Leaving full time job to go to nursing school...

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Specializes in Pediatric ICU.

Hello,

I'm planning on returning to school this fall to complete my prereqs and once I'm done and actually accepted into a nursing program, I'm planning on taking a leave of absence from work for 2 years. I make good money in the job that I am in and I work for a government agency. However, I really desire to be a nurse and in order to do so, I must leave my job. I am married and have a baby and a teenager.

My question is...for anyone that has either quit or left there high paying job for nursing school, how did you do it? Was it difficult to survive? How did you prepare and once you finished nursing school, were you able to find a new job?

I would appreciated everyone's advice or comments.

Thanks!

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Actually sold my condo, moved in with the mother inlaw, wife worked, lived off of proceeds of condo sale for about 2 years

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Is your current job related to health care? If not, will they even approve a leave of absence for nursing school since it's unrelated? Would they just require you to resign in that case because you would be looking for a nursing position once you finish NS?

As for finding a job when you're done with NS, I think the general consensus is that by the time you're finished with NS the job market will be better and you shouldn't have too much trouble.

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Specializes in Pediatric ICU.
Is your current job related to health care? If not, will they even approve a leave of absence for nursing school since it's unrelated? Would they just require you to resign in that case because you would be looking for a nursing position once you finish NS?

As for finding a job when you're done with NS, I think the general consensus is that by the time you're finished with NS the job market will be better and you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Thanks for your response!

No, my current job isn't related to health care. I was thinking the same thing about the possibility that my request not getting approve because of that. But, I'm praying for a miracle. Actually, one of my co-workers went on leave to take his bar's exam to become an attorney and our job is not in the legal field and it was approved. If I have to resign, then I would probably do so.

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Specializes in Pediatric ICU.
Actually sold my condo, moved in with the mother inlaw, wife worked, lived off of proceeds of condo sale for about 2 years

Are you now done with NS? How did everything work out for you?

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smyle

I'm a postal worker and just got accepted to one of the top BSN programs. I worked the graveyard shift while I completed my pre-nursing classes. Attended night classes at community college for a few years which worked out pretty good. I switched to 2nd shift (3-11PM) a few weeks ago, and also requested LWOP which was denied by my manager. I told him that I wanted to pursue a career in the postal service as a health administrator which requires BSN degree. He wrote services are needed as the reason for denial. Im seriously thinking of going over his head on this one all the way up to district if necessary. I'm usually a quiet trouble-free worker but this situation affects my professional life. Good Luck.

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Given the current market for nurses, if you have a high paying job, I might seriously think about going into nursing.

Like SERIOUSLY think about it.

How much exposure have you had to nursing?

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Single mother with 2 kids and a mortgage... quit my good paying job when I was accepted into nursing school. Me and my girls made many sacrifices in order to survive... and only by the Grace of God did I make it.

I did work a part time job 16-20 hours a week making only $13/hr.

Worked full time during the summer.

Lived off of student loans (a total of $16,000 for 2 years)

And income tax returns.

To be honest, on paper, it doesn't even make sense how I made it through w/o ever being late on my mortgage payment of $1350/month as well as all the other bills.

No cable, only went out or ate out on a rare occasion.

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Specializes in Peds; Cardiac, NICU, PACU.

I also made a major transition to go to NS. Fortunaltely my husband worked a plan for us. We moved from our nice condo to a rental property we owned. So now our mortgage is paid by our tenants rent, we have a two family home. I also scaled back work a year before I stopped working so I could get used to no money. lol. It is a long transition because I was making good money at the time but it is manageable and you can do it. As my husband says "Plan your work and work your plan!" Good luck!

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Don't leave a high paying, stable job to go into a field with little or job openings in most states? Thats a major risk.

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I did it but I don't have kids. If your husband has a stable job that can support all of you, then by all means go for it. If you are okay with taking out debt too, that might relieve some current concerns. You can also still work part-time,.

But before I just totally leapt into something completely new, I thought long and hard about it. I would take the time while you do prereqs, to do research on nursing, informationals, shadow a nurse, volunteer in a hospital or nursing home, and take a CNA class. Then you'll have a greater understanding of whether leaving your good paying job is worth it.

Job market is bad right now, but may improve in the next couple years. If you're willing to take that risk because you have a passion, drive, and thought about it logically, then by all means go for it!

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

You're thinking of quitting good money in a governmental job (which usually means a great retirement plan and job stability) to go into nursing? Huh. You may want to read some of the threads in this forum about all the new grads who are having a really hard time finding work.

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