LONG..Recently seperated, continue with nursing with 2 children or stay in accounting

Catch22Personified · Mar 16, 2011

If this was five years ago, I would have strongly recommended you to go into nursing as it would have been a flexible career. Right now nursing jobs are scarce to new grads.

shoegalRN, RN · Mar 16, 2011

I agree with the previous post.

I am a single mother to a teenager and I am involved in his activities as well as school. I work weekend option (every Sat and Sun night) so I can be available during the week. I must be at home in the evenings to go over homework, attend boxing lessons, etc.

I work 2 nights and get paid for 3 with full bennies.

This position is hard to come by, since there are alot of single mothers and fathers who work this schedule for the same reason. Alot of them save on daycare cost.

I am unable to tell you what the nursing field will be like in 2012, but it's hard right now for new grads to land a job. I graduated in May 2009 and it took me 3 months to land my first nursing job.

I would atleast continue with the pre-reqs and then re-evaluate once you are done.

Good luck to you!

amyleadon · Mar 16, 2011

That is just the thing about it too. I won't even be done with pre-requisites until the end of this year. And if I need a year to get financially stable that mean actualy nursing school won't start until 2013. Then another 2 years of school. I won't be done until 2015. My kids would be 7 and 5.

And I have no idea what the nursing field will be like.

I would be 35 years old then. Not that its old. But I'm just trying to figure out if I should just start really networking in my current profession and try to move up that way.

Nursing was a family goal. I was absolutely sure it would work then, but alone, I have no idea. And the thought of losing time with my babies hurts me. I don't want to if I don't have to.

shoegalRN, RN · Mar 16, 2011

That is just the thing about it too. I won't even be done with pre-requisites until the end of this year. And if I need a year to get financially stable that mean actualy nursing school won't start until 2013. Then another 2 years of school. I won't be done until 2015. My kids would be 7 and 5.
And I have no idea what the nursing field will be like.
I would be 35 years old then. Not that its old. But I'm just trying to figure out if I should just start really networking in my current profession and try to move up that way.
Nursing was a family goal. I was absolutely sure it would work then, but alone, I have no idea. And the thought of losing time with my babies hurts me. I don't want to if I don't have to.

I started nursing school @ 32, graduated @ 35, will be 37 in a couple of months.

And I did it ALONE, as a single mother, with a mortgage, two cars, a teenager, and bills. I left a very stable job in corporate america to fulfill my dream.

I saved up money for 2 years while completing my pre-reqs and getting an Associate's Degree while working @ my previous job. I had enough money to live ONE year the day I started nursing school.

The second year of nursing school, I worked PRN as a tech, also had a buyout from previous job, in addition to my savings, so was able to live another 8 months without worrying about money. I took out the bare minimum in student loans to cover the rest. My student loans will be paid off next year.

It can be done. It will take alot of planning and sacrificing (sp?), but you can do it.

I planned on being a nurse in 2004 and gave myself 5 years to do it and I did!

netglow, ASN, RN · Mar 16, 2011

You know, all things considered and unforseen, I would just keep my focus on my current career. Sure, take a class or two if you want/can. But, my advice would be to not enter a nursing program. Pretty sure nursing is tanking, as far as being a good job, now and in the future. The "zenith" it had, has died. Just too many people in it and going into it.

Bobbkat · Mar 22, 2011

To be honest, with 2 really young children it will be really hard, and you'll have to accept the fact that you will miss a lot. I was in nursing school with a baby (well, she was a toddler by the time I graduated), not divorced but husband lived 800 miles away so essentially a single mom as far as care was concerned. I had to scramble, I had to miss things, I had to be gone a lot.

Now that I am working as an RN, I had to accept the hours that were offered to me. I work four days a week (40 hours), an hour from home, and rotate days/nights. When I have to work a 12 hour dayshift I don't see my daughter at ALL. I love, love my career, and my husband is incredible supportive, but it has definately come with it's sacrifices. My daughter doesn't seem to be any worse for it, but if I wanted to be super involved in her outside activities (she is just reachign the age were she is attending birthday parties, daycare wants parent involvement, etc) there would be a problem. She went to her first birthday party: I had to work. Family picture day: I had to work. You get the picture.

Can it work? Sure, obviously I am doing it. But if you are really looking to stay super involved in school activities/baseball games/etc, I would think twice about it.