2nd career

johnjrb · Sep 21, 2008

Nursing is my 2nd career and I really enjoy being a nurse. I wish I would have gone to nursing school years ago. I was an electrician in my first job and I was laid off from what I thought was going to be a "permanent" job. I could have very easily gone back to work as a construction electrician and made good money but there is no job security with that type of work. Also I really never liked being an electrician. The reason I went into it was that my dad could get me into an electrical apprenticeship program. I needed a job and the pay was supposed to be "good" It's a good example of somebody going into a job just for the money, and not really enjoying what they do. Ironically money is one of the things that attracted me to nursing, but not the only thing. Before making the choice this time I tried to look at the whole picture. It was actually something that had been in the back of my mind for years. My sister and best friend are nurses and I really thought nursing is something that I would enjoy. I was fortunate enough to have a wife that supported my decision and was also able to support our family while I was in nursing school. Nursing school was hard and it was not easy going to school with a family but it was worth it. I now have a job that I love. So my advice is if you really want to be a nurse you need to look at the whole picture. Just because you know others that enjoy nursing it needs to be something that you are going to enjoy. I would talk to your nurse friends get them to explain in detail what nurse's do. If possible try to shadow a nurse at work for a day. If after looking at everything you want to be a nurse I say go for it.

november17, ASN, RN · Sep 21, 2008

Nursing is my 2nd career and I really enjoy being a nurse. I wish I would have gone to nursing school years ago. I was an electrician in my first job and I was laid off from what I thought was going to be a “permanent” job. I could have very easily gone back to work as a construction electrician and made good money but there is no job security with that type of work. Also I really never liked being an electrician. The reason I went into it was that my dad could get me into an electrical apprenticeship program. I needed a job and the pay was supposed to be “good” It’s a good example of somebody going into a job just for the money, and not really enjoying what they do. Ironically money is one of the things that attracted me to nursing, but not the only thing.

That's almost the same exact story about why I went into nursing!! I was planning on being an electrician but I got sick of being laid off all the time! After working all over the construction job-site doing carpentry, plumbing, electrical, etc as a subcontractor (nonunion), I was still getting laid off left and right (especially after 9/11 hit and the market slowed down). I transferred the general education credits I was going to use towards the apprenticeship program over to the nursing pre-reqs. I still love doing odd jobs and little projects around the house but I'm satisfied that I didn't make a career out of it. I fixed some shingles on my elderly neighbors roof this summer and put up my mom's gutters but I only work pro bono or for a few beers and I plan on keeping it that way.

The one thing I do miss about construction is demo work! That was always my favorite.... put me, a sawzall, a crowbar, and a sledgehammer in a room and I was happy as pie (and if the dumpster was right outside the window then bonus points). Getting paid to break stuff! It was like my dreamjob when I was a kid.

johnjrb · Sep 21, 2008

For me the only thing about being a electrician I miss are some of the friends that I used to work with. I really do not miss the work at all. I do still keep my state electrical license up to date. These days you never know what is going to happen