Is more education a mistake for me?

[diamondmeadows, BSN, RN]

I'll just warn you that this is another unemployed new (old?) grad post, so I appreciate your taking the time to read it anyway. :heartbeat

I graduated with a BSN in May 2009, and I'm expecting my first baby this May. I've put in loads of applications but I've only had one interview, which promptly ended after the interviewer asked if I was pregnant. Moving is just not an option for us because of my husband's job and his grad school.

My current plan is to begin the FNP program part-time at my university in August. I am not doing this solely out of desperation; I have planned on it since beginning nursing school. However, I always thought I would go to grad school later on after I worked as an RN for a few years. With the one-year mark since my graduation approaching, though, I am thinking it may be necessary to change those plans.

I am nervous about beginning an MSN program without any RN experience. I already have a good bit of debt from my BSN, and I will need to take out more loans for grad school. I am excited (and I admit a little terrified) about the idea of becoming an NP, but I am afraid that I will graduate and not be able to find a job (again!) and the only thing I will have to show for it all will be the hefty addition to my debt pile. I assume that having zero RN experience will make me an unattractive candidate to employers. I plan to continue searching for a PRN or part-time job throughout school, but I just don't feel like I can count on that happening.

Does anyone have any advice for me? These decisions can be so difficult. I think I have even been more stressed out since finishing school than I was during the nursing program! Everyone tells me to just stop worrying and that everything will work out, but I don't know how exactly that is supposed to happen if I don't do something.

[NurseAdida]

I sincerely think you should at least work at the hospital for a year then start your MSN or do the MSN but simultaneously work. I think the program is much easier if you have some hospital experience. I did only one semester of NP and stopped because I did not enjoy it but a lot of the time it was fun when they gave us different medical/nursing scenario and we could relate it or knew a co-worker that had dealt with it at work. That made the program a easier:twocents:.

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

I'm really wondering if the market for NPs is any better than for RNs. It's possible. The poor economy might encourage a cheaper alternative to MDs. But many areas already have a glut of MDs.

So I'm just no help at all. But, I don't think it was lawful for an interviewer to ask whether you were pregnant. Which, of course, begs the question as to whether you'd even want to work for someone who did. Still, if it's feasible, you might consider just chillin' until the kid's born and you're ready to be apart from him/her. Job market could be a lot different, in a few months.

[elkpark]

I always encourage people to work for at least a few years as a generalist RN before going to grad school. Most people going into nursing have no idea what an incredibly wide range of career possibilities are available within nursing until they're in nursing for a while. People tend to start out in nursing with awareness of just a few possibilities (which usually includes the NP and CRNA roles, but often not even the other advanced practice roles), and an idea that they know what they want to specialize in -- but it's extremely common for people to start nursing school, or start their careers, confident they know what they want to do, but, by the time they finish school, or have been in practice for a few years, they find they're much more interested in something else entirely.

Advanced practice nursing is not as flexible as generalist-level nursing (basic licensure), where all you have to do to change specialties is talk someone into hiring you in the new specialty -- graduate education in nursing pretty much locks you into a v. specific role and career track. If you want to change specialties, you have to go back to grad school and then get the "new" certification. I've known a number of people who either entered nursing through a direct entry Master's program, or rushed into a graduate program right after nursing school, because they "knew" they wanted to be an NP, CNM, etc., only to find after they finished school that they didn't like being an NP, CNM, whatever, after all. once they were actually doing it. Now they're stuck with a degree (and, in most cases, the student loans to pay for it!) and career track they don't want, and are trying to figure out what degree they need to get next to be able to do something they really want to do.

Any graduate degree you get in nursing will require a lot of time, effort, and $$$ on your part -- IMHO, it's well worth putting some time and effort up front to make sure you're getting a degree you will really want over time, which (again, IMHO) means spending some significant amount of time just getting to know the larger world of nursing and all the career possibilities "out there," and where your professional interests really lie over time.

Best wishes for your journey!

[RNperdiem, RN]

A new baby plus even more debt sounds like a recipe for unbearable stress.

I would not recommend graduate school until you decide that you like nursing and have a future there.

Keep up the job search.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

I agree with everyone - take a little time to focus on your bedside skills before you take the plunge into a graduate degree. You will likely be in a deeper hole once it is found that as a NP you have no work history as a nurse. ElkPark is absolutely right - there are so many avenue open to you - the key is not to get discouraged. This economy stinks in every field. You will get hired, it just takes patience.

[diamondmeadows, BSN, RN]

Thank you all for the input. I really am listening to what you have to say.

I also agree that it would be best to work as an RN for a while before beginning a graduate program. I really feel that this is the best way to go. I just don't know if that is going to happen for me. Jobs for new grads are scarce in my area, as I suppose they are pretty much everywhere, and I can't move. I have also found that I am not competitive for most positions because I precepted in mother/baby rather than med/surg or ICU like most. I loved the floor and hospital where I precepted, but sadly there have been no openings.

I don't pretend to be an expert on the job market, but I feel that things are going to get even more grim, because once my daughter is born I will be competing with fresh May grads. I will be a year-old May grad who precepted in mother/baby. I don't want my career to spiral into oblivion. If not grad school, then what? How long am I supposed to wait for someone to hire me before I figure out something else to do?

Thanks again!

[RNnmom]

Just a thought...but I once heard a job coach suggest to a re-entry nurse that she should consider volunteering in the area that she was interested in. I know not everyone can afford to work for free for a while but it may be worth a try. The most expensive part of the hiring process for an employer is the training because they are paying two nurses to do the job of one. It may be somthing to consider.....

It sounds like you're leaning towards waiting for grad school. I am currently in grad school to become an FNP. I highly recommend it but it may be somthing you may want to consider once you've paid down your loans a little, we've been told we will have to go onto a doctoral degree by the time we finish our program...which is very pricey. If you know anyone who is an NP ask them if you can shadow them sometime so you can see if its somthing you might like to do. Good luck! Don't lose hope things will turn around. Trust that there will be a job out there for you when you are ready! =)

[MB37]

I wouldn't go back full time, but why not apply and take a class online while you continue to actively job hunt? At least you won't feel like you're sitting around all day getting nothing accomplished. Most post-baccalureate nursing degrees require some of the same general classes (advanced pharm and patho, nursing research, nursing theory, etc. - CRNA programs are the exception that require fewer of these) and many are available online at least in my area. Even if you aren't sure where you'll be going for grad school, you should be able to transfer in at least 6-12 credits. Full time school will make you even less attractive to future employers, whereas taking a course should make you look like you're doing something productive with the unplanned time off.

Also, while you will be competing against the new grads for jobs in May, at least there will be more available. In our area new grad positions are really only available 2-3 times a year, since the orientations are expensive for hospitals to run. Pickings were slimmer for my August graduating class.

[diamondmeadows, BSN, RN]

Thanks for the input and kind words. RNnmom, I am actually leaning toward going to grad school at this point. I have applied to the university and taken the MAT. But in case I can't find a job while in school and gain RN experience (I will never count on getting a job again), I want to know if I'm making a terrible mistake before it's too late.

MB27, that's a good point about new grad positions opening up. Maybe it will be better this year. My current plan is to begin part-time and take two non-clinical courses, one of which is online. That way I will have time with my little one and still be able to look for part-time or PRN employment. If I continue at that rate, it looks like I can finish in 2.5 years.

Thank you all. It's so nice to be able to talk about this with people who know where I'm coming from. You can guess what family and friends say. "But you're a nurse...they always need nurses!" I still haven't figured out who "they" are, or I would be working for them.