Bentleysmama

I'm doing an evening/weekend program and it's a lot of working moms (like me). We are a ragged bunch haha but it's totally doable, if you are very organized and know how to maximize your study time.

Sort of piggybacking on what others have said - it sounds like the first thing you need to do is learn to balance your personal life better. The first couple big traumatic things that happen can be hard to handle for some people, but the older you get the more you learn that there's always going to be stuff- death, divorce, financial problems, illnesses....it doesn't stop. What you've experienced so far will continue as a pattern if you don't get a handle on how to better cope with the stress that comes with life. Good luck!

Thanks for the response. I already have a bachelors so the only classes I'm taking now are related to finishing up my sciences; taking TEAS exam this summer. My GPA is 3.9 from my first bachelors, I'm a straight A student and have scored close to 100 on all practice TEAS exams, so not too worried about getting in the program. I'm working part time while pursuing nursing so I can handle everything, but currently make close to $30/hr so NO WAY can I afford to switch to CNA to support myself and my son. I'll need to stay at my current job until I'm officially a nurse and land a job as such. I know the next few years will be busy and challenging, but my concern wasn't about the program itself but rather being able to find a job as a new grad as it seems all jobs- even the low level ones- require at least a year experience. I was just wondering how the heck you get your foot in the door for that first job. Thanks!

Hi everyone! This is my first post on here. I'm a 33 year old preschool teacher back in school for nursing. I'm planning to get my associates first and then, hopefully while working as a nurse, finish up my BSN. I'm a single mom and money is tight already, and I'm a little concerned from everything I've read about actually getting a job once I'm a nurse. It seems like every job requires at least a year experience. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do NOW to help up my chances of actually finding work? Is it as hard to find a job as it seems? Are residency programs something worth pursuing after graduating before anything else? I volunteer for hospice now (ultimately want to either work in hospice or oncology) but absolutely can not afford to give up my salaried teaching job to make $13/hour as a CNA or something similar as I have bills to pay and a child to support etc... I'm near DC and in order to officially start working as a nurse instead of a teacher would need to be making a minimum of $50k starting out. I am totally prepared to do a few years of grunt work before getting into any specialty I'm passionate about, but am honestly worried right now that I'm going to sacrifice my thirties and a lot of money when I'm already struggling to make ends meet...to enter into a field where I'm not going to be able to even find a job. Any advice or reassurance would be very much appreciated. I think I'm just very anxious about making such a bold switch, esp as a single mom, and sometimes I get scared it's not the "smart" choice as far as financial stability/career opportunties go and I'd love a little encouragement :) My huge fear is just putting in all this time and money and then not being able to find a job at the other end of it...and of course the internet is rife with horror stories from new grads who can't find work, so now I'm not sure if finding a job as a new grad is really as bad as some posts make it sound or not. Thanks!