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Discussion

Nurses, I need your wisdom

I'm 33. Work at a coffee shop, it's a "survival job" after a layoff. My sweetest girl who is almost 3 needs to eat. Here's my plan, tell me if I'm a starry eyed idiot. The think I like most about nurses is that they don't sugar coat it. Lay it on me.

Option A:

Attend LPN school full time (providing I'm accepted) in January. Work part time. Take out a butt load of loans (18k) for living expenses and school. Program is 18 months. Work as an LPN while bridging (full time) to RN. Work as an RN while getting my BSN. MSN. PHD. This option will add $ to the price tag, but get me into the field sooner. In august, I'll have my CNA certification. It pays $9/hr. The coffee shop pays closer to 14 and has bennies. However, to gain availability to attend school, I might need to demote myself, which would put me around 9 or 10.

Option B:

Accept an upcoming promotion at the coffee shop which would put me at making 30k. Making more money, complete my pre-reqs (about 1 year) for RN program. Start PT RN program (2.5 years). The position would require "open availability", so I'm concerned about fitting NS in. If the shop knows I'm in school, I'm canned for sure. They're very unsupportive of those trying to better themselves, they have the "need the job" mentality that they look for in employees. The position is a training position for a store manager position, so another promotion could occur in as little as a few months to as long as a couple years. If I declined the promotion, I'd pretty much be on the chopping block.

I need to work because student loans won't cover all expenses (this is a 2nd degree). I need to get in the field to get out of "the shop". However, I want to go about this intelligently and if LPN is a dying field would it be wise to pursue it?

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    • Featured Replies

    you have a lot of different variables involved, but i think option b sounds better to me.

    i think you should break it down:

    - amount of time to get rn license with option a is probably 2.5 yrs (i estimated about 1 year for the bridge program, but not certain. im also wondering don’t you have to do pre-requisites for this program) vs. option b is 3.5 yrs. that is about one year difference in getting your rn license (which is what you ultimately want)

    - although you will start working as an lpn nurse in shorter amount of time, you will be working full time while going for your rn degree. i think this can be quite stressful because you will start working as a new nurse for your first time and have to adjust to this new profession on top of going to school. never worked as an lpn but i am sure it is still stressful.

    - with option a you have a large amount of loans to pay back. i would check first to see how much lpn’s make where you live compared to how much you currently make. it will give you an idea if its really worth rushing into

    the only concern i have is the possibility of you not getting into the rn nursing program. i would try to focus hard on getting really good grades in your pre-requisite courses. once you are in the program, you just have to maintain your grades. i didn’t know they have part time nursing programs but if your current job is not that stressful then i would do that. financially speaking going straight for your rn license sounds better.

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    error, double posted

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    • Expert

    First of all, why do you want to be a nurse? If it's for the money, I won't tell you "you are WRONG," but you have to know what the starting pay is in your area. There are a few threads here that give anecdotal new grad hourly rates, and, from what I've seen, they are on the mark, for my area at least.

    Why do you not want to be a coffee shop manager? It sound like you will be looking at a tremendous pay increase with bennies in the free, paid training position and the ability to further your career.

    Financially speaking, you have to pay a bunch of money to become an RN that may or may not pay as much as the future coffee shop management position. You will be saddled with student loans for 10 years. You also will have to keep your schooling on the down low, which may not be possible. You risk losing your current job. After you graduate, you have to find a job and get through your dreaded first year. You may HATE nursing.

    If you had no kids, I'd say go for it. But you start out with saying your three-year old needs to eat, which tells me you are in financial dire straits.

    What about Option C. Keep nursing on the back burner and go for it once the little one is in school full-time, and you've saved enough money from your management position to pay out-of-pocket for nursing school?

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    You're already making close to what new grad LPNs make in my area.... Check out how much nurses really make..don't waste your money on school loans. And don't get into nursing for the money (it's not wrong...just very very stressful)

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    unquestionably, i like plan b and also plan c that was mentioned by a previous post. however, i always say when cooking "no one knows what's in the pot, only the one who's stirring it" therefore, you need to see what is more reachable to you at this point in time, you mentioned that your present job dislikes one getting ahead :uhoh3: i can only imagine the type of characters for whom you're working for... besides the point. at this level, you might want to consider getting all your pre-req's on line and obtaining a better than average gpa in order to place yourself ahead of the rest. unquestionably, don't let anyone place obstacles in the way of your goals.....wishing you the very best in all of your future endeavors......aloha~

    p.s. place an application for fafsa on line to assist you financially in school.

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    An alternative might be to look into CNA positions with various facilities to see if any of them offer tuition reimbursement for employees. If you can live on what you would make as a cna for a while this would probably offer a more flexible schedule to work around your class schedule.

    Be careful of loans for school. If you read around on here you will see multiple posts of those who took large amopunts of loans and are having a hard time paying them back. By all means apply for every type of grant and scholarship you may qualify for. The financial office at any community college should have information on this.

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