Is it too late to be a nurse?

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Hello everyone,

I'm Alyse. I'd love to earn from you some handy advice today. There's a question that keeps bothering my mom, & I hope you could help me untie it.

My mom's going to take the RN Program at Cypress College. She has never earned any academic degrees in any majors before. Actually, she got her GED long ago but couldn't afford her college after that. Fortunately, time passed by as bad things passed by. Now she has a chance to go back to school. However, what's struggling her the most is the possibility of her being hired after graduating. My mom's 47 right now, & the program will probably take her at least 2 yrs. It means that she might earn her RN license at the age of 49. She told me that it'd be hard for a middle-aged RN to get a constant job, much more when she's totally new to the nursing field. Thus, my questions are:

1. From your experiences, is my mom's case common & not a big deal? Is it too late for her to be a nurse, particularly a RN, with a permanent job?

2. Is finding a nursing job competitive, particularly to a middle-aged RN? And besides of a RN license, what else does she need to acquire to increase her chance of being hired?

3. What is the average age to retire for a nurse, particularly a RN?

Though I don't know much about nursing, there's 1 thing I believe that I know quite enough about. It's that nursing requires good health status. And the better I know about that, the more I appreciate what you're doing for me, spending your relaxing time reading my concern instead of saving it for yourself. Once again, thank you, & good night ♥

Warm regards,

kiddo Alyse

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I'm 58; I became an LPN at 48 then RN at 49. I have been working ever since. My age has never been a factor.

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There was a guy who graduated in my BSN class who was 58 years old. His hair was all gray, his grandchildren were all grown up, and he seriously looked like my grandpa. But he also had a wonderful attitude, was easy to get along with, intelligent, and smiled and laughed a lot. He aced clinicals and was hired about 2 months after graduation at a large teaching hospital, but not in a med-surg type floor. I see many middle-age nurses getting hired in ICUs (it's a lot less strenuous on the back than med-surg units). The new graduate job market in California is very competitive so it's important that you make lots of friends in the hospitals you do your clinicals at and impress your teachers. In the end, I think it amounts to attitude and how much your mom is willing to dedicate to school because this guy pretty much gave it his all. In terms of what else to acquire besides the license, community service, strong letters of recommendations from instructors, and additional certifications (IV, ACLS, PALS) are always a plus.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

good for you mom!!! but......the market is very tight right now. contrary to popular belief.... there is no nursing shortage. the jobs maybe posted but there are hiring freezes due to the economy. nurses have returned to the workforce because their s.o. is unemployed and nurses who planned to retire cannot because we lost our butts in 401k when everything crashed. there are nursing schools churning out grads at an alarming rate to take advantage of the economy and the flocking of society to the "recession proof" healthcare field...with no positions to fulfill. there are hospitals that offer "internships" or "residencies" that you pay them to train you available but they are few and far between and don't guarantee employment. right now it just stinks out there :sniff: hospitals are "short staffed" but they want it that way......due to budget cits and hospitals are still laying off.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/jo...ds-662139.html

https://allnurses.com/nursing-first-j...ew-636865.html

medscape: medscape access (part of the article) medscape requires registration but it is free and it's a great resource for your mom.

the big lie? without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."in other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a bsn later on. who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. the jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.

this too shall pass....eventually. i wish you and your mom luck:heartbeat

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What you said encouraged my mom a lot. Thanks for sharing, myelsa :)

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Thanks DH310 for informing me the factors that could highlight my mom's academic background. I passed that along to her, & she said she really appreciated your help :)

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Dear Esme12, thanks so much for giving me the links. They're right in handy, you know. Moreover, your encouragement vitalized my mom's will considerably. You're such a great help :)

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ Tele/ DOU.
Hello everyone,

I'm Alyse. I'd love to earn from you some handy advice today. There's a question that keeps bothering my mom, & I hope you could help me untie it.

My mom's going to take the RN Program at Cypress College. She has never earned any academic degrees in any majors before. Actually, she got her GED long ago but couldn't afford her college after that. Fortunately, time passed by as bad things passed by. Now she has a chance to go back to school. However, what's struggling her the most is the possibility of her being hired after graduating. My mom's 47 right now, & the program will probably take her at least 2 yrs. It means that she might earn her RN license at the age of 49. She told me that it'd be hard for a middle-aged RN to get a constant job, much more when she's totally new to the nursing field. Thus, my questions are:

1. From your experiences, is my mom's case common & not a big deal? Is it too late for her to be a nurse, particularly a RN, with a permanent job?

2. Is finding a nursing job competitive, particularly to a middle-aged RN? And besides of a RN license, what else does she need to acquire to increase her chance of being hired?

3. What is the average age to retire for a nurse, particularly a RN?

Though I don't know much about nursing, there's 1 thing I believe that I know quite enough about. It's that nursing requires good health status. And the better I know about that, the more I appreciate what you're doing for me, spending your relaxing time reading my concern instead of saving it for yourself. Once again, thank you, & good night ♥

Warm regards,

kiddo Alyse

not to late. i finished the program at 33. it actually gives you an edge to be a little older in the nursing program. i noticed that the older students got along with the clinical instructors, and didnt freak out as much when hit with adversity. with age you learn not to sweat the small stuff. also i came across a an 80 yearold nurse in nicu. regarding the difficulty of finding a job. who kniws what the job market will be in 2 years. im sure though that its going to improve.

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Thanks jojonavy for your information. I, too, believe that the job market will improve after my mom's 2 years at school. I told her that I had consulted people in this forum and have had lots of handy and supporting feedback from them. It makes her really happy and also fires up her determination as well :)

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