looking for advice! :) Hoping this site can help me!

Finally my Time · Jan 26, 2010

It sounds like you are unsure about nursing and teaching...so my suggestion would be look into both programs to see which pre-reqs they have in common... Start taking those first. At some point (sooner than later) you will have to decide. At least this way you can get started and buy yourself a little time to think.....Try shadowing a nurse and a teacher for a day...

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 26, 2010

Moved to the nursing careers advice forum

Very hard to decide what to do I would say take your time, look at pros and cons to each profession and if possible see if you can shadow anyone

Jules A, MSN · Jan 26, 2010

Teaching is very attractive for the reasons you listed and most nurses do have to come to terms with working holidays. If you worked as a CNA your stomach should be plenty strong for dealing with patient care though. Good luck with whatever you decide.

undecidedjp · Jan 29, 2010

Thankyou so much for the advice :)

caliotter3 · Jan 29, 2010

Maybe teaching would be a better fit because you could coordinate your child rearing energy better with your work. You could start out with early childhood education in a community college and possibly get work in a childcare center. By that time you would have a better idea if you want to continue to get a teaching credential. It is good that your parents are supportive. Good luck.

undecidedjp · Jan 29, 2010

thank you :) That has definitely been a thought!....

S.Gettes · Jan 29, 2010

Both of these careers have great qualities to them so i can see your dilemma that you are faced with. I think that there is no way that you can be so passionate about both of these and be able to make a decision without really having experienced it just yet. The best thing you could probably do is try them both out. Schools are ofter after volunteers to work in the classrooms along side the teachers to provide some support for both teacher and student, this would be a good option to take, volunteer some of your time to a school to help out in the classroom, this will give you a feel for what it is like to be a teacher in the classroom five days a week and will also give you an idea of what the job itself as a whole is like. Possibly you could visit a nursing home or something like that and request to volunteer there as well helping out the nursing staff, if you explain your reasons for wanting to do this then i am sure that they will not have a problem with it, and follow the nurses around, help if you can and watch what they do, working as a nurse may be much different to what these nurses do but it all depends on where you choose to work. The best way to help yourself make a choice would be by trying them both and seeing which one you are more comfortable with at the end of the day. I have a friend who is a teacher and i am a nurse, we both have children, my friend does get to spend plenty of holidays etc with her children and works at the same school that both her and my own children attend, i work night shifts and start once my children are about to go to bed and i get home early in the wee hours of the morning before they have woken up yet, so i do still get plenty of time with them, i fix them breakfast, get them ready and off to school and then rest in the day while they are at school, they get home and we do family things, homework etc and then i cook them dinner, get the ready for bed and then im off to work. There are always ways around things :)

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Feb 1, 2010

Can you picture yourself working on Christmas? That is the reality for most new nursing graduates. You will probably be working nights and at least every other weekend. It may take years to get a day job. You may have difficulty taking an entire week of vacation at one time. If this is OK, then go for nursing. If not - opt for teaching.