Possible second degree in Nursing?

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Hi everyone I am new on here and have read some of the posts so feel you all maybe able to give me some advice!

So I am a college grad, I graduated a few years ago with a degree in English. Ah yes the infamous "liberal arts" degree Lol. I realized within a year of graduating that there is not a whole lot you can do with this degree unless you get lucky, have connections and maybe can get into a bank or something which I have no interest in. I was fooled by the academic advisors in school who said there's so much you can do with an English degree, and not that they lied but what they left out was that anything you CAN do is entry level with no chance for growth. So that is where I am at, a call center at 32,000 a year. I was planning to get a masters in social work but the ROI and little pay for what u put in to the degree wasn't worth it

So here I am reassessing my interests and skills and realized I have always had an interests in healthcare with a great compassion for helping people. I took a career aptitude tests after talking to a career counselor and low and behold nursing was at the top of the list!

So I've done all the shadowing and research at nauseum lol and think that I really would enjoy nursing. However so many people tell me not to go into it because they talk of the burnout, disrespect and said I'd be wasting my money to get a nursing degree. They tell me to do x-ray or something.

I never expected nursing to be a "flawless" career but with all these comments and being warned otherwise I'm getting worried of my decision.

This will be my second degree and if I enter the profession and do in fact find im not cut out for it then what? Does that mean that my degree and time in school is an entire waste? And my degree before that is a waste?

And what about my family and friends and colleagues? In your opinion do you think people will view me as irresponsible and indecisive?

I know that pursuing this will be an opportunity to better myself but sometimes the fear of the unknown in overwhelming.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Anyone? Lol please.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Hello and welcome to allnurses.com.

We moved your thread to the Nursing Career Advice forum where you will receive replies.

Others will come along, too.

Good luck with your decisions and we hope you enjoy allnurses.com

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I would not worry about friends and family. They can express their opinions, but it is your life. As you know, nursing is not the panacea for neverending, secure employment it once was, but it certainly beats English for job opportunities. You might consider starting out as a CNA to get a feel for the career. The CNA certificate may even be required for some of the nursing programs that you consider. Start taking the nursing prerequisite courses that you are missing at this point. If you are still hesitant, then ask yourself what can you get passionate about besides taking care of people? If you can answer that question, then you will have your desired career. Best wishes.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Similar to caliotter3, I recommend dipping your toe into the pool before diving in and making a big investment.

1. Have you ever volunteered in a hospital or nursing home? You can do that for free to see how you like (or hate) being around sick people and old people pretty quickly.

2. You can take a single physiology class (or something similar -- hopefully, a pre-req for nursing school) at a local community college to see whether or not you find such science courses interesting and/or do-able for you.

I think too many people in your position dive in the deep end by enrolling in an expensive 2nd degree and/or accelerated program without first finding out how they feel being in a health care environment. After 2 or 3 semesters, they realize they hate it -- after having spent tens of thousands of dollars. Do yourself a favor and spend a little time in a health care environment and taking an inexpensive health-related course while you still have your $32K per year job. Use what you learn from that experience to decide whether or a bigger investment in an actual nursing degree will be worth it for you.

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Wow you sound just like me! Except my previous degree is in education Lol. But like you I'm lost and have the same questions! You should inbox me.

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I was in this position too. I have a previous BA degree from a school (which I loved !) but I realized that I wanted to do more with it. I have worked at non profits with this degree and have made meager salaries but good enough for me--(no family, no loans to pay, etc).

I work with nurses and through them have discovered how truly versatile this field is--I grew up thinking of nurses as just doing hospital care. But then I learned that there was so much more and this site helped. I've seen so much about travel nursing, home health, hospice, operating room, school nursing, community health nursing, nursing informatics, case management...etc. I am sure you saw all of this in your research. And through personal interactions with people, nursing as the career for me has been confirmed and I am super excited and completely aware of just how hard the next two years will be. Interestingly, all the nurses I've spoken with have never tried to deter me and they have loved it, despite how hard it was for them to get through school and initial jobs. But I know it will be rough.

Anyways, I looked at only 2nd degree BSN programs at state schools, so the cost will be as cheap as possible. I looked up the curricula at each school and talked to current nursing students to get an idea of what it is like. I looked up job postings to see what they ask for when hiring nurses so I can know what kinds of things I'd be expected to do as a new nurse. I took classes at a comm. college for super cheap and when I saw how much I loved anatomy and medication talk, I knew I was doing the right thing. A friend took classes with me but dropped out after 2 semesters because she discovered nursing was not for her.

I work full time and take classes part time so it was nice being able to see some terms in class and see them at work too. I am not a CNA but I know that would be greattttt exposure, esp if you are unsure.

I wouldn't spend a ton on a nursing program--you want a good school with good NCLEX pass rates and accreditation of course, but at the end of the day--everyone who passes the NCLEX becomes an RN. There are many private schools where I am but the public ones are just as good and I couldn't justify paying an arm and a leg.

Lastly, I knew this was definitely for me when I saw that I couldn't be talked out of it. Reading horror stories on here, online, and hearing about it from my stepdad (who was a CNA) have in no way deterred me--just made me aware of what I could be coming up against. I'll be starting this fall.

Good luck :)

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Your problem sounded so much like another poster, at first I thought you made up another ID to start the questioning all over. But since they have already responded I believe you are entitled to a fair shot at thoughtful answers to your questions.

Let's stipulate I only know this fantastically small amount of information you have shared thus far and have made some assumptions based on my experience in life and a 34 year nursing career.

Should you complete a program and obtain licensure you will have a wealth of opportunities for gainful employment. A willingness to relocate and/or work nights in a non-hospital setting will make you more easily employable. So you will certainly be capable of getting a job with >$40K income as a new grad.

Finding out you are "not cut out for it" implies your expectations were not met. What were your expectations with an English degree? Apparently not well thought out or just plain unreasonable thus leading to your disappointment. It appears you have learned your lesson, are making appropriate inquiries and stand a much better chance of knowing what you are getting into and could likely be very satisfied with your career choice. Nursing is not like TV or movies or even the horror stories you read about. The reality of nursing is (usually) not very dramatic. You already know you will be dealing with people and personal interactions for the most part. You can avoid some select icky parts but will sacrifice other icky parts (i.e. shifts, smells, mental stress, physical labor)

The vast majority of nurses like their job just fine. Nurses as most humans are 10x more likely to complain about something than praise it.

As you mature you care less what other people think. You decide what you think is important to you and value that.

When I read your story about choosing an English major, I wince and think "there's another one that can't pay back their student loan" Wish it didn't have to happen, but it did so now you really are smarter and being more cautious.

I have quit nursing twice. Once to sell residential real estate and again to drive an 18-wheeler. Learned stuff about myself, what it takes to be content, missed nursing and came back. So nursing isn't a "life sentence".

I see you as young and energetic and capable. For the rest of your life you will make decisions based on what you know at the time. I believe there are no wasted experiences. Use them.

Nursing can be a grand adventure. It's not for everybody. Beyond the considerable book-learnin' you need a strong sense of personal integrity and ability to accept responsibility. Patience, creative thinking and a (sick) sense of humor go a long way.

Try not to let fear of what other people think keep you from trying. You can make adjustments as you go.

Check back in with us and tell us how it's going.

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I am in the same boat as you, except my BS degree was in x-ray. I just wanted to chime in and say do not go into a radiography program!! There are no jobs for new rad tech grads unless you have connections... The field is over saturated nationwide. I hope nursing will work out for you!

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I was in this position too. I have a previous BA degree from a school (which I loved !) but I realized that I wanted to do more with it. I have worked at non profits with this degree and have made meager salaries but good enough for me--(no family, no loans to pay, etc).

I work with nurses and through them have discovered how truly versatile this field is--I grew up thinking of nurses as just doing hospital care. But then I learned that there was so much more and this site helped. I've seen so much about travel nursing, home health, hospice, operating room, school nursing, community health nursing, nursing informatics, case management...etc. I am sure you saw all of this in your research. And through personal interactions with people, nursing as the career for me has been confirmed and I am super excited and completely aware of just how hard the next two years will be. Interestingly, all the nurses I've spoken with have never tried to deter me and they have loved it, despite how hard it was for them to get through school and initial jobs. But I know it will be rough.

Anyways, I looked at only 2nd degree BSN programs at state schools, so the cost will be as cheap as possible. I looked up the curricula at each school and talked to current nursing students to get an idea of what it is like. I looked up job postings to see what they ask for when hiring nurses so I can know what kinds of things I'd be expected to do as a new nurse. I took classes at a comm. college for super cheap and when I saw how much I loved anatomy and medication talk, I knew I was doing the right thing. A friend took classes with me but dropped out after 2 semesters because she discovered nursing was not for her.

I work full time and take classes part time so it was nice being able to see some terms in class and see them at work too. I am not a CNA but I know that would be greattttt exposure, esp if you are unsure.

I wouldn't spend a ton on a nursing program--you want a good school with good NCLEX pass rates and accreditation of course, but at the end of the day--everyone who passes the NCLEX becomes an RN. There are many private schools where I am but the public ones are just as good and I couldn't justify paying an arm and a leg.

Lastly, I knew this was definitely for me when I saw that I couldn't be talked out of it. Reading horror stories on here, online, and hearing about it from my stepdad (who was a CNA) have in no way deterred me--just made me aware of what I could be coming up against. I'll be starting this fall.

Good luck :)

Thank you for your reply! so you really realized that this was for you when you began doing CNA work and taking Anatomy classes?

Did you go to a community college and get an associates degree in nursing or did you get a bachelors? Also, did any classes from you BA transfer over?

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I am in the same boat as you, except my BS degree was in x-ray. I just wanted to chime in and say do not go into a radiography program!! There are no jobs for new rad tech grads unless you have connections... The field is over saturated nationwide. I hope nursing will work out for you!

you regret getting your degree in X-ray tech?

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Thank you for your reply! so you really realized that this was for you when you began doing CNA work and taking Anatomy classes?

Did you go to a community college and get an associates degree in nursing or did you get a bachelors? Also, did any classes from you BA transfer over?

Sure no prob! I'm not a CNA but I work with nurses doing community health assessments and case management for clients. Between this work ( being exposed to medical terms and medications and communicating with doctors and teaching patients how to advocate for themselves) and my coursework, I definitely knew I wanted to do it. I hate most sciences but I loveddd anatomy and phys, and microbiology is cool too. I also am just generally interested in medicine and I realized nursing was a good mix of clinical and social science. People tried to get me to apply to medical school or physician assistant school but the role of the nurse in the healthcare profession, versatility, and ability to become an independent practitioner (very relatively) easily were all contributing factors.

I got a non-nursing Bachelors from a 4 year school, and am currently finishing my last pre req at a local community college. I was worried about the rigor of the material but I realized it was just as good as taking them at a 4 yr college, maybe better. I had to take 5 total--A&P 1 and 2, Nutrition, Dev Psych, and Microbiology. Since I had a Bachelor's, all of the English and elective requirements that were needed by the schools were waived. Stat and chem transferred from my first Bachelor's.

I TRULY wouldn't go to nursing school until you are sure you wanna do it... The unknown is scary but we don't have to know everything; we just have to know whether or not we'd be willing to face whatever comes.

But let's say you get thru it all and get a job in a hospital and realize you hate it...there are other options. Sometimes you're in the right place but just need to find where your special fit is.

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