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.
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.
Thanks for responding! Are you currently working as a nurse? If so, was it hard to get a job as a nurse?
Ignore everyone who is telling you that you are making a mistake, taking too big of a risk, etc. I lost my job of $50k+ a year, and have had two offers at similar companies since then, but chose not to take them.
My husband is a disabled vet, and in college. We are living very basically with his money and some money from student loans. It would be nice to take another job and have that kind of money coming in, but school is my focus right now, 100%, and since we have enough to pay the bills and put food on the table and a roof over our heads, I'm not taking another position.
I have a graduation date that is probably 3.5 - 4 years out, depending, and I am sure the nursing shortage will either be one of three things: worse, better, or the same.
I want to be a nurse. I'll deal with moving if need be. I understand that you might not be able to do that, but if you're husband is supportive (and there is no reason he shouldn't be) you should be fine!
Good luck to you! I think you will find, like me, that leaving behind the working world to follow your dreams truly gives you a sense of purpose.
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.
Yes, very good retirement plan and great job stability. However, I can also work as a RN for a government entity and receive the same benefits.
Ignore everyone who is telling you that you are making a mistake, taking too big of a risk, etc. I lost my job of $50k+ a year, and have had two offers at similar companies since then, but chose not to take them.
My husband is a disabled vet, and in college. We are living very basically with his money and some money from student loans. It would be nice to take another job and have that kind of money coming in, but school is my focus right now, 100%, and since we have enough to pay the bills and put food on the table and a roof over our heads, I'm not taking another position.
I have a graduation date that is probably 3.5 - 4 years out, depending, and I am sure the nursing shortage will either be one of three things: worse, better, or the same.
I want to be a nurse. I'll deal with moving if need be. I understand that you might not be able to do that, but if you're husband is supportive (and there is no reason he shouldn't be) you should be fine!
Good luck to you! I think you will find, like me, that leaving behind the working world to follow your dreams truly gives you a sense of purpose.
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement! My husband is very supportive and I want a fulfilling job and the position that I am is not fulfilling....yes, it pays the bills plus more, but is that everything?? I don't think it is. Not to mention, I will be able to spend more time with my kids while I'm off. Once, again thank you for sharing your insight and experience with me.
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.
I am in nursing school now. I work part time (about 6 hours per week during the semesters), increase hours in the summer time, utilize my life savings to supplement as well as loans, grants and scholarships galore. It isn't "hard" in the sense that my family is suffering particularly, but it does take some ingenuity to make it work.
I left my full-time job with excellent benefits to go back to nursing school. I wish I would have seriously considered things a lot more before I made that leap. Jobs are harder to come by in the healthcare field than what people let on. I am currently in my second year of nursing school and at this point I don't know how I am going to get the money to pay my mortgage. I thought that I had everything planned out before I left my job but the economy is so unpredictable now that my plans didn't pan out as I had hoped. Now I am stuck.
If you have a good paying job, I would stay where you are for now. I am currently employed with one of the local hospitals where I live but I can't get any hours because of budget cuts so now I have no income. The economy is killing everything right now and healthcare is no exception.
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!
I guess that logic wouldn't have occurred to me. I would have worked extra hard that year in order to save more to tide me over while I couldn't work because of my studies.
I am 32. I have twin 2 year old girls and had been working as an accountant for the last 5 years (the last of those paying $61,000). I was laid off, and although I had decent prospects, I decided I couldn't go back to the life of a cubicle and a job that provided little satisfaction. My wife and I were savers, so we have the cash to get by for two years. In addition, I looked far and wide for scholarships. There is still alot of money out there if you just look. The way I see it, if it doesn't work out I can always go back to accounting. I feel like I have to give this a shot now though. Circumstances may not permit it in the future and you will left with "what if".
I will be leaving my full time job next year as soon as I get accepted; however, I want to tell you that it is doable to take your prerequisites while working full time. That's what I am doing. In fact, I work full time and go to school full time. However, I do not have any children. Good luck with everything.
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.
Somehow, I missed your response.
Thanks for responding. I pray that everything works in your favor!
Krazy4pedsRN, ADN, BSN
21 Posts
Thanks for responding! Are you currently working as a nurse? If so, was it hard to get a job as a nurse?