Is nursing the right choice?

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Hey guys! New here. Was introduced to this forum from another individual at another forum lol Thought maybe you guys could help me more since it's more focused on nursing.

I'm facing a huge dilemma right now and am totally stressed out about deciding on what to do with my life.

For the past 2 years, I've been taking Arts/Education to become a teacher, but I realized that wasn't my forte so I decided to apply to nursing (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) in December. I got accepted in February so now I've got 3 more months to go before I start my first year of nursing. I was extremely stoked and super excited about starting my first year till a couple of days ago; I started registering for classes and I realized how much time and money it was going to take. Not only that, I applied for student funding. Applying for my student loans made me realize how much debt I was already in. If I were to continue down the path of Nursing, it'd take 4 years (considering that I pass all my classes and don't have to retake anything) and each year would cost about $8,000 - $9,000 which would approximately total about $36,000 in loans, adding another $17k to that for the past 2 years. Watching the dollar signs build up like that made me feel nauseated and it got me thinking, "what if I don't do good in nursing? What if nursing is too hard? I'd be wasting another 4 years of my life and $40K" so now I'm totally on the fence. I don't know if nursing is really something I'd be able to handle.

So I started researching another program that my college offers and it appealed to me; medical assisting. The program runs for 10 months, and if all goes well I could land a job right after I'm done school. It costs about $8,000 but again, it's only for 10 months, so it's not going to build up like nursing would. Thing is though, Medical Assisting doesn't assure me a job right after I'm done school like nursing would. And I don't think the pay is that great, compared to nursing. (but that makes sense, since nursing is so much harder, the higher pay compensates for that) Again, I'm on the fence about this one too. Maybe there are some people on this forum that has taken a medical assisting program, or has/had a medical assistant job that could give me a more thorough idea about it?

But my main concern right now is, which direction to go. I'm not the type that handles well under pressure. I'm not a quick thinker when I'm on my feet. I don't think I'd be able to handle the stress. But despite those reasons, I've always wanted to do something in the medical field. Pursuing a doctor's career is much too ambitious for me, and I don't think I'd be able to keep up the marks for it. But like I said, I would enjoy working in/with the medical field. The medical assisting program sounds really appealing, but in the long run, would it be a good decision?

I would love your input and greatly appreciate whatever advise you can give me. I'm sorry for rambling so much, and I probably don't make much sense considering the fact that it's almost 1AM here where I live. But I thank you guys for actually (if you did) read through all this and helping me. I'm opened to all kinds of opinion. Give me what you think. Tell me your experiences, from school to out in the work force.

- sundayspaper

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Why not work and pay (or at least partially pay) for classes? This way if it doesn't work out, all you have lost is time.

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My S.O. is a medical assistant in a doctors office, she really loves the job. The major problem with being a MA is that it is very limiting. She has limited options of places to work and very limited options of advancement without going back to school.

I would look at where you want to be in 5-10 yrs?

What type of work do you like doing? Do you like the patient care side or the adminstrative side of the medical field?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Trauma.

Even though you'd have greater debt going to the BSN program, you would easily be able to pay it off. Nurses are in demand everywhere and you would have so many more opportunities.

It would depend on what area you live in but here graduate RNs start at around 22 an hour and the most a medical assistant would make is 10. You would make like 22,000 more the first year alone! You would easily pay off the higher debt with a much higher salary and over time you would have so much more in the bank.

Medical assisting is very limiting-- pretty much you can work in a Drs office and that's it. With nursing there are so many fields and even advanced practice like anesthesia.

You already earned a highly coveted spot in a program-- people would kill for your seat in the program. In the end you have to do what you think is right for you but I would think about the long term benefits of nursing versus doing medical assisting.

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Specializes in Oncology-Pediatrics RN.

Salam

if u want a job just when u r done with ur school ... go to nursing

if u go to medical assistant u will get paid as much as half of what u will get in nursing

even less

it is true .. it is hard .. it costs a lot .. but if u think u can sacrifice ur social life for 3 years and get urself devoted for studying .. then it is nursing

i failed 1 course (lost 1 year)

i learned to arrange my priorities and to sacrifice to reach my goal

and i graduated .. will start a job at the 1st of august ... as soon as that :D

good luck anywayz ;)

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Even though you'd have greater debt going to the BSN program, you would easily be able to pay it off.

How do you know this? You have no idea about the OP's financial situation. Telling someone to acquire a good deal of debt is very dangerous advice.

While nurses will be in great demand for the forseeable future, it will never be a great paying job. High end starting salary is what, $55k? Assume the OP has a car note, mortgage, credit cards, kids, medical bills, etc., another couple hundred a month paying back loans could make or break someone.

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I took 6 and a half years on my first degree because I was indecisive and went back and forth and wound up with something not really useful (in terms of getting a good job). Taking 6 years to graduate with a BSN still puts you way ahead of where I am today!

I say go for it- it's such a big field that there is sure to be something out there that the degree prepares you for. Research, pharmaceutical sales, legal consulting are all options if you find you don't direct patient care.

Are there grants or scholarships you can apply for to take the edge off the loans?

To give you a sense of what paying off a lot of school debt it like, I have $47K in student loan debt. The payments suck, but it's do-able. I have a $50/month, a $137/month, and what used to be a $175/month that's now down to $130 because it's variable interest and the rates have dropped. I don't have kids, live with my SO (but he costs more than he brings in ;), and could manage in Philadelphia with a salary of $36K annually as an administrative assistant.

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Another thought would be to do the medical assisting, get a job when your done and continue on to become a nurse with the possibility of having your employer pay the tuition. 4 years is a long commitment if you aren't sure if you will like or be able to handle nursing.

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Specializes in ER/OR.
How do you know this? You have no idea about the OP's financial situation. Telling someone to acquire a good deal of debt is very dangerous advice.

While nurses will be in great demand for the forseeable future, it will never be a great paying job. High end starting salary is what, $55k? Assume the OP has a car note, mortgage, credit cards, kids, medical bills, etc., another couple hundred a month paying back loans could make or break someone.

Wow, I wish I was as wealthy as you to shrug off 55K/yr! I make less than half that now. If the OP stayed in teaching, she'd be starting at 40K tops. And did you know the ave. college grad starts at under 30K? Nursing has one of the highest starting salaries of any major. If I made 55K, I'd be walking around like Donald Trump!

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I think the first step is making sure this is what you want to do. Maybe see about volunteering at a hospital for a while... reading up on different healthcare careers... if you're thinking of doing a shorter program now and maybe finishing up nursing school later, I would suggest LPN. At least then, you can do a bridge program into getting your RN. There are lots of jobs in healthcare other than just nursing and CMA. Respiratory Therapy... Surgical Tech... Radiology... if you're sure about healthcare, maybe you could talk to an advisor at your school or if you have a career center talk to them. There are lots of tests and materials available that could help you decide what career would be best suited for your interests. Then, if you decide nursing is your ultimate goal, it will be much easier to commit to financial obligations. Good luck in whatever you decide!

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First off, as scary as it is to review one's finances, kudos to you for really looking at the financial implications of your choices!!!

It sounds like you've been accepted to a private, 4 yr program. That's a different scenario than being accepted to at the junior level to a public uni BSN program... 2 years and tens of thousands of dollars in difference. I'm wondering if perhaps this program isn't as impacted as others (due to the 4-yr high tuition commitment) and that deferring enrollment for year or even withdrawing and applying might not be as problematic as with other programs. But I could be way off there. Still, if you don't already know, find out what the acceptance record is for this school and find out if you can defer.

It sounds like you already have 2 years of college under your belt. I understand your desire to have a clear, in-demand job when you finish, but you might also want to consider looking to see what you can apply your current credits towards and picking up a bachelor's degree at a public uni (won't cost nearly as much). A bachelor's in anything will open a number of entry-level jobs for you... perhaps as an admin assist in a health facility where you can find out more about opportunities in health care while working full time, getting salary and benefits.

While pursuing a bachelor's, you could take electives that would give you an edge in health care. There are often electives or specializations within a major that would be a good complement to health care (eg sociology of health professions, abnormal psychology, etc). A business major could be of value in a health facility as well.

You can always go back to nursing school if you want but perhaps without going so far into debt as starting a 4 year private school degree over from scratch. Just a thought. You do have several choices and that's something to be thankful for!

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Oh god, thank you soooo so much for all the replies. You guys have definitely played a role in lifting the heavy weight off my shoulders.

I'm still working out my plan but reading these posts has helped cleared some of the air for me.

Thank you so much for your advices and opinions. I will definitely consider each and every one of them.

But keep the suggestions coming, cause I enjoy hearing what you guys think.

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