I'm new on this site, and I also just started nursing school. I've been reading some of the posts about how bad nurses are treated and about the low pay, and all that sounds a bit discouraging but I still want to make the switch because becoming a nurse is something I've been thinking about for a long time.
For one thing, I know that money is not everything, and no matter where you work there's always at least one a**hole who will try to give you a hard time. I've been working as a manager for a large firm for years, and although the money is very good we're always rushing against impossible deadlines, the stress is nightmarish, and the senior management treats most people like garbage. I just don't see myself staying in a career like this and then later regretting that I didn't get out while I had the opportunity. Besides, I work much better when I'm interacting with people than I do behind a desk and in front of a computer 24/7.
I felt a bit silly going back into a college classroom in my late 20s because I thought for sure that everybody else would be 18 year-olds, fresh out of high school. Imagine the shock when I saw that most people in the classes were working adults like myself, most studying to make some type of career transition and many of them looked to be in their 30s and 40s, too.
I expect to have my BSN by next fall and I'm planning to do the grad program in Nurse Anesthesia at Florida International after that. From the research I've been doing, nursing is a great career for people who live here in south FL. Nurses are in short supply here and there's tons of jobs to choose from. Of course there are jobs that pay craps, but I've also seen ads for certain types of RNs with just 1 year of experience for $23-$25 per hour, and the experienced RNs who work through the agencies can easily make even more. Even these salaries are less than I'm making right now, but I'm still looking forward to the challenge of a nursing career. Am I crazy?
