was nursing school worth it

Seriously, do you think you would have listened? You were on AN prior to graduation - did you believe the 'old' nurses at that time? But is sounds as though you really didn't have a clear picture of the working world in general if you weren't aware of the paycheck impact of benefits and taxes. I don't even like to think about how much I pay in taxes, FICA, etc... no dependents.

Sounds as though you have had a bad day or two. I hope things get better for you soon. We're all in the same leaky boat.

I felt so proud of myself walking across the stage last May having worked my ass off for four years to obtain my degree. Although I'd been physically independent from my mother for those four years living on my own with my son, I'd never been able to move out of my small town because of my reliance on her as my babysitter. I had a job before I graduated and I envisioned a new life of freedom....boy was I wrong. 8 months later I'm going back and forth on whether that hard work was worth it, whether I made a mistake. 12 hour shifts turn into 13 it 14 at times, always needed to attend mandatory meetings or mandatory classes to learn new things. Working night shifts keeping me feeling tired all the time. Never having any time or energy to spend with my son the two or three days I'm able to see him. Why didn't anyone tell me this is what nursing was? Now I'm picking up extra shifts trying to save up for my MSN so that I can actually find an 8 hour job without taking a paycut. Maybe its because I am a single parent, my friend who is also a single parent feels the same as I. It's not nursing that I despise but its the hospital nursing that sucks and it seems you can't get out and make a decent living without putting in the time. Most companies want you to be a bedside nurse 3 to 5 years before throwing you a bone (8 hour job). I'm starting to wonder if the hard work was worth it half my check goes to taxes and benefits while I have just enough to pay the bills and gas spent driving an hour to work each way. If not for me working extra days I would be in the negative every two weeks trying to afford groceries and simple tasks like taking my son to the movies or out to eat. Yea I'm just venting but I'm hoping others read this post and think.long and hard about nursing as a career path especially single mothers. With that being said I love what I do as far as caring for those in need and on those stressful days its that thought that keeps me going knowing that when I come home I can say I impacted someones life for the positive. But hopefully I can be at home more with son sooner than later then I really could say all this was worth it, was it worth to those who've just started or those who've worked as a nurse several years?

This is called paying your dues. Most nurses have to go through it. In a couple of years maybe it will get better. The bad thing is that you hit Reality Street. You have left that Fantasy World that your teachers told you about in school. Nurses don't have 8 hour days when you work in the trenches. You are right MS degree will get you eight hours, but as for now, I hate to say it, Welcome to The Wonderful World of Nursing.