Jobs prior to Nursing

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Specializes in Orthopedic, Pain Management, Psych, Family.

Hello everyone, I was just wondering what other jobs we have held before Nursing 'Called' to us.

I started as a day care worker or "child care provider" and worked my way to a Pre-school teacher. After a MVA and 8 visits to the hospital within a four month timeframe and a lot of chaos, tears, and a lot of personal growth I remembered all the nurses I met. Those that were angels sent to help those in need and those from the other end who I wondered why the heck they were in the health care field and working with people. After my experience, my personal desire to help those in need, and knowing I was smart enough to make it through I decided to become a nurse. I'm a recent graduate with June 2010 being my one year mark.

I look forward to reading everyone's diverse stories.

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jobs before nursing shoe sales, retail ,housekeeping, then went to Nursing school, nursed, then got Breast Cancer, ( lymph nodes positive ) stopped for awhile, then decided I wanted to make a difference to others, and there must be a reason I'm still here!!!!, and I want to THANK those onocology nurses who made a difference in my life, :redbeathe thanks Nurses everywhere! ( ps-- 6 years out from chemo in July 2010) :yeah:

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Step-down Unit.

Well, since this is my first post here on Allnurses.com, I will try to make it interesting.

I'm a newly licensed RN just starting out in my second (third?) career. I have held positions in the electronics and information technology fields for over 25 years, and have been a paramedic for about 16 years. I've been certified as an EMT for nearly 30 years now.

My last position was developing computer systems for customer support functions of a major Japanese consumer electronics company. That was my fulltime job and I worked for that company for about 17 years. That position was outsourced to an overseas company along with all of the company's information technology jobs, and in 2005 I found myself looking for what to do next.

As I mentioned above, I also have been involved in emergency medical services for a long time, too. While working at my fulltime jobs, I also volunteered as an EMT with my local ambulance squad. In about 1992, I decided I wanted to advance my training and possibly make a career change. I went to paramedic school and earned my certification in 1994. I got a per-diem paramedic job at a large urban medical center. I really loved the work, but it really didn't pay very well for the amount of responsibility I had.

At around the same time, my company was sending me for more systems training and upgrading my position there. So, no career change yet. I decided to stay with computer systems and also keep working my per-diem paramedic job. I eventually changed to a more suburban environment (and better paying) environment for my EMS work. Even though I was very busy with two jobs, I was really enjoying the diversity of the work I was doing. Interestingly, though, I was also becoming less and less satisfied with my "high-paying" corporate job. I had often thought that I might like to leave IT and go to nursing school. In 2005, the company forced my hand.

When the layoff came, the corporate IT world was not looking very promising. There were jobs out there, but there was always the risk I could be outsourced and out of a job again. I decided then and there to leverage the training I already had, combined with my love of helping patients (yeah, I know it sounds corny...) and go to nursing school. I switched my switched my per-diem job over to full time at the first opportunity, enrolled in community college and started working on my nursing pre-reqs. It took me 4 years total, but as of this past December, I have completed school, and in February I took and passed the NCLEX-RN.

I'm now looking to move into a nursing position at the hospital I work for now, or even possibly at a new place. To quote the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it's been." I think I have finally arrived where I've wanted to be.

Sorry for being so long-winded, but I wanted to put my story into some perspective.

Eric

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popeyes fried chicken!!!!!!!:D

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I am in nursing school right now but I will be graduating in May. Before school I worked as a lifeguard, weight room attendant, and as an assembly worker in a factory. While I have been in school I have been a CNA in a nursing home and now I am a nanny for 2 great girls that are 4 and 8. :)

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I started as a nurse's aide at age 15, went on to cashier at a variety of convenience stores , a few factory jobs, managed a gas station. Took a 13 year break from nursing(due to back injury) and worked part time as a police dispatcher, receptionist and billing at a varicose vein clinic, medical billing (HATED IT). I was fired from that job because I couldn't attend a mandatory staff meeting when given a day's notice and had already scheduled an appointment with an appraiser on that day. I am still in nursing but found a way to incorporate my love for nursing with my love for computers by doing IT support for electronic medical records implementation. Best of both worlds.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Legal secretary x 5 years, stay-at-home mom x 15 years. Now in a position that's a perfect blend of RN/secretarial.

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Let's see...

first job was a packer for a moving company. It was a summer job. Then I worked at Burger King for 3 years. Then I worked phone customer service for 6 years. When I started nursing school I worked a variety of jobs: daycare, waitress, Americorps, tutoring, supplemental instructor (assistant to professor), student nurse... I think that's about it. I fit whatever job I could within daycare/summer vacation so many of those jobs were done 2, sometimes 3, at a time.

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i started out as a home health aide then a LPN(at 18 years old) then a stay at home mom( for 15 years for 4 wonderful children) then got into accounting and now i am proud to say back in nursing and realized that this is what i was destined to do! I truly came full circle!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Temp. Cashier in school bookstore

Math & Science school tutor

Now going to be a CNA while going through N.S.

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/LTC/geriatrics.

I worked at a postal copy center in high school. Then the University bookstore and the new student orientation office. I was accepted to the nursing program at a community college 2hours away left those two jobs and started a job at tuxedo shop during the slow winter season for nursing school. Graduated nursing school and started at nursing home and transfered to the hospital 3years later.

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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

Fast-food: pizza place at the mall, Hardee's & McD's (stuck with that one for 3 yrs).

Worked my last shift at McD's on a Sunday afternoon, went to orientation at the hospital the next morning.

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