Nursing, engineering or comm degree?

[Breegall93]

Hi all! I am so confused on what to do with my life. I have my associates degree in general studies and am currently working a low income retail job. I want to be a nicu nurse, but I am so worried about the schooling. I'm am not good at math or science, but I do study well. My gpa is a 4.0 however I'm just worried that highest grade that I will get the science courses I'll be taking won't be enough to get into the nursing program. I would love to work In a hospital setting. I hate the nursing is not a solid degree choice. I may get into the program or may not. I have been thinking about industrial engineering as a major. I already took some classes to major in journalism...I guess I'm just asking is there a hospital job I can have with a comm degree? I and if not, is it worth it to go into nursing when there's a 50/50 chance I won't be accepted into the program?

[beekee]

Yes, there are hospital jobs you can get with a communications degree. Are any of them related to communications? Probably not, if you want a patient-facing job. There are the positions in dietary, patient transport, housekeeping, etc. that require no special education. There are jobs as nursing assistants, various techs, phlebotomy, ekg monitor, etc., that require minimal education. Hospitals have office positions too. One of those might value a communications degree, such as administrative assistant, marketing, patient representative, coding, scheduling, etc.

[idkmybffjill]

Perhaps take one of the needed science courses and try shadowing a nursing or volunteering at the hospital to ensure nursing is what you want to do. You may need to put some time and energy into getting a good grade, especially if you aren't used to these type of science courses, but it will give you an idea if you are able to get through the science.

If you are worried about the math in nursing, then I'm not sure industrial engineering would be a good other option considering it involves loads of math and at a much higher level than dosage calcs you find in nursing.

[WCSU1987]

Guess I can be a poster child for rejection. I have been trying to get into nursing school since 16/15. Applied twice to 17/18/19 & 18/19/20 programs at my community college only to be rejected twice.

I am a chaotic mess everyone with career choice. Your GPA is good and if it's what you want go for it.

With that said if interested in working in healthcare field can do multiple things with various degrees.

Could utilize your communication degeee to go into health care administration, industrial psychology, or human resources. Probably have to take on a higher degree after your bachelor's for that.

Can do psych go for OT or work as a psych tech. Though some places don't need a degree to be a psych tech and some places need your K

LPN/LVN.

Can do IT get involved in IT, ha.

With engineering can work on mechanical or electrical. You can focus on biomechanical engineering fixining medical equipment and designing medical equipment.

Lots of doors our side of nursing for opportunities to work in healthcare.

[klp2006, BSN, RN]

The level of Math and Science courses for Industrial Engineering is far more intense and rigorous than that of nursing.

I left nursing school in 2004 after getting academically burned out and got a business degree. My first job was a business position in healthcare. I hated the business side of medicine. I knew what nurses deserved and I knew what we were getting paid. There was no way to reconcile my nurses with the payouts. I lasted 6 months working on the business side. I've missed the clinical experience and regretted not following through on nursing since the first day I was on that job... even though I wound up successful in a business job I loved that paid better than nursing, I couldn't shake how much I wanted nursing.

It's now 2018, I have been admitted into a nursing program, and lord willing I will sit for the NCLEX in 2020. If nursing is what you want, it is easier to fight for it now, take an extra year or two if necessary, and do it now. When you hit your mid-30's it will be much more difficult. When I got B's and C's in undergrad it wasn't because the classes were hard or I was dumb, it was because looking back I can honestly say I didn't put in the work or time. There are so many resources now that didn't exist my first time in school. Quizlet, youtube, tutoring websites, etc...

-Journalism is your easiest option. It's a degree many people struggle to find jobs with. Pay will be low for quite some time.

-Industrial Engineering is a solid career start. Pay is pretty good to great right out of the gate. The level of math/science is very challenging. I have a friend who has an industrial engineering degree that has had a solid career, but it's def. a nerdy math based job.

-Nursing is a solid career option with many doors for specialization and advancement. Pay is decent right out of the gate whether ADN/BSN. You can stay RN or go MSN, NP, DNP, PA, NA, etc...

You are young. It's a lot more scary to be in a career you dislike in another 10 years than potentially take and extra year or two now. Going back is not easy. It is far more difficult. My SIL is a hospital marketing director and loves it. She loves it because she loves business. She just happens to be in Healthcare. If you love patient care, being on the business side may be very frustrating. The two do not reconcile with each other very well.

[Green Tea, RN]

If you just wanna work in a hospital setting, I would recommend you to be a CNA. The training is much shorter and affordable than getting a degree in nursing.

I am an RN and actually regret that I chose nursing when I was young. It seems nursing jobs are everywhere, but they are mostly physical jobs. Not every nurse can do bedside nursing forever. I feel like I should have chosen something like engineering.