am i to old to be a nurse?!

SmilingBluEyes · Sep 4, 2015

No you are not too old at 34. You have time. My advice is to go for a BSN because you will want it sooner or later anyhow and you can advance/do more with a BSN than an ADN. So go straight for that. Plan on it taking anywhere from 3 to 5 years or longer to get that any degree, ADN or BSN. Know there are wait lists at many schools that may be years long.

You will pretty much need to have your pre-requisite courses DONE before they will accept you into any school of nursing. That will take at least 2 years or so. So figure out which school(s) you will want to apply to and then talk to a counselor about a degree plan for nursing. Plan ahead esp. if "time is of the essence" as you say.

Good luck.

mrnightinggale · Sep 4, 2015

I just finished nursing school at got my first nursing job at 48. So yes, you're too old. The only thing I would recommend is NOT moving to the Bay area to do nursing school. It is terribly expensive and CA has a backlog just to take NCLEX. Move to an area where living will be cheap and that hires new grads until you you get a year of experience, THEN move and work wherever you want.

JRHFN · Sep 4, 2015

Never too old. Just going to be a lot of work to go to school full time while supporting your family. Nursing school is hard and requires many hours of study on your downtime. Plan accordingly. Goodluck!

SmilingBluEyes · Sep 4, 2015

And it may be very difficult to hold down employment during nursing school. You can work around the schedule but it becomes challenging once actual nursing school and clinical rotations start. You could always go for your CNA and do that while waiting to get into nursing school. Some nursing schools require this anyhow, so check on that. Good luck.

SmilingBluEyes · Sep 4, 2015

One more thing: While nursing may be your dream, check and see if there is any employment where you are. Some places are virtually saturated with nurses and there are no jobs for new grads. You don't want to waste time and go into debt paying for school if there are no jobs, unless you are willing to relocate where the jobs are. Do your research before you jump too far in.

AuDDoc · Sep 4, 2015

You're never too old to make a life change. Will it be tougher at your age with the family responsibilities? Sure. Will juice be worth the extra squeeze? Maybe.

I will tell you one thing since I was a non-traditional student. Making it as a non-traditional student is much harder, but it makes you appreciate it so much more in the end.

Larry3373 · Sep 4, 2015

My wife and I had two children while going to nursing school and i have a pretty demanding wife who didn't work. We pretty much lived off student loan refunds as we both went to school full time had a part time job at a hotel working nights (minimum wage). In retrospect I would have been better of working as a PCA (patient care assistant) in the hospital while in school, as this would have given me hospital/healthcare experience while providing a steady income. I've also seen student nurse positions on the VA website. I would try to do something like that while going to nursing school, because that will almost guarantee you get a job once you're finished.

The issue of ADN vs BSN really depends. Do the hospitals in your area prefer to hire BSN prepared RNs?; Is there an accelerated BSN program you can complete in the same amount of time that it takes (or quicker) as getting your ADN?; Which route will be cheaper for you(check out the YouTube.com video BSN vs ADN Let's Follow the Money by keep it real RN)? Which program is easier to get into for your area? The BSN programs in my area of South MS have more seats and are therefore easier to get into. How valuable is your GPA to you? The ADN programs in my area are much harder on your GPA due to offering less opportunities to make points each semester. If you have aspirations to be a CRNA or Nurse Practitioner, then you need to be careful about your undergrad GPA. On a practical note, I believe my ADN program gave me more of a student loan refund.

In summary, you can work full time and go to nursing school. I would try to work as a PCA or in a student nurse internship program. You can use student aid and other programs to supplement your income while in school. You can also try to find a BSN program that is accelerated on on the trimester system that would help you to be done sooner. Many hospitals will no longer hire RNs that are not BSN prepared.

2k15NurseExtern4u, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2015

I know a woman who is in her 50s and is in the BSN program. Not dead? Not too old.

Larry3373 · Sep 4, 2015

I was 27 when I started my prerequisite courses in nursing school. I had classmates in their 40s and some nearing 50, so I'm sure you can do it.

littlepeopleRNICU · Sep 4, 2015

I think your age isn't a factor at all. When I first went to nursing school, I got my ADN, and people in my class were 50+ and just starting out. 34 is fine.