Is 35 too old to start from Scratch?

[BellaGrl]

I have always wanted to be a nurse but didn't have the discipline to stay in school and get good grades. I completed only 3 classes when I went to community College 8 years ago. I've been working a corporate job for 11 years and feel like I need to make a career change. I would have to start community college basically from scratch for pre-reqs. Is it doable to accomplish becoming an RN at such a late age? I've also been told its near impossible to work while in nursing school. How does one pay their bills, health insurance and such while becoming a nurse. All advice is welcomed!!!

[GM2RN]

OMG. Lmao. So many people are defensive about their age. This is hilariously funny. Some people just cant accept the truth.

What truth is that? Plenty of us have graduated nursing school older than 35 and are thriving, which proves you wrong. I graduated at 49--almost 10 years ago--and have been in a fast paced ER for the past 8 years. That's not being defensive about my age; it's just stating facts.

[LessValuableNinja]

Lightning = trololololol. Don't worry about it.

[Helenegusa]

Just got my first job as an RN at 53! You don't want to wake up at 70 and tell yourself..."I should Have..." Go for it!

[bunnehfeet, BSN]

I will be 44 when I graduate with my BSN this summer and I am not the oldest person in my class. My mother was an RN for 40 years, retired at 72. She still managed 12 hour days, up until the end.

I will likely never retire, I will have to work until I'm forced out or die, as will most people in my generation - we cannot afford to retire, and we may not have any social security. I may eventually have to shift to administrative, informatics or teaching later when I cannot do 12 hour shifts on a floor or in an OR (I'm in a peri-op program), and thankfully nursing provides the variety that will allow for that.

Until then, I'm in better shape and have more endurance than many of my cohort who are half my age. I run 5 miles every morning to keep up my endurance, and I have life experience and maturity that guides my clinical thinking in ways that younger nurses don't have the benefit of yet. Don't let anyone tell you that you're too old to start, or that you will be too old when you finish, or assume that you can't do the hard work. That's ageism and it's something the nursing profession doesn't need any more of.

[djh123]

3 of us in my graduating class were 54. 35? I think you know my answer. A more valid & serious question is how do you pay the bills during nursing school. Some of my classmates did work part-time during school, but except for perhaps the first semester, I don't think I could've done it.

[jhenafire]

You are never too old to do something you dream of doing.

[MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN]

No.

[fourthtimesacharm, CRNA]

I'll cast another vote in with those that said no. I just turned 40. I have just over one year in the MICU. I graduated with a BSN in 2015 at 38. I wasn't the oldest in my class either. Many of my classmates worked during school. With a little bit of determination anything is possible.

Good luck to you!

[SouthernBelle85]

I find it hilariously funny that you think 35 is old. I'll be 32 in june. I guess I better look into Life Alert...in case I fall in my home and break a hip. Too bad I can't qualify for medicare or social security in few years because the nerve of them for not letting you qualify until you are 65! I mean at my age and so close to the old age of 35...and i don't qualify??? Just a few years I'll be 35 and I am guessing when I turn 35 you will be close to 30...if your birth year is 1990 (assuming it is because of the 90 at the end of your SN). The old age of 30...

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

Im sorry, but I have to disagree. 35 IS old. And you always have to think ahead. That user will not be a nurse at 35.. It will definitely take them 4-5 more years if they are starting from scratch. I honestly would not recommend going back to school unless you REALLY want to be a nurse and put yourself through all that stress. However, if this is your dream, then go for it.

Child, please.

[AngelKissed857, BSN, RN]

Ooooh, cannot WAIT till you hit 40 and look back with horror on your text, wish we could all be flies on the wall!

[Quota, BSN, RN]

I'm waiting to here back from nursing schools right now and will be 35 by the time I start assuming I'm accepted. 35 isn't old, if you think it is you are just a silly child who hasn't lived at all.