hey everyone. i asked this question a few months ago and still cant make up my mind what i should do, but its come to a point that i need to do something. i am 24 yrs old and possibly claiming bankruptcy. i have decided that i am going to become a nurse and entered college, i am pre-nursing student right now, even working part time i will not be able to afford my bills. i thought of everything to avoid it. i have heard from others that it might discourage employers from hiring me if they run a credit check on me. i dont know if hospitals are doing this since im not a nurse yet. i would apperciate everyones feedback on this.
im so determined to finish school and get my RN, im just afraid this milstone ive encountered is going to hurt me in the future. i realize bankruptcy is terrible to have, but you can recover with time, it is a real lesson learned. i dont plan on buying a home or anything for atleast 10 years, and i know it takes that long to be removed.
in my 30+ years of working i never had an employer run a credit check on me that i know of and i had a federal tax lien on me for many, many years and a bankruptcy thanks to my ex-husband which killed my credit rating. and, i worked for the federal government at the time and went through an fbi investigation without a hitch. i have no idea where you got your information. who did you hear would not hire you because of a bad credit rating? that is just crazy. i did have one employer who, in addition to a criminal check (they all do that these days), had me do a psychological test to see if i had a tendency to steal. i thought that was laughable. like, what is a nurse going to steal? rolls of tape? what do i need paper tape for?
daytonite.....it's actually getting to be more common. every employer i have had in the last 15 years has done a credit check on my prior to hiring. one told me in the interview that if you had any outstanding judgements or a bankruptcy within the last 5 years that it bars you from getting hired.
you can blame actuaries for the credit being tied to employment. i can send your car insurance rates up (the last 2 states that i lived in pulled credit before they quoted you a rate b/c your rate was affected by your credit score), it can affect health insurance rates if you buy privately instead of via an employer.
i have a cousin who has been in the military for 10 years. he was recently denied a position that required a high-security clearance pass d/t a bankruptcy he filed for bankruptcy 3 years ago.
if you talk to someone that works in an hr department of a hospital that requires credit checks, they will tell you that statistically, nurses who are in serious financial trouble may be desperate enough to steal drugs for sale. in the hr world, people that have poor credit also, tend to miss more days of work, and that is across the board in every profession.
it is against federal law to run a credit check on anyone without prior disclosure, but this is usually on every employment application if you read the fine print.
my advice is this.. please do everything in your power to not file for bankruptcy!
i am currently in nursing school. i bartend 2 days a week, that is all i do.. i make 500 a week easily.. i work on friday and saturday nights or days , and i maintain a 4.0 gpa so far
i do not know if it is an option for you.. have you considered bartending a few nights a week?
it is a great way to make cash, and it is flexible. it would allow you to make money and pay off your debts.
Daytonite.....it's actually getting to be more common. Every employer I have had in the last 15 years has done a credit check on my prior to hiring. One told me in the interview that if you had any outstanding judgements or a bankruptcy within the last 5 years that it bars you from getting hired.
You can blame actuaries for the credit being tied to employment. I can send your car insurance rates up (the last 2 states that I lived in pulled credit before they quoted you a rate b/c your rate was affected by your credit score), it can affect health insurance rates if you buy privately instead of via an employer.
I'm glad you mentioned the car insurance aspect of this. My rates went up since I had OK credit last year. Never mind that I haven't had an tickets, accidents, etc in the last 15 years. I guess I'm a statistical anomoly. But to add to your post, we have one hospital that is now checking credit reports before hiring. I think its actually sad, because the crappy nurses and the nurses I see get into narc trouble don't have financial issues. Addiction has no financial restrictions. I suppose you could make the case that those that need money might be more apt to sell, but I really am not convinced of this.
Like you said, I don't agree with it, but it is reality now.
My mom filed bankrupcy while she was doing her nursing prereqs....she graduated last december and had no problem finding a job, as far as i know they did not run a credit check on her. Although bankrupcy is a major decision and has made it more difficult for her to do other things....It is a huge decision that you really need to think about, my only advice would be to make sure you LOVE nursing, because it will be a difficult road with bankrupcy and you don't want to get in a program and find out its not for you and find yourself in even more debt. Best of luck on your decision.
I work for probably the best hospital in my area (atleast in my opinion :) ) and one that many people have said that they tried to get hired into many times but were unable to. I would definitely consider my hospital "more reputable". My credit is hosed, and although I did agree to have them search my history upside down and backwards, that never was a hitch.
I think its ridiculous that anyone would assume that financial trouble = more likely to steal drugs from work. I've been severely impovershed at times in my life due to failed marriage/single parenthood/no education ect and I have NEVER NEVER NEVER considered stealing from an employer. EVER! Sorry but there are just lines that you don't cross, and debt is not about to change my moral code.
The PP who mentioned Proctor and Gamble... in the 15 years I have worked, certain 'types' of businesses have checked credit, so that doesn't suprise me, that they would. I would also throw in any kind of mortgage/banking type companies as going by your credit, particularly when you are handling physical money. My background is in accounting/billing and software, and in software, I have NEVER not gotten a job based on a credit rating, ever, but in accounting, its a bit more gray as to what companies do and what don't.
But really, in this economy, when half the country is in debt and people are in real financial crisis, you cannot hire expecting everyone to have pristine credit. Its an unnecessary way of cutting out job applicants, when there are more important qualities to focus on (like getting to interviews on time, looking presentable, giving the right impression, knowing your stuff, good job history, criminal record, etc).
Whatever you finally decide to do with your situation that is best for you, just remember that there is life after it. You will soon learn to manage your finances well, stick with a budget, live within your means, and will eventually feel better as you practice this.
Read self-help books who had the same situation and how they manage this. However, nothing beats a good attorney's advice if bankruptcy is really necessary. Be informed. Best of luck to you.
be sure to check 1st, but depending on whether you file under chapter 13 or chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may not qualify for financial aid. i don't remember which is which, but one essentially "wipes your credit slate clean" & the other reorganizes/consolidates all bills into more manageable payments; with 1 you might be able to get financial aid but the other you definitely cannot. i just can't remember which 1 won't allow a person to get the aid~~my sis-n-law wanted to go back to school after filing for bankruptcy, but because of the type she was under she found out she wouldn't be eligible for financial aid.
be sure to check 1st, but depending on whether you file under chapter 13 or chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may not qualify for financial aid. i don't remember which is which, but one essentially "wipes your credit slate clean" & the other reorganizes/consolidates all bills into more manageable payments; with 1 you might be able to get financial aid but the other you definitely cannot. i just can't remember which 1 won't allow a person to get the aid~~my sis-n-law wanted to go back to school after filing for bankruptcy, but because of the type she was under she found out she wouldn't be eligible for financial aid.
neither type of bankruptcy makes you ineligible for federal student loans. there is no credit check performed for need based loans. if you read your fafsa forms you will see there are two things that will make you ineligible for fed student loans - a) you owe the gov money - e.g. fed tax lien, and b) conviction of a drug related felony.
now if you end up seeking private student loans as some health care students do because student loans aren't sufficient for their needs - then that would involve a credit check and a bankruptcy might be cause for denial unless you have a cosigner with good credit.
bankruptcy is not an easy decision to make so i would assume you've done your research and/or talked to an attorney about this. someone suggested consumer credit counseling instead of bankruptcy. this is actually worse for your credit and not recommended by credit experts. you can begin credit repair as soon as you file for bankruptcy whereas ccc will leave you with negative notations on your reports for years to come.
I personally have not heard of a hospital refusing to hire someone based on credit scores and/or bankruptcy. I would be horrified if hospitals did. Nothing about being a good nurse has anything to do with financial status. Working as a nurse is not the same as working in business say for a company like Proctor & Gamble. Hospitals should have no real interest in our financial situations because it does not directly reflect on how we conduct ourselves as nurses whereas in business, our personal financial decisions might give some insight to our professional business decisions all though I'd argue that even that is a loose thread.
I made some poor financial choices in my early twenties that has left me with less than stellar credit scores. I have worked so hard to get my finances back in order and my credit score up. Unrelated I am a very hard working, dedicated nursing student with a hard-earned high gpa. If there's a hospital that won't hire me because of my low credit score I don't want to work for them. I think companies that check credit scores need to realize that we're human and that people learn a great deal from hard times and from their mistakes. The whole practice of any company checking credit scores really irks me because it really doesn't give a very well-rounded picture of who that person is. It's a number that doesn't give any insight into the often times deeply personal and trying times that lead to poor financial situations.
I think you're fine. Do what is best for you and if that's filing for bankruptcy than do it. Do not let that affect your decision about whether or not to go to nursing school. I wish you the best of luck!
justme1972
2,441 Posts
daytonite.....it's actually getting to be more common. every employer i have had in the last 15 years has done a credit check on my prior to hiring. one told me in the interview that if you had any outstanding judgements or a bankruptcy within the last 5 years that it bars you from getting hired.
you can blame actuaries for the credit being tied to employment. i can send your car insurance rates up (the last 2 states that i lived in pulled credit before they quoted you a rate b/c your rate was affected by your credit score), it can affect health insurance rates if you buy privately instead of via an employer.
i have a cousin who has been in the military for 10 years. he was recently denied a position that required a high-security clearance pass d/t a bankruptcy he filed for bankruptcy 3 years ago.
if you talk to someone that works in an hr department of a hospital that requires credit checks, they will tell you that statistically, nurses who are in serious financial trouble may be desperate enough to steal drugs for sale. in the hr world, people that have poor credit also, tend to miss more days of work, and that is across the board in every profession.
it is against federal law to run a credit check on anyone without prior disclosure, but this is usually on every employment application if you read the fine print.
i don't agree with it...but it does happen.