in life and I must play the hand I'm dealt.

So for those of you who are certain of nursing, keep that motivation going, it will take you far.

[leenak]

I think I posted in one of your previous threads.

I have a BS/MS in Computer Science and I'm a woman. Honestly, as a woman, sometimes working in a male dominated field is hard, sometimes it is easy.

I think the important thing is to go with what you really want to do. I'm changing careers because of a nagging that has been bothering me for 15 years, not to say that I haven't had some great moments in my current career.

Math and physics are great majors but you'd have to figure out what you really want to do. If nursing it, I say go for it. If pharmacy is it... well then I'd encourage you to see if you can find a less expensive way to pursue pharmacy. Remember these are careers you will keep for a while and I think you should do what makes you happy.

[CareRx]

I think I posted in one of your previous threads.

I have a BS/MS in Computer Science and I'm a woman. Honestly, as a woman, sometimes working in a male dominated field is hard, sometimes it is easy.

I think the important thing is to go with what you really want to do. I'm changing careers because of a nagging that has been bothering me for 15 years, not to say that I haven't had some great moments in my current career.

Math and physics are great majors but you'd have to figure out what you really want to do. If nursing it, I say go for it. If pharmacy is it... well then I'd encourage you to see if you can find a less expensive way to pursue pharmacy. Remember these are careers you will keep for a while and I think you should do what makes you happy.

I appreciate your thoughts. They should serve me well. There is always a fear factor when one switches career plans... Once I get over that, I should enjoy it throughout. For me, I suppose the greatest fear is having loans over 100K when I'm done. In fact, there is no way around it.

Are you starting this fall? Did you think about the change for a while? Good luck to you!

[GirlDotson]

I'm with the previous poster in that school is very expensive, and you will be in the same career for a long time. For those reasons, really think about where you see yourself in five or ten years. You will be paying back loans for a while, so make sure they are loans for something you really love. Also, as you said, a career change is a scary thing, and it would stink to go to school to become a ... and then decide in a few years that your original instincts were right and you really want to go into...

All that being said, I wish you the best of luck. In which ever field you do choose, I see good financial opportunities, so I don't think you can go wrong any way you go!