Please help! Accounting or Nursing?

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · May 21, 2017

Ok let me pull out the mental telepathy orb out of my bag and read your future ***** sorry I got nothing. We can't tell you what you should do with the rest of your life. Pull up the big girl panties, speak with your parents, tell them why you don't want to do nursing, and get on with what you think you have to do. Maybe a little salty, but I'm at the end of a 12 hour night shift. Forgive me.

37changes, ASN, RN · May 21, 2017

Everything I read in your post made me think "accounting". The only thing holding you back from switching sounds like lack of parental support.

I can offer the perspective of someone in your shoes but a lot further down the road.

In middle & high school, I told everyone I wanted to be a "pediatric nurse". I loved kids & I wanted to help, so if you asked me then, that's what I would say.

For a variety of reasons (my actual intelligence and ability not being any of them), I did not do very well in science & math classes in high school. I remember the moment well, when my mother pointed out to me that nursing requires a lot of science and math, and I might want to reconsider. It was a defining moment. I felt like crap about my grades, and my dream DIED in that moment. I gave up.

I can only see all of this now, with the benefit of hindsight.

My mother is a CPA, and I was good at working with numbers, as well. I excelled in my computer & business classes in school, I worked in a variety of accounting jobs, and I was very successful at it. I went to school for Business Administration, and I got my degree.

One problem: I hated the office jobs. I felt like a "rat in a cage" and I could not WAIT to get married and have kids, so I could stay home with them.

Fast forward 20 years. Here I am. I've had the kids, I've stayed home with them, and I am pursuing nursing with the "support" of my parents, but no financial help. I've got a husband with back issues and financially, things for us right now look pretty scary, to be honest.

But now I am 38 years old, and right back to what I knew in my heart long, long ago. Those science and math classes? Yeah, I worked my butt off because I am a completely different person now and I have the support & resources I need to be able to do so. I got all A's in my pre-reqs, highest score on my TEAS exam that my advisor has ever seen ~ including a 100% on the math section, which everyone I spoke with (including the dean) has told me they've never seen before.

My point? Your heart has to be into it and you have to be *motivated*. If, deep down, you feel that you are doing the wrong thing or you're just not into it -- there will come a point when that side wins. You may have to move forward at this point without the support of your parents, because only YOU know yourself inside and out. I have a teenager, about to turn 16, and while I feel I know him pretty well and we are close -- I do not know what is going on in there all the time, and when he really opens up and shares things with me, sometimes I am really surprised. Remember that your parents are people too, juggling all sorts of their own stresses & internal thoughts all day, every day. You may have to request a meeting, with no distractions, and you may have to really pour your heart out and share everything with them before they begin to understand.

Just don't waste 20 years of your life if you know what you want to do now. Do it.

akachin107 · May 21, 2017

Everything I read in your post made me think "accounting". The only thing holding you back from switching sounds like lack of parental support.
I can offer the perspective of someone in your shoes but a lot further down the road.
In middle & high school, I told everyone I wanted to be a "pediatric nurse". I loved kids & I wanted to help, so if you asked me then, that's what I would say.
For a variety of reasons (my actual intelligence and ability not being any of them), I did not do very well in science & math classes in high school. I remember the moment well, when my mother pointed out to me that nursing requires a lot of science and math, and I might want to reconsider. It was a defining moment. I felt like crap about my grades, and my dream DIED in that moment. I gave up.
I can only see all of this now, with the benefit of hindsight.
My mother is a CPA, and I was good at working with numbers, as well. I excelled in my computer & business classes in school, I worked in a variety of accounting jobs, and I was very successful at it. I went to school for Business Administration, and I got my degree.
One problem: I hated the office jobs. I felt like a "rat in a cage" and I could not WAIT to get married and have kids, so I could stay home with them.
Fast forward 20 years. Here I am. I've had the kids, I've stayed home with them, and I am pursuing nursing with the "support" of my parents, but no financial help. I've got a husband with back issues and financially, things for us right now look pretty scary, to be honest.
But now I am 38 years old, and right back to what I knew in my heart long, long ago. Those science and math classes? Yeah, I worked my butt off because I am a completely different person now and I have the support & resources I need to be able to do so. I got all A's in my pre-reqs, highest score on my TEAS exam that my advisor has ever seen ~ including a 100% on the math section, which everyone I spoke with (including the dean) has told me they've never seen before.
My point? Your heart has to be into it and you have to be *motivated*. If, deep down, you feel that you are doing the wrong thing or you're just not into it -- there will come a point when that side wins. You may have to move forward at this point without the support of your parents, because only YOU know yourself inside and out. I have a teenager, about to turn 16, and while I feel I know him pretty well and we are close -- I do not know what is going on in there all the time, and when he really opens up and shares things with me, sometimes I am really surprised. Remember that your parents are people too, juggling all sorts of their own stresses & internal thoughts all day, every day. You may have to request a meeting, with no distractions, and you may have to really pour your heart out and share everything with them before they begin to understand.
Just don't waste 20 years of your life if you know what you want to do now. Do it.

Thank you for your advice, the point about motivation is spot on. If it is alright to ask, how was your experience with accounting in regards to work/life balance, salary etc?

37changes, ASN, RN · May 21, 2017

Thank you for your advice, the point about motivation is spot on. If it is alright to ask, how was your experience with accounting in regards to work/life balance, salary etc?

Oh, of course it's fine to ask ~ but I'm probably not the right person.

I worked in the cash office for a major retailer, and I did accounts receivable, accounts payable, data entry, etc. for a few different businesses. This was all before I had a husband and children. The only time I had to go in "after hours" was when I was trying to work around my college schedule also, and there were weekly reports I had to have prepared by the next day.

If you go for your CPA (which I never did, but my mom did) -- it seems there are so many different directions you can go with that. If I were you, I would definitely be looking up the variety of options and average salaries for your area, or areas you are interested in moving to.

Apple-Core, ASN, BSN, RN · May 22, 2017

Ultimately it is 100% your choice, and nobody here can decide for you. Having said that, from reading your post I would say accounting is more suitable for your temperament. However, again, it is your call at the end of the day. One thing I would advise is that you need to follow your own path - not that of your parents, or anyone else for that matter. I understand that takes internal strength to deflect the almost guaranteed emotional guilt you'll get; I had the exact same thing, but I stuck to my own dreams and have never regretted a thing.