Okay, in a nutshell, I took a lot of credits in hopes of having a Pharm.D, but eventually fell in love with nursing and transferred to Hunter College to pursue it, even though it would take me five instead of four years. However, because of my aforemented trauma with a fellow student (I don't want it to be the topic of this post but it's mentioned in another post I made), I think I should graduate now to keep my sanity and pursue a BSN when I have more stability. I plan to become a CNA work (original huh?)a, graduate in English (I am a writer for life and it allows me to graduate next spring), and pursue a BSN as soon as I feel fit to handle the responsibilities that come with the letters R.N.However, my parents are unaware of my trauma and have began thinking I am fickle with college, even though I have expressed my plans and back up plans to pursue it. My mother thinks this is a result of me having a boyfriend (although I acheived straight As for the first time in my life while dating him) and my father has begun threatening me to go to nursing school next year, even though when I graduate, I will have been in college for six years! I'll burn out before I hit the floor!So, AllNurses, my request is this: are there benefits to my change in plans that I can mention to my parents so they'll ease up even a little (CNA -> English -> BSN after a few years in the field)? I'll add that my parents believe a nurse with an ADN is lower than and gets paid less than one with a BSN and they'll probably never believe me unless I provide a source. Any articles or blogs or even just an opinion from someone in or knowledgeable of the field (you!) is perfect. I've done general research, but will not pretend I know everything about the vast world of nursing. Advice from those living or studying the dream would really help!
From someone who walked away from school and is just not getting back to it after 10 years, marriage and 2 kids....I think your parents are concerned Emglish won't do anything for you. The job market sucks and a huge contributor to a ton of college grads not getting jobs is that their majors are not highly desirable right now. Nursing has a less than 2% unemployment rate. It is in the top 10 least unemployed jobs for all new grads. I know it's hard to imagine even more time in college. It feels good to feel that finish line in front of you after so long of being in one place. However, I will tell you that life beyond your parents' help and support (even if it is "only" living in your dad's apartment building- do you know how much rent and utilities are?) is much, much more complicated. Life happens while you're busy making other plans. Read through the threads here in the nursing student section and I'm sure you'll see how much harder it is when you have a job or kids, or both.If nursing is what you want, then do it while you still have help. If if isn't, then you need to be honest with yourself and your parents. Tell them it isn't what you want. Whatever you want, though, finish it now, even if it feels like you'll burn out. It is so, so much harder when you have other responsibilities.
From someone who walked away from school and is just not getting back to it after 10 years, marriage and 2 kids....I think your parents are concerned Emglish won't do anything for you. The job market sucks and a huge contributor to a ton of college grads not getting jobs is that their majors are not highly desirable right now. Nursing has a less than 2% unemployment rate. It is in the top 10 least unemployed jobs for all new grads. I know it's hard to imagine even more time in college. It feels good to feel that finish line in front of you after so long of being in one place. However, I will tell you that life beyond your parents' help and support (even if it is "only" living in your dad's apartment building- do you know how much rent and utilities are?) is much, much more complicated. Life happens while you're busy making other plans. Read through the threads here in the nursing student section and I'm sure you'll see how much harder it is when you have a job or kids, or both.If nursing is what you want, then do it while you still have help. If if isn't, then you need to be honest with yourself and your parents. Tell them it isn't what you want. Whatever you want, though, finish it now, even if it feels like you'll burn out. It is so, so much harder when you have other responsibilities.
This was a really thoughtful response. Yeah, that's exactly what they worry about, but I never assumed my English degree would help me with employment; I figured that if I get my CNA certification and get employed while still in school (thank God for the little networking I have), I can't have post-graduate laziness with that endeavor. But I should definitely expect the unexpected, although kids are a next to impossible thing for me to have. I'll definitely check out more posts though, I need that insight.
And I know that life is a lot different than living in my dad's apartment building that he pays utilities for (I wish I knew how much they were, but he doesn't think it's important to share) and I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what life will be like once I'm living on my own without parental assistance. I constantly ask for advice and figures from, strangely, my orphaned friends who live independently and successfully so the change won't be as jarring, but I won't fully understand until I'm out there.
Not to digress and rant, but in my current situation, my parents offer the bare minimum of support anyway. My mother does not contribute a dime to supporting me (but she's angelic enough to pay my separate phone line until I work again). And the way my dad supports me is just disconcerting. It's unreliable and I can't tell you how many times I've had to reschedule important appointments this past winter break (with my college, my therapist, even with a District Attorney!) because he didn't think they were important enough to give me transportation money for. It's just deeply unsettling to me and, frankly, I'll take any hardship if it will allow me more comfort and independence than now.
I know, I wrote forever (good thing I used a computer to respond instead of my phone haha), but to sum it up, I know life is unexpected and logically I should just get my BSN now. If I didn't have this sexual assault happen, I would have taken the extra year to become a nurse (it would be an extra two years if I applied now), but right now, I think I'll be a little stubborn and say that I feel like I should take the time to regroup myself and ease myself into the nursing field. Thank you though!
From the opinion of someone that graduated with a major I care nothing about but just to graduate........ahem,
Don't know what your trauma was but do not let ANYONE (parents, friends, enemies, boyfriends, employer, clown, pilot...get the point) stop you from whatever YOU WANT TO DO..this being your career.
I went to Hunter...class of 07. From 2003 to 2004 I was taking pre-nursing courses. But then I let everyone get the best of me and thus graduated with a degree in psychology and have been jumping from job to job since December of 2007. In these times it is important to get a career and not a degree. A nursing degree (plus the license) makes you a nurse. A psych. degree made me...uh well I'm still trying to figure that out.
I do see where your parents are coming from and I respect them for that. You sound like you have a lot of distractions. GET RID OF THEM....especially if the boyfriend is not husband material. You dont need to go "a few years in the field." If graduating next spring is what you want to do then consider applying to an accelerated one-year nursing program. If you need to learn more about the nursing field consider volunteer or internship work in a medical setting.
From the opinion of someone that graduated with a major I care nothing about but just to graduate........ahem,
Don't know what your trauma was but do not let ANYONE (parents, friends, enemies, boyfriends, employer, clown, pilot...get the point) stop you from whatever YOU WANT TO DO..this being your career.
I went to Hunter...class of 07. From 2003 to 2004 I was taking pre-nursing courses. But then I let everyone get the best of me and thus graduated with a degree in psychology and have been jumping from job to job since December of 2007. In these times it is important to get a career and not a degree. A nursing degree (plus the license) makes you a nurse. A psych. degree made me...uh well I'm still trying to figure that out.
I do see where your parents are coming from and I respect them for that. You sound like you have a lot of distractions. GET RID OF THEM....especially if the boyfriend is not husband material. You dont need to go "a few years in the field." If graduating next spring is what you want to do then consider applying to an accelerated one-year nursing program. If you need to learn more about the nursing field consider volunteer or internship work in a medical setting.
The parallel of our lives is eerie lol! But I really love your advice because it really trumps my original mindset. I think just eliminating the things hindering me and then going after my dreams will be faster and more...therapeutic haha. There are some things out of my control that I would like to get out of way before I pursue a BSN, but they should be done before I graduate and not years and years after; I can be a bit of a dramatic. I am nervous about ABSN programs, I will admit, but I should look at it from a lot of different angles before I decide on anything. And do you mind if I ask why you did not graduate in nursing? Were they just distractions? Best of luck to you either way :)!
And just to add, my boyfriend is husband material (and has a much better understanding of independent living than I do; he's been on his own since his teens), but there's no rush to get married or anything. He's insanely supportive; he makes doctor and hospital visits awkward because he always wants me to connect with every single person on staff he faintly knows!
......And do you mind if I ask why you did not graduate in nursing? Were they just distractions? Best of luck to you either way :)!
And just to add, my boyfriend is husband material (and has a much better understanding of independent living than I do; he's been on his own since his teens), but there's no rush to get married or anything. He's insanely supportive; he makes doctor and hospital visits awkward because he always wants me to connect with every single person on staff he faintly knows!
I never fully pursued nursing at Hunter due to lack of belief in myself and social distractions. After my junior year I just wanted to get out....be it whatever major and psych. was the easiest. Students back then, and maybe still now, discouraged each other from applying. They went around saying that the nursing program was too competitive, the dept. receives a lot of applications, you need a 3.9 gpa to get in and yada yada. So all of this resulted in me not believing in myself. See, that's where the real problem is. I let people decide my life for me and thus five years later I look back and regret it everyday. Now I'm married with a child and feel that I let them down by not having a more stable career.
Anyway, I believe that things will get better and so I will stay positive. I'm happy that your boyfriend does these things for you. Believe me, networking is as important as your degree.
ixchel
4,547 Posts
From someone who walked away from school and is just not getting back to it after 10 years, marriage and 2 kids....I think your parents are concerned Emglish won't do anything for you. The job market sucks and a huge contributor to a ton of college grads not getting jobs is that their majors are not highly desirable right now. Nursing has a less than 2% unemployment rate. It is in the top 10 least unemployed jobs for all new grads. I know it's hard to imagine even more time in college. It feels good to feel that finish line in front of you after so long of being in one place. However, I will tell you that life beyond your parents' help and support (even if it is "only" living in your dad's apartment building- do you know how much rent and utilities are?) is much, much more complicated. Life happens while you're busy making other plans. Read through the threads here in the nursing student section and I'm sure you'll see how much harder it is when you have a job or kids, or both.If nursing is what you want, then do it while you still have help. If if isn't, then you need to be honest with yourself and your parents. Tell them it isn't what you want. Whatever you want, though, finish it now, even if it feels like you'll burn out. It is so, so much harder when you have other responsibilities.