Interested in becoming a nurse :)

[karlita85]

Hello, i am a new member to this site. I came on here because i am very interested in pursuing a nursing career. I am 18 years old and out of high school , the only this that is holding me back right now from starting off my 2 year associate for RN is my financial situation , because i live on my own and work full time , it is very hard to just cut my working to go to school because then i wont be able to pay any rent or anything... this frustrates me ... i have thought also about taking quick cna courses but im not sure if i should do that . what i want to do is just get a feel of being some type of nurse .. ... i know cna's do not make much at all.... but what do you guys think... :)

[Dr. Gonzo]

I wannabe a RN too you should get your associates degree and volunteer at a hospital to get a little experience even though you cant do that much as a volunteer but you could follow a RN around im sure some wont mind teaching you some things.

[ERNurse752, RN]

Have you applied for financial aid? I know I had a rough time paying for things b/c financial aid took my parents' income into account even though they couldn't help me pay for school. It helped when my parents got divorced. Good luck!

[IamRN]

the only this that is holding me back right now from starting off my 2 year associate for rn is my financial situation , i know cna's do not make much at all.... but what do you guys think... :)

have you considered student loans? these is some type of loan out there that can be "forgiven" or paid back by working in specific areas w/critical shortages (which is really most places! )

student loans along w/grants helped me and most of my fellow students.

best wishes!!!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Take as many related courses now and get them out of the way. I had to work full time myself and that's what I did. It's going to take longer, but that's what I had to do. There are plenty of courses you can take like English, etc. a few courses at a time so you can continue to work.

I wouldn't go the CNA route if it's a pay cut. You can always do that later if you want the nursing experience.

Good luck and welcome to the site.

[camay1221_RN]

I worked full-time while taking my pre-req classes. I would take two classes a semester, one daytime and one evening. I was still in banking at the time, and I had a wonderful branch manager who allowed me to come in little later on the days I had my morning classes. So, what would have been a three year diploma program was stretched out to a total of five years for me. Needless to say, once I got into clinicals, I had to depend more on financial aid, mostly loans. I have accepted my loans as being like my mortgage...always going to be there!!

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck!!!!