Nervous Career Changer.

Runner84 · Aug 11, 2015

Good evening all! I apologize if this is a redundant post within the forum, but I was hoping to gain a little insight and feedback. I have been a special education teacher for almost 8 years now. Initially, I was in the process of applying to graduate school for Occupational Therapy after working with the OT's and my population of students who needed those specific services. I am finishing up my pre-requisites now and have shadowed/volunteered in various rehab settings. While I am genuinely excited about this change into healthcare, I can't help but also feel a pull towards nursing. It has always been something I truly loved and I admire nurses so much,but special education was something I also believed in so when I was in college ( forever ago) I followed the teaching route. I have started doing some more research and after comparing both professions, OT and nursing,

I feel on my heart that nursing may be what I want to pursue. Also while researching, I have noticed so many opportunities for different pathways and specializations in nursing.That in itself, is appealing tor as well. Anyway, I have a few questions:

1. If I were to go back to school for nursing- would it be better for me to get a second bachelor's or apply to a graduate level direct entry msn program? I know that in teaching/ having a master's wasn't always necessarily better at first because it meant a higher salary- so I don't want to put myself in a

position where this could place difficulty on me getting a job in the future. I appreciate any advice.

2. I am nervous about a career change. I'm in my thirties and I depend solely on myself. I would love to do a full time program, but wondering if anyone out there still finds it feasible to work part time such as weekends?

3. Has anyone else ever been on the fence between OT ( or PT, etc) and nursing? What was the decider my factor for you?

I appreciate any advice and feedback. While I am eager to begin this next chapter, I can't help but feel a little worried about this change too.

thanks for taking the time to read!