Nursing or Speech Language Pathology??

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Hi everyone!! I wanted to get some inside information from nurses regarding your career and career choice. I have a Bachelors degree in social work and started a MSW program. After the first few weeks I knew that I didn't want to pursue this anymore. My husband joined the military and I will be moving with him, therefore, I would like a career that is portable wherever we go. Two careers that I am interested in are Nursing and SLP. I have already taken 1 semester of SLP prerequisites as it was not my undergrad degree, however, I would still need 3 years to complete the entire degree. With nursing I would have to take the prerequisite science courses and then TRY to get into an Accelerated BSN program (I hear they are VERY tough to get into). I became interested in the medical field when I was a Medical Disability Examiner for the state. I love helping people and know that no matter what I do, it will be in a helping profession. In your experience, are you happy that you became an RN? Does anyone work with SLP's and know about their job satisfaction? Everyone warns me how stressul nursing is, however, coming from social work I feel I would be well prepared for the stress. Does anyone know if there is a salary difference between the 2 careers? Also, does nursing allow you to spend time with your family? A little about me...I am 26, married and have no children. Will be moving to Monterey, CA for the next year with husband then to I don't know where! Thank you in advance for your replies.

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My aunt is a speech language path and loves it. Everyone

I know thta does it loves it. Most people seems to be trying to escape nursing, at least bedside nursing. The ones that love it are the ones that are up and out of bedside, problem is that you have to do the stressful bedside stuff to be eligible for anything else and then the stuf that is not bedside often doesnt pay, I would not do this again ever.

A friend in college did not get into the RN program and was sad, instead she became a teacher, she will be retiring soon, I will never be retiring. What luck she had

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Specializes in IMC, ED.

To make comparable salary in SLP you much have a Masters in that field. Nursing would be faster and more diverse for you. I have a bachelors in SLP and changed to nursing because of the diversity of the profession. I think if you will be relocating often, there are usually more RN positions at any given time than SLP opportunities. My friends in SLP love it but they tend to stay in their jobs for extended periods, making job openings few and far between in some areas. I love nursing and love the fact that if I get bored, frustrated, or otherwise unhappy, I always have the option to change if I choose. I like not feeling "stuck" for lack of job opportunity. Also, nursing is better for me because I enjoy excitement and something different all the time. SLP can be very monotonous and slow progression of patients. This is great for some, but did not suit my personality. Also, with your SW background, I think you would have more doors open to you with nursing such as case management. Just my opinion :) Good luck to you!

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Thanks for your replies. It gives me alot to think about. I know that nursing would give me more opportunities in terms of jobs, but I also see alot of SLP jobs in SNF's and on a contractual basis. I'm having a hard time deciding between these 2 as it seems that SLP provides a better quality of life (less stress, shorter hours, more time with family), but with nursing there will always be employment.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

SLP is a highly in demand field. Like nursing, you can have some flexibility. SLPs work with all ages. You can work in a hospital, a clinic, a school, home care, with peds,in rehab. You can even go into business for yourself. My DS had a SLP who did her therapy with him on horseback! He responded very well to it, too. He had another one who did an internship in his aquatic therapy program.

If I had it to do over again, I would definitely look into SLP. No night shift or holidays, no blood, feces or vomit. Patients are clothed. There's no bathing or toileting and no heavy lifting. To my knowledge, SLPs make salaries that are comparative to nurses.

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Specializes in ICU, CVICU, Surgical, LTAC.

There isn't always employment in nursing. especially for new grads. if you browse this board you will find many nurses who are unable to find jobs, so when comparing the two I wouldn't look at employment opportunities being any more plentiful than SLP. There are just more nurses out there to compete with so it all probably evens out in the end.

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/LTC/geriatrics.

It sounds like you will be moving frequently. Nurses are in demand throughout the country and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a new job. SLP jobs don't come often in this area because the people stay in them for many years. Nurses have a lot of flexability within the profession. We can become bedside nurses, teachers, work in offices, employee health nurses, home health nurses, long term care, management, we can consult, work for the state and conduct surveys. As you can see there are so many different oppertunities available for nurses, you asked if a nurse has family time. I work 3-12 hour shifts, which allows me 4 days off per week, but this is only my job. Nurses who work as teachers can take summers off, nurses who work in doctors offices (such as a cardiologist who needs a registered nurse) will have weekends and holidays off. Nurses are such a key player in the care of the patient they can be used in many different areas.

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