Musicians, Artist career changers?

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Hi there,

I'm working towards going into nursing as a second career, coming from a performing arts background. For those of you who are also artist, I have some questions:

Did you ever regret your career change?

Why did you change careers?

Do you ever desperately miss your old life?

How do you fulfill your artistic needs while working as a nurse?

Thank you so much for any thoughts!

I still hope to be the next George R. R. Martin or J.K. Rowling (pipe dreams). My ideal life would be PRN nursing, traveling the world, and writing NYT's best-selling novels back-to-back-to...you get the picture.

I have found some contentment in nursing. Though it is too early to say whether I regret my decision, I am glad I chose a marketable degree that pays a higher than average salary, helps me help my mother and brothers financially and allows me to have four days off per week.

Maybe you can finish GOT. Martin seems to be throwing in the towel.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
Maybe you can finish GOT. Martin seems to be throwing in the towel.

He has. It has been five years since the last GoT novel. He started the series before I was even born.

I swear, if that man dies before he finishes writing the books, I will haunt him in the afterlife!

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He has. It has been five years since the last GoT novel. He started the series before I was even born.

I swear, if that man dies before he finishes writing the books, I will haunt him in the afterlife!

I think he's leaving it to HBO to carry on without him.

Did you consider a career in writing?

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
I appreciate someone that feels that way. Especially someone that is also an artist.

I also felt nursing was an art.. before the corporate masters beat that out of me.

We all have artistic abilities, been there done that. It's just that some of us have had opportunities to nurture that ability or were driven come hell or high water.

Allowing others to take control over our destiny is giving away our power when we can aikido others' negative energy, which is another way the Artist manipulates their media, to a desired goal.

One of the great things about life is based on something Charles DuBois once said: "We should be ready at any moment to change who we are for who we could become."

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Why on earth would the arts need to be "all or nothing"?

OK you're a musician, actor, singer, dancer, model, take your pick. You're also working part time as a nurse. When you have scheduling conflicts (out of town auditions, rehearsals/ film shoots, etc) and you're scheduled to work, how many times do you think you can hound your co-workers to switch shifts with you before they get annoyed? Do you think your scheduling manager cares that you're trying to make it as a professional artist or takes that into consideration when (NOT) giving you your requested schedule? How many times do you think you can call out for those scheduling conflicts before you get fired?

If you work the day job and turn down your arts opportunities when scheduling conflicts come up, how do you expect to get anywhere in the arts? If/when you're fortunate enough to get a booking agent and/or management, do you think they'll put up with you turning down auditions and potential work because "i have to work as a nurse that day"? Especially when there are loads of equally-or-more talented people who would do anything for representation, auditions, etc. and would take it more seriously than you by not blowing off opportunities for a nursing job? What if you juggle auditions and work for months and land an amazing gig in the EU - do you think your nursing job is just going to be like 'ok have fun, your job will be here when you get back in 2-3 months?' Nope! You could then 'job hop', quitting jobs every time you have a great gig and then go through the hassle of trying to find another one when you come back, but what do you think your resume will look like after a few of those? "just go PRN" - ok yeah, PRN is basically the only real way to be a nurse and a professional artist, but then you're doing 4 years of university and student debt just for a casual job with no benefits.

Can you still get paid work as an artist while working a day job? Sure, but you're limited - so limited that it often can make the difference between 'needing' that day job and advancing as an artist to where you can make a living. Keep in mind my experience is in performing arts, not visual/fine arts.

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I wanted to go into theater but I know how bad the competition is and I just knew I would be miserable if I was poor. So I was suggested nursing and I got into that. I am a school nurse by day and I am able to do community theater at night. It is wonderful

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I wanted to go into theater but I know how bad the competition is and I just knew I would be miserable if I was poor. So I was suggested nursing and I got into that. I am a school nurse by day and I am able to do community theater at night. It is wonderful

What do you do? Sing? Dance? Triple threat?

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Haha...I am....ROCKNURSE! headbang.gif?t=1308788451

Successful does not equate with famous, but if you're interested, be my guest: debbieseymour

Your vocals are freakin' FIERCE!

I love hard-driving rock. This stuff might be just a leeetle too far into the dark arts for my comfort, though. :)

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My mother trained to be a music teacher, but when I (her first child) was born with hydrocephalus, after she left student teaching (back then, you couldn't teach and be pregnant at the same time--I'm 44 yo) she stayed home with me for ten months, then went to work at the local hospital as a unit clerk in the ER. She did that for the next twelve years. After we relocated from Chicago to Houston, she stayed home for 1.5 yrs, then got a job teaching elementary school music. She taught in a public school for 20 yrs, then a private school for four years. Now that she's retired, she still does handbells and choir. She's a member of a small choral group which goes around and performs at malls, nursing homes, etc. Her group frequently performs at the senior living facility where my grandmother (her mother) lives.

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The only thing I regret was not making the change sooner. I'm much happier working in this field and the benefits (see next answer) make it even more worth it.

I was a musician that also was a music teacher. I love the performance aspect of my field, but was never happy teaching. I taught because I wasn't a good enough musician to make a solid career and teaching was the next best thing to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. My now husband is also a music teacher, but he loves it. Music teaching jobs are hard enough to come by, let alone 2 in the same area. It just made more sense for us as a family for one of us to do something else. I love that he can seek out the positions he wants and no matter where that job takes us there is something for me. We moved 3 hours away for his first job, but it was so easy for me to start right back up with prereqs and I was accepted into a nursing school just after a year of our move.

No, I think being married to someone that stayed in that old life helps a lot. I feel like I have enough of a piece left that I never left, but still a reminder as to why I had to leave.

It's not so easy in our current location and with my schedule now, but in the past I've been able to participate in community bands. At some point my husband and I would love to find the other 3/5 to form a woodwind quintet. We almost did, but we lost a oboe and a french horn to the army bands.

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Hey! I'm not normally very active on this site but I saw your post and had to respond. I graduated with my BA in violin performance last year, went to EMT school and just recently started workin as an EMT while taking pre-reqs for nursing school. Like others have pointed out - you don't have to give up what you love doin to pursue nursing or another career. My mom is a nurse and I grew up with her at home four days a week and she had a great work-life balance. I think what's important is that you're actually passionate about healthcare and nursing, otherwise you risk burning out. If you're still unsure you could always go to EMT school which is generally just one semester and allows you to enter healthcare as an EMT or a tech. That has been the most beneficial thing for me in making my decision and now I can work alongside taking my other classes.

I dont miss miss my old life at all but it is also too early to tell. I think the hardest part at least for me is that I grew up so focused on music that it's hard to imagine a different kind of lifestyle. Although so far, my new lifestyle has been far more enjoyable and I've been infinitely happier!!

good luck with your future and feel free to message me if you just want to talk about it.

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Specializes in Burn, ICU.

I studied theatre design/production and worked professionally for 10 years before going to nursing school. I had been passionate about theatre, but increasingly the salary was holding us back (seriously: we wanted to have a kid, and we couldn't have afforded daycare even in the economically-depressed city we live in, and if one of us had quit working we would have qualified for welfare). As a technician, I didn't really consider myself an "artist," even though my whole job was dedicated to realizing the designer's art...so I don't feel like my artistic needs are unmet now, but being a hospital RN is definitely a different world than the arts!

Similarities- deadlines, resource management, time management, creative problem-solving.

Differences- scrutiny from Management, obviously all the medical stuff, very different social environment.

Challenges- even though I worked long hours at the theatre, nursing is a different kind of exhausting (especially since I work nights). Also, I have less personal control over my schedule, which I find frustrating--I just have to wait for the managers to publish it and hope it's decent.

Skills I think I developed in theatre that help in nursing- rolling with changes, realizing that someone else's priorities are not yours, but your job is to meet them appropriately, expectation management, accepting a broad diversity of people.

Are there days when I wish I'd never left? Sure. But generally I'm satisfied that I'm making a better living for us now. Sadly, the kid hasn't materialized yet, but if we're so blessed, we'll be in a better situation financially than we ever would have been in theatre.

As to the Art of nursing, I'm sure everyone has their own impression of this but I'll say there's a nurse that I work with who (honestly) is not the strongest RN clinically but has a complete gift with people, especially people who are scared and confused. This RN is able to calm them down, re-direct them, and relax them when other RNs wind up just feeding into their anxiety. Just one example!

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