LPN Before BSN?

[RoyalePurple]

I didn't put this in the LPN section, because I wanted experiences from nurses who went the LPN-RN,BSN route.

To make a long story short, I graduated with a bachelor's degree in social services almost three years ago. I realized quickly that going to graduate school to get an MSW is silly because of the immense cost and 40K cap at pay. After excessive thought and shadowing, I've decided to do nursing; it fits my need to help and alleviate suffering while also offering a livable wage.

However, after crunching numbers, I would be almost 70K in debt...not including almost 30k in consumer debt My husband will probably never make more than 30k in his life, so even with a nursing income that debt load would crush us.

I've thought about doing an LPN degree first, as it's only one year (and only 2k!) and I can make a livable wage (I currently only make 11 an hour.as a case manager) and attack our debt, then plan to get a BSN while working.

I'm posting this to ask for a bit of advice from nurses who have been in this situation and chose to either become an LPN first, or didn't and went ahead and got their BSN. Would you do it a different way? If you were an LPN first, did you enjoy it?

Any extra tidbits of advice are also greatly appreciated!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I didn't have a degree prior to entering nursing. I had been a factory worker for three years when, at age 23, I took a risk by quitting that job and enrolling in a 12-month fast track LVN program.

I became an LVN in '06, then completed an LPN-to-ASN bridge program in 2010 before earning the ASN degree and RN licensure that same year. I completed an online RN-to-BSN program last year and am currently enrolled in an online MSN program.

My nursing journey started in 2004 and, 12 years later, it is still an ongoing process. Becoming an LPN first does not always save you time or money. However, without the LPN/LVN option, there's no way that a nontraditional student such as me would have ever become a nurse.

[RoyalePurple]

I didn't have a degree prior to entering nursing. I had been a factory worker for three years when, at age 23, I took a risk by quitting that job and enrolling in a 12-month fast track LVN program.

I became an LVN in '06, then completed an LPN-to-ASN bridge program in 2010 before earning the ASN degree and RN licensure that same year. I completed an online RN-to-BSN program last year and am currently enrolled in an online MSN program.

My nursing journey started in 2004 and, 12 years later, it is still an ongoing process. Becoming an LPN first does not always save you time or money. However, without the LPN/LVN option, there's no way that a nontraditional student such as me would have ever become a nurse.

Wow! thank you so much for sharing that with me! I'm certainly nontraditional in the highest since at this point in my life.

Not to 'throw' it out there but I'm an African American who was the first in my family to graduate college (after my parents busted their behinds to help pay my tuition!) and I want to make sure that it wasn't all done in vain. Making 11 an hour certainly makes me feel that it was

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Not to 'throw' it out there but I'm an African American who was the first in my family to graduate college (after my parents busted their behinds to help pay my tuition!) and I want to make sure that it wasn't all done in vain.

I'm also black and a first generation college graduate, but received not a single red cent from my parents due to their old school views on higher education (read: they thought it was unnecessary).

You are truly fortunate to have had your parents' financial assistance.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

From your prior degree, do you have any of the pre-reqs required in an ADN-RN program? If so, I'd do that rather than the LPN. It wouldn't take all that much longer if you have a head start on the pre-reqs.