Some of you may think I am talking down about myself, but I just need to be honest so that you can help me to the best of your ability. I do NOT want to rack up anymore student loan debt only to 'fail.' So with that said here it goes (Oh, and hello everyone I'm new lol ):
I am a recent college grad with a BS in education. My major was Community Health Promotion and Education which I loved. Unfortunately, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do before picking this major. Now and I do, and it hurts me to say chances are my degree will not help me.
I do not want to be a nurse per say, but rather a child-birth educator or a diabetes educator. I always wanted to do education, but with this degree, I'm limited to non-profits (the money sucks!) and schools (which I really do not want). But the irony in this is, to get these types of jobs (around here) you need a nursing degree.
The things that stops me are: 1. Blood, guts, and glory is not my type of thing. I can't really see myself doing hands on things that involve touching people, but I would LOVE to be a childbirth educator (which 99% of the time requires a nursing degree). 2. My grades weren't that good in school. My college GPA was a 3.1 but my overall GPA was a 2.9. Not really ideal to compete with other students trying to get in nursing programs around here in Ohio. And 3., I am NOT a good standardized test taker. Enough said.
I guess what I am asking is: Am I a lost cause? If you were in my situation, would you go back to school?
And 2., why do I have to go through clinicals/bedside training only to do education? Is there a way around this such as nursing programs specifically for people who want to do education?
I'm in Ohio if this helps.
TIA everyone. I really appreciate you reading!:bowingpur
Mayisontheway, excellent point!:bowingpur We need more diabetes educators in hospitals and elsewhere.
Isn't the main reason there aren't more diabetes educators because of budgetary reasons as opposed to not enough qualified educators? I also wonder about pay scale as well. Some very interesting and important preventative health/health educator type positions tend to pay very little. I've seen pretty low wage offerings for master's prepared public health educators.
To the OP, it does sound like you are at cross purposes with your current goals. I agree that the type of educating you're interested in IS valuable and satisfying, but it doesn't seem like it's a stable, clear career path. That doesn't mean you can't make it work somehow, but it does mean that you can't just take these certain classes, get that certain degree/certification and - boom! - find a good job. Check out current job listings, qualifications, etc. Call and talk to people doing the type of work you're interested in. Visit their work place if you can. You might want to look into public health nursing which is often more focused on education than physical nursing assistance.
It can be VERY difficult to get a realistic picture of the work world before one has to choose a course of education. You just do the best you can and figure it out as you go sometimes. You might want to consider just finding a job and working awhile before investing in more education at this point. You might learn something about yourself and the work world that would make your next step more clear. Good luck to you!!
I do think that being a nurse will give you an edge over other candidates for the position but I don't think you need to be a nurse.
I attended the Lamaze International training course and our instructor wasn't a nurse. And half the class attending weren't nurses. I also worked for the Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program (CPSP) and most of the educators weren't nurses (although less pay than being a nurse)!
Like the other posters said, if you become a doula, certified lactation specialist, or certified childhood educator, that can also open up the same career path for you. I would definitely recommend pursuing your masters degree -such as the MPH in Health Education or also being a nutritionist would also help in your career goals (I don't know though if that's an option for a masters degree).
The career prospects are a little murkier if you are not a nurse (I mean, it's not like there are jobs for those positions advertised everywhere like nursing is) but they do exist! They just require a little bit more networking and research about organizations.
First off, I really do appreciate everyone's thoughts. Even the first short/snarky reply lol, atleast it was honest which is all that matters!
Okay, I am going to try and answer to some of the thoughts posted.
txpixiedust, I am going to do as you suggested! Thank you for your warm reply! The same to you MayisontheWay, jjjoy, celle507,and queenjean. As soon as I leave work today I will be doing some research.
Melinurse, I am actually a certified CPR/AED instructor. Though "touching people" is not my thing, I am fully prepared to do what it takes to save someone's life. There is a total difference in an act of kindness to save an individual's life versus doing this day end and out for the rest of your (working) life.
DutchgirlRN, I thought about teaching in a school too. But to be totally honest, it's not what I want to do. Yes working a school schedule is nice, but it's the actual setting that I really do not care for. I do not want to offend anyone, so I'll keep it at that. But, I'm still looking into it for the time being.
Anyone else I missed, thank you! I think I need to do some serious soul searching. It's just so frustrating when you do not know what exactly you want to be "when you grow up" yet everyone around you does. I'm 23 years old and I would have thought I would have known by now.
I really think that it's not a negative to know what things really don't suit you. (I, for one decide after one short office job that I would "sell it on the street" before I would ever try being a file clerk again!) Now though, you need to sit down and make the other half of the list - the things you excel at, the things you most enjoy doing, the classes where you did well. From that you may be able to narrow your consideration of careers, or get suggestions from others. Have you checked to see if your local college has a career counseling center?
By the way - 23 is still young enough to be "trying on" professions for size - you'll have plenty of years to work at whatever you decide on.
Just as a note - I saw several people suggest doula - not a career I'd suggest for someone who doesn't care for blood or close personal contact - being a doula involves a lot of hands on and close interpersonal contact with clients up to and throughout labor and birth - which invariably involves a good bit of blood and other body substances.
It's okay to not know what you "want to be when you grow up"... many a person has "fallen into" their jobs/careers - as opposed to deciding on a path and then making it happen. And most of those folks around you who seem to have it all together and know exactly what they plan to do, well, in another 5-10 years, you'll find many of them doing something different than what they planned anyway. You'll also find many a person much older than yourself at a similar place to yourself, either due to lay offs or deciding to change paths, not sure what direction to head. But people will often say they're going to do this or that even if they really don't know for sure about it.
No one wants to "waste time" getting started on their career/education but if there's not a clear destination or if you change paths along the way, it's not necessarily a waste of time. In fact, it may be a necessary part of figuring out what will work for you.
):
Though "touching people" is not my thing, I am fully prepared to do what it takes to save someone's life. There is a total difference in an act of kindness to save an individual's life versus doing this day end and out for the rest of your (working) life.
I think I need to do some serious soul searching. It's just so frustrating when you do not know what exactly you want to be "when you grow up" yet everyone around you does. I'm 23 years old and I would have thought I would have known by now.
jjjoy, LPN
2,801 Posts
Isn't the main reason there aren't more diabetes educators because of budgetary reasons as opposed to not enough qualified educators? I also wonder about pay scale as well. Some very interesting and important preventative health/health educator type positions tend to pay very little. I've seen pretty low wage offerings for master's prepared public health educators.
To the OP, it does sound like you are at cross purposes with your current goals. I agree that the type of educating you're interested in IS valuable and satisfying, but it doesn't seem like it's a stable, clear career path. That doesn't mean you can't make it work somehow, but it does mean that you can't just take these certain classes, get that certain degree/certification and - boom! - find a good job. Check out current job listings, qualifications, etc. Call and talk to people doing the type of work you're interested in. Visit their work place if you can. You might want to look into public health nursing which is often more focused on education than physical nursing assistance.
It can be VERY difficult to get a realistic picture of the work world before one has to choose a course of education. You just do the best you can and figure it out as you go sometimes. You might want to consider just finding a job and working awhile before investing in more education at this point. You might learn something about yourself and the work world that would make your next step more clear. Good luck to you!!