Is 32 to late to go to a nursing program ?(ADN)

Sour Lemon · Aug 28, 2016

Assuming you're a typical 32 year old in typical health, it's nowhere near too old.

mrsboots87 · Aug 28, 2016

LOL! No. 31 is still quite young in this day and age. I graduated with a few 50+ people and work with a few nurses 10+ years older than that. As long as you are in typical 30s health, you will be fine to start this "late" in life.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2016

I will be 31 next year when I enter nursing associate program adn 3 year course. I'm not in the states currently so the only option now is to go for adn first. Is my age to old to start? By the time I finish I will be 34. I would like to hear opinions from current RN nurses or students. Thank you

How old will you be in 3 years if you DON'T go to nursing school? And what would you be doing instead? Would 34 be "too old" to be doing something else?

IowaKaren · Aug 28, 2016

Actually, I would say it is a typical age after starting a family and all. Or just having that feeling that you should be doing something different with your life. I was in my 40's and had pre-requisites before getting into ADN school. I always had worked in the blue collar field e.g. factories prior to nursing. Brief stint as NA's (before the C was added to the NA, LOL).

Cat365 · Aug 28, 2016

I started at 32. I was 35 when I received my ASN and I had a blast. It was a third career for me and I am already planning my BSN or MSN education. If I go by the current retirement age I still have 30 years before I retire which means I'm not even halfway through my working years. One thing that I do believe that I took a bit more seriously than younger students was that I paid more attention to price and avoiding excessive student loans than I think some twenty year olds do.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2016

People fail to realize that nursing is unlike other career pathways. In other professions, people begin their training in their late teens or early 20s. On the other hand, nursing has always attracted 'older' nontraditional aged people.

Even in your 30s, I will bet that several classmates will be older than you by a decade or two.

NerdyKnitter, CNA · Aug 28, 2016

I'm 39, will graduate with ADN at 42. I'm not too old, so you're definitely not!

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Aug 28, 2016

Nope.

verene, MSN · Aug 29, 2016

Nursing draws a lot of career changers and therefor has a lot more non-traditional students. Because of this being older doesn't make you stand out as much as it might in another field. In all likelihood at 31 you won't even be close to being the oldest in your class. In my cohort our oldest student is in her mid-50s and I'd guess that the majority of us are older than 25.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Aug 29, 2016

Basically if you're younger than dead, you are not likely too old. I was in my late 30's when I started nursing school and I wasn't the oldest. There were quite a few students that were at least a decade (or more) than I was at the time. I think the oldest in my particular cohort was 56 when she started school. Don't think that being older than many of your classmates is a bad thing. You may often find that you have a better rapport with your patients simply because you have much more life experience than your younger classmates. Same goes with your eventual co-workers.

genevieve123 · Aug 29, 2016

I just graduated from my ADN program at 48, and am starting my first nursing job tomorrow. It is never too late.