Just wondering who else out there is going into nursing as a second career. I think I've seen quite a few posts from returning students. What made you decide to make the switch?
I've got a B.S. and M.S. in molecular and cell biology and I work as a research scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. Job security is a big reason that I'm going back because I'm the sole income to support our family of five and there's a lot of uncertainty in pharmaceutical research these days. In addition, I've done this job for ten years and it just hasn't turned out to be the fulfilling career I had anticipated. I understand that the research we're doing to make new drugs can save lives and help people- part of the reason I picked this area- but I'm much more removed from the feeling of helping and productivity than I had expected.
The thought of going back to school while still working and having my three kids at home (ages 6,5 and 2) is a bit daunting. I've made it through some on-line and in class pre-reqs and I've got only one non-nursing course to finish (A&P II this semester). I'll find out in May whether I'm accepted and whether it's a Sept 2010 or January 2011 start. Four semesters, I can get through it and I'm sure it will all be worth it. Just have to get in.
Good luck to all, I look forward to hearing your stories.
Great thread! I'm 36 going back for a new career. I sometimes feel like a 3-toed sloth in a room full of humans at the local community college but I persevere nonetheless. I bring a B.S. in Liberal Arts to the table so thankfully many pre-reqs are already complete. Thankfully there are a few others like myself in many of the nursing specific pre-req classes! I have just one more semester of pre-reqs (A&P 2, Microbiology, and Speech of all things). Im applying to the accelerated ADN in a few weeks and hopefully start the program this coming May. I figure the accelerated program will kind of feel like being thrown into a fast flowing river...the upside being that I'll reach the end before I know it (or drown somewhere along the way- heh!).
I took a part time job on campus to help defray living costs and am taking out loans (to be added to the not insignificant total from my B.S.) to get through. It was kind of cool being a "poor student" at 20. Being a broke student at 36 is not so much fun. I try to keep my eye on the prize and avoid the threads here that talk about recent grads not finding jobs, recent grads having trouble with the NCLEX etc. etc. I figure when that time comes I will put my nose to that grindstone and get through it the way I am getting through this, by just doing it!
I often wonder if a former congressional staffer will make a good nurse. I guess I won't find out until I am done. I know that during my CNA pre-req, I threw myself into even the most daunting tasks in clinicals just to see if I could (that and to get used to it). So far so good. I found that more often than not, I felt so much empathy for the person I was assisting that the explosive assplosion or bathing the violent dimentia patient just sort of happened. I can only hope that this is a good sign. So the anxiety level remains constant and I steel myself for the next daunting test, task, insecurity- whatever.
After reading many of the comments above- I can see how we all have similar and different fears... It's good to hear as it helps me keep my own in persepective and realize this isn't easy for any of us. So I wish all of you a huge amount of fortitude and I congratulate you all for just doing it! I have a huge amount of awe and respect for the working parents. I can only imagine what that would be like. I have no kids (phew!) and no other obligations so its a lot easier for me, at least with respect to you folks.
I'm a second career student as well. I graduated HS in 2000 with a 8 month old daughter. I always wanted to be a nurse so I began working at a bank part time and going to college full-time. Well life happened and I could not give school 100% and do a good job with raising my daughter, so I quit and just worked full time in banking. Then I went into the mortgage finance field and thought I found something else I could see myself doing as a career. Well we all know what happened..the Financial crash in 2007..I found myself w/o a job and back working at the bank. I then realized I could not do this for the rest of my life and enrolled back into school last year. I have a 10 and 2 year old and plan to start Nursing classes in 2011.
I'm a second career student too. I'm 39, have 2 boys (8 & almost 5) and have been separated for a year and a half. I have an A.A.S in Fashion Buying & Marketing and spent my first career in various divisions of the fashion industry. In 2004, when I was pregnant with my 2nd son, I had a mild stroke and that changed everything for me. Thankfully, I fully recovered and my son is just fine (he'll be 5 on 2/13), but I knew I never wanted to go back to my job or any job like it. I considered going back to school for teaching but after working for a daycare, I knew i couldn't do it, LOL. My sister-in-law is a nurse and convinced me to look into it. I had some really great nurses when I was recovering from my stroke and decided that was what I wanted to do. I finished my pre-reqs last semester and I was accepted into the Spring 2010 nursing program! I will get my RN in 2 years and I plan to go for my BSN after a few years of working.
I currently work part-time at Old Navy, the hours are flexible, but the pay sucks! I can't wait to start the semester! good luck to all of us!
Second career student here also. I have a BS in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Health Sciences and a Minor in Health Services Admin. I am a certified EMT and have been working as a dispatcher/Asst. supervisor for a fire department for 11 years. I have only been married 1 year and have to most supportive husband in the world, we do not have any kids and don't plan on having any. So, to those of you with kids I give you props for making the decisions you have to start a second career. My husband is a Paramedic firefighter and starts a fast track RN program in a couple days. I have been accepted to an RN program and will start this summer 2010. I am excieted and nervous all at the same time. As most of you know it is very hard to leave a career to start something totally different. Good luck to all of you!!!
Nursing will be my second career, as well. I am 33, married with three children ( 9, 11, 14). The last 6 years I have "worked" as a Realtor, and I am sure you all know what the housing market has been doing the past 18 months! Prior to real estate, I worked in a large hospital in Dallas. Unit Assistant was my title, I spent part of my time at the front desk answering call buttons, entering orders into the computer etc...and the other part doing the "dirty work" Sponge baths, changing linens, changing diapers, vitals, finger sticks, etc.
Upon becoming pregnant, I decided to leave the hospital and stay home with my children. Real estate was lucrative, in the beginning and an easy schedule to maintain with a toddler at home. In the middle of all of that, in 2005, my husband was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma. He is now a 5 year cancer survivor. After enduring that trial, I look back at the "dirty work" with a new set of lenses. I feel more empathy than the previously felt irritation when I was cleaning the feces from under the AIDS patient who was physically, but not mentally able to walk himself to the bathroom. I cannot go back in time to the 6 months I spent on that Internal Medicine floor, but there are new opportunities coming to care, to love, to see patients as whole people and not an illness or injury.
Thank you for the thoughtful thread you started, and all of you who shared. In writing this, I have somehow suddenly forgot how scared I was from the last posts I was reading....competitive, years of trying to get into an ADN program. BRING IT ON!!!!!
Oops...lost my post! Hope this isn't a repeat. I, too, am a second career person...a very old one at that.
I have a B.A. and an M.A. Both in Education. I taught Special Ed for 7 years and Art for 23 years. I got my C.N.A. this past year and really enjoyed the program so thought I'd continue learning. I've taken Stats and A & P I already; taking A & P II now and Micro in the Summer. I'm substitute teaching to pay the bills...so can only take one class a semester. Will apply for the University of Colorado Accelerated Program when I'm done with these prerequistes. I had them all many, many years ago in undergrad but they are too old to be accepted. This is a great forum. Thanks to all of you.
Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.
To Anne36,
You wrote that it seems like a luxury to be going back to school for a second career. I can only speak for myself, but if I had a stable job that I could rely on for another 30 years I wouldn't be putting myself and my family through the stresses of what a nursing school schedule will bring. While I do think that nursing will be a more fulfilling career and I'll enjoy it more than my current one, I couldn't justify going through it for just that reason. However, with the economy as it is today, I can't count on supporting my family of five with my current employment, and as the only income in our family, I can't afford to be without a back-up plan. I think many returning students are looking to nursing as a career with more employment options than their current ones, and that's going to be an attractive idea for the next few years for sure.
You wrote that it seems like a luxury to be going back to school for a second career. I can only speak for myself, but if I had a stable job that I could rely on for another 30 years I wouldn't be putting myself and my family through the stresses of what a nursing school schedule will bring. While I do think that nursing will be a more fulfilling career and I'll enjoy it more than my current one, I couldn't justify going through it for just that reason. However, with the economy as it is today, I can't count on supporting my family of five with my current employment, and as the only income in our family, I can't afford to be without a back-up plan. I think many returning students are looking to nursing as a career with more employment options than their current ones, and that's going to be an attractive idea for the next few years for sure.
This is absolutely true for me as well! When I left my husband, I was a stay at home mom. Thankfully I was able to move in with my parents and find a part-time job but I needed a long-term plan. I couldn't go back to my previous career without working long hours and needing expensive childcare on a small salary. Nursing will provide me with some flexibility, working less hours for more money and I will be able to support myself and my boys on my own.
My job isn't stable either. I think the idea that most 2nd career students are doing so as a luxury is pretty presumptuous. I don't think there are many in this economy who would take the risk of leaving a stable job. My parents have been unemployed for over a year, I'm certainly not thinking about changing careers lightly.
Second career for me too.... I graduated in 2003 with a BS in Architectural Engineering. Ive spent that last 6+ years in construction as an Project Manager. Its great pay with horrible hours. I stuck it out mostly because I was young making almost 6 figures with my (now) husband doing the same, making more. But, over the last year the construction and architecture industry has really fallen on its face. My husband lost his job in the summer and I lost mine in Novemeber. He was able to find a new one, but we both looked at each other and said "we cant BOTH go through this again", especially with the industry still so unstable. So, I decided to go back to school to become a NP. I always wanted to do it, even when I was in college, I just never did it. My parents are both in the medical field and didnt support my desire to get into it as well. Now, I have the perfect opportunity. I have no children and can give the program 100% of my time. My husband is my biggest cheerleader which is especially great when people look at you sideways wondering why such a severe career change (and my parents both still against my decision, even though Im 29, married, and live 2000 miles from them). Im applying to accelerated MSN programs now and wont find out until March whether Im in. In the mean time, I am shadowing NPs, volunteering at a local hospital, taking a Stats class (I have NO prereqs but can take them if accepted into a program) and working retail part time to make some money. I still have two or so more months of waiting to find out my acceptance, but I know even if I dont get in this time eventually Ill get there!
I am a second career student as well! I have a B.A in Public Relations and a M.A in Public Administration. For some reason, I've been working in the education field. Although I love children, it's not my passion. I began pursing my undergraduate degree as a Nursing major, then changed it...I sooo regret that decision
I am 32 years young, married to a very loving and supportive hubby and no children.
I have recently applied to a local community college and my transcripts are on the way!
I am so excited about FINALLY taking the necessary steps to fulfill my dream. I know that I may have a few pre-reqs to complete before I actually make it into the Nursing Program, but I am ready!
Nursing has always been my dream career! I knew in High School that I wanted to become a Nurse, but I left fear take over. However, I know that "I can do ALL things through Christ which strengthens me" Phil 4:13
danielaldis
5 Posts
Great thread! I'm 36 going back for a new career. I sometimes feel like a 3-toed sloth in a room full of humans at the local community college but I persevere nonetheless. I bring a B.S. in Liberal Arts to the table so thankfully many pre-reqs are already complete. Thankfully there are a few others like myself in many of the nursing specific pre-req classes! I have just one more semester of pre-reqs (A&P 2, Microbiology, and Speech of all things). Im applying to the accelerated ADN in a few weeks and hopefully start the program this coming May. I figure the accelerated program will kind of feel like being thrown into a fast flowing river...the upside being that I'll reach the end before I know it (or drown somewhere along the way- heh!).
I took a part time job on campus to help defray living costs and am taking out loans (to be added to the not insignificant total from my B.S.) to get through. It was kind of cool being a "poor student" at 20. Being a broke student at 36 is not so much fun. I try to keep my eye on the prize and avoid the threads here that talk about recent grads not finding jobs, recent grads having trouble with the NCLEX etc. etc. I figure when that time comes I will put my nose to that grindstone and get through it the way I am getting through this, by just doing it!
I often wonder if a former congressional staffer will make a good nurse. I guess I won't find out until I am done. I know that during my CNA pre-req, I threw myself into even the most daunting tasks in clinicals just to see if I could (that and to get used to it). So far so good. I found that more often than not, I felt so much empathy for the person I was assisting that the explosive assplosion or bathing the violent dimentia patient just sort of happened. I can only hope that this is a good sign. So the anxiety level remains constant and I steel myself for the next daunting test, task, insecurity- whatever.
After reading many of the comments above- I can see how we all have similar and different fears... It's good to hear as it helps me keep my own in persepective and realize this isn't easy for any of us. So I wish all of you a huge amount of fortitude and I congratulate you all for just doing it! I have a huge amount of awe and respect for the working parents. I can only imagine what that would be like. I have no kids (phew!) and no other obligations so its a lot easier for me, at least with respect to you folks.
Good Luck!