Making a career change and I'm nervous

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Hello Everyone,

I am making a career change into the nursing field. Right now I have great job with benefits but the option to further my career does not exist unless I pursue an MBA which does not interest me. I know you are probably thinking that if my job is so great, why would I want to end it. The reason is that I have hit the glass ceiling in my career, I want a challenge, and as single parent I need to find hours that can work around my son's schedule and a salary that will support him fully without having the feeling I have some days, such as how am I going to pay daycare, gas, groceries, etc...

I hope my thoughts are not unrealistic but I did my research through this site, talking with other nursers, and extensive internet searches on the career paths for nurses.

I have a few questions:

1) when I become an RN, will it be difficult to find a job paying 47K annually with medical, dental, and vacation benefits.

This may seem like lofty expectations but the salary is the bare minimum I can accept to keep my home out of foreclosure and put food on the table (to put it lightly) , medical and dental is needed for my son, vacation benefits are needed in case my son gets sick, I can watch him and take him to the doctor's as needed.

2) Does it take long to find a job after nursing school?

My ideal situation would be to become a psych nurse, since I have a background in psychology,love the field of psych, and want to deal with minimal bodily fluids once clinicals are over but I am willing to work anywhere if that stiuation does not exist because making sure I can provide for my son is my number one priority.

Any words of wisdom one could provide would be most appreciated.

I will be honest, I am scared as you know what since my income will drop or be non-existent while I complete school but if it means that I can give my son a better future then so be it. :eek:

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Anyone there? Bueller? Bueller?

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Ummm well I'm only a pre-nursing student but I can sort of answer your question. No, it's not going to be easy to find a job after you graduate. There is a huge glut of new grad nurses and I know a new nurse who graduated in 2009 and still can't find a job. Hospitals don't want to "waste" their money training new grad nurses cause its expensive so they usually only want to hire nurses with at least 1 year of experience. If you look at the board on here First Year after Nursing Licensure, you'll see what I'm talking about. However, I've read that it's easier to find a job after graduation if you work in the hospital during school.

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I agree that you should do a thorough search on this site for threads on employement. The market is very bad for new grads. It's bad for experienced nurses too. It is very hard to find a job, and a lot of new grads seem to be piecing together PRN jobs (if they are lucky enough to find them) to make ends meet. Those jobs do not offer any benefits or stability, and will probably not meet your financial needs.

There also seems to be a growing trend these days for facilities not to offer any benefits at all. They can do that because the market is so competitve that people will take anything.

Additionally, you will find that the nursing profession is very demanding in terms of time commitments. If you do manage to find a full-time job they will be very unsympathetic about your personal needs. You will have to fight tooth and nail to get any time off, even time that you are entitled to take. There are many threads on this site about that as well.

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I think I'll try that, getting a job while in school

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I agree that you should do a thorough search on this site for threads on employement. The market is very bad for new grads. It's bad for experienced nurses too. It is very hard to find a job, and a lot of new grads seem to be piecing together PRN jobs (if they are lucky enough to find them) to make ends meet. Those jobs do not offer any benefits or stability, and will probably not meet your financial needs.

There also seems to be a growing trend these days for facilities not to offer any benefits at all. They can do that because the market is so competitve that people will take anything.

Additionally, you will find that the nursing profession is very demanding in terms of time commitments. If you do manage to find a full-time job they will be very unsympathetic about your personal needs. You will have to fight tooth and nail to get any time off, even time that you are entitled to take. There are many threads on this site about that as well.

Hard to get time off you are entitled to???? WOW!

That right there makes it hard to leave my job. The pay is decent, the benefits are great, and I always get off whenever I want off. No questions asked , I get it off.

Also, I get a lunch break and potty breaks. Nurses don't get a break ever? Okay, besides the obvious nursing is my love speech, why would anyone stay in nursing when you can't even pee or eat?

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Also, I get a lunch break and potty breaks. Nurses don't get a break ever? Okay, besides the obvious nursing is my love speech, why would anyone stay in nursing when you can't even pee or eat?

We're not quite sure. There are many threads on that as well.:clown:

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that sucks!!! I understand that you have to take care of the patient but I will be honest and say that there will not be a lot of care going on if I can't take a pee or feed my growling stomach. Can I wait to take a break? Of course I can. Can I not ever take a pee or handle my stomach during my shift? Uh...no!

I saw a post where a nurse didn't even have time to handle her menstrual equipment and had a few accidents...uh..no not me ever!

I've worked in various industries from corporate to whatever...

2- 15 min breaks and 1 hour for lunch is fair for a 9-10 hour long shift.

If there is a code then sure I can wait a min...provided I'm not already hoping on one leg trying to hold it in.

I've been a patient in various hospital settings due to various health issues and each time, I was cared for by stellar nurses. To think they never had a chance to handle bodily functions makes me sad.

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Specializes in ER.
Can I wait to take a break? Of course I can. Can I not ever take a pee or handle my stomach during my shift? Uh...no!

I saw a post where a nurse didn't even have time to handle her menstrual equipment and had a few accidents...uh..no not me ever!

I've worked in various industries from corporate to whatever...

2- 15 min breaks and 1 hour for lunch is fair for a 9-10 hour long shift.

If there is a code then sure I can wait a min...provided I'm not already hoping on one leg trying to hold it in.

The thing is - you think "okay, I've got to pee... let me go do this then I'll pee" - then you go to "that", and a tech comes up and says,"I just took so-and-so's blood pressure and its 85/54" so you go deal with that, and in the meantime, another room needs pain meds... see how this can go on forever while you forget to pee?

I mean, that's like everyday. hahaha

It's not to throw you off from being a nurse - I like my job most days. Some days I can't wait to get out of there. It just depends on how the cards fall.

The problem is - and you'll find this as a theme if you search this site long enough - the general public thinks nursing is one way, and then you actually get in it, and it's kind of a shock. Just do your research and then decide how you feel about it. :)

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It so hard to decipher what my world would be like if I become a nurse

This site has a plethora of information so it has been great thus far for research.

On the other hand, the information about not being able to eat, pee, find a job, take a break, make money, etc.... conflicts with the testimonials of nurses that I have spoken to in real life

1) a friend of mine whom I known for a long time tells me that she loves nursing. She left corporate America to become a nurse and has found that she get hours she likes, the money is better, the opportunities for growth are better, she gets to pee and eat when she needs too.

2) testimonial from a nurse that my mentor introduced me to states the hours are so flexible and the potential for me to make "bank" are there.

I guess, maybe the hours I would like the majority of nurses on here would not want (weekend shifts or night shifts) but whom knows.

I guess I would have to dive on in for myself to see what it is like

If it doesn't work, I can always go back and do something else.

For me, when most people freaked out about not being able to find jobs, I've always been able to find a job . I've been laid off before (it sucks believe me) but I've always been able to make it work.

I am just grateful I at least have my bachelor's degree. Even though I am not working in that field, it helped me bust through walls where bachelors degree was required.

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