Mr_D

I don't participate in the Republican/Democrat style of divisive and corrosive politics, so I ain't telling. Keeping in mind that the Republicrats use abortion, etc., as a strategy to whip their supporters into an emotional frenzy to get re-elected, would you like to work together on a strategy that takes some power away from incumbent politicians? You know, 98.7% of Congress was re-elected last election. They are spending $$$$$$$$$$$$.$$ like drunken sailors. How many of you would actually throw away your vote for some jerk b/c you are WORRIED about who may get appointed to the Supreme Court? As P.T. Barnum would say: Sucker! ... hook line and sinker. They got you wrapped around their pinky finger. It's a strategy to get relected so they, Republicans and Democrats, can spend your money. Take a close look at your retirement account, your debt, your bills, dreams for your kids, college fund, vacations. Then look at the amount of income taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, hotel taxes, sin taxes, phone taxes, sales taxes, interest taxes etc, etc etc. Then look what you get in return: How do you like your health benefits these days? Are you afraid of getting really sick? Does it bother you that Americans workers get less benefits than any other industrialized nation? And why, after 35 years of Republicrat "reforms" is education so snarled in bureaucracy and failing so miserably? How is it since WWII that America has gone from the most loved and admired country to the most hated? Parents, do you care that the reenlistment rate is plummeting and there is discreet talk about reinstating the draft? Republicrats are masters at Bait and Switch. Talk about abortion (gay marriage, etc) so there's no oxygen to discuss anything else. Why put up with this cr*p year after year after year? How about limiting the terms of House members to a total of 6 years??? How about getting more people into the Chairmenship of Congressional committees and sub-committees? Yes -- this requires some disipline not to get pulled into this fight. It's hard. I know. I've been very opinionated about these issues in the past. And I have learned by experience that it's just a political ploy that unfortunately works. Whatever our respective planks on emotional/religous issues, could we not work together to make our country more democratic? That is the conversation that the Republicrats never want us to have. They use abortion as a wedge issue to keep otherwise good people at odds with each other. Mr_D

I just learned about nilepoc.com from another post (see link below). It's an interesting read. Does anyone know of other nursing blogs out there? thx, Mr_D CRNA grad school Blog: http://www.nilepoc.com/srnablog/blogger.html

Great thread -- I've been debating whether to take Spanish this summer, fall, and Spanish for med professionals in next Spring. Having read this, I'm doing it. thx, Mr_D

How about the Atlanta metro area? Anyone?

I lose more replies on this new system -- I'll try again for the third time. I am quite conflicted about this. If I want to go for an MSN, then I better do it immediately following my BSN. However, I plot it on a calandar, geez, I'll be in school through summer 2008! That's a long time!! That's a hard sell to the spouse . . . especially considering the starting wages of a nurse graduate. I've also have conflicting messages about this. I went into nursing b/c of the flexibility. I've been told that a BSN offers a lot of flexibility (compared to ASN or LPN) and could ride that through retirement. Keep in mind that I'm a career changer, will enter into nursing as a BSN-RN full time at 41. Flexability and autonomy are usually important to me -- but I have young children and a marriage, and 4 years of school would definately impact the family. I see compelling reasons on both sides of the issue -- which is why I'm so stuck!! Are there any BSN's out there who regret NOT going for an MSN years ago? Why? thx.

Thanks for your response. What do you mean by a "generic MSN"? Also -- I am 39 now, will complete my BSN by 41. If I go for a MSN, I would finish around age 43. Do older nurses have a more difficult time finding work? IYO, what age does that become a factor? thx.

What are the career advantages of getting an MSN? Does it automatically equate to more money or flexability or training (than an BSN)? Does anyone regret not getting one while their life was set up for school? Thx, Mr_D

A brief bullet point summary of my reply THAT WAS LOST.... Great thread . . . After much discussion, my wife and I decided I will persue Nursing as a 2nd career. I am successful in the IT field. We have always had friction over the usual: money, household labor, sex, future goals. We are very complementary on politics (disgusted with the two-party system and the corrupt Republicrats, we are socially liberal, fiscally conservative) and religion (apathetic), and both luck out when it comes to character. After 8 years, a fireball strong-willed 2.5 year old, a baby, and a career-change, we are on the brink now. We are seeing a marriage therapist seperately. We fight over "ideology" -- that is, our respective principles and beliefs, the way "things should be" e.g. house neatness standards and 50/50 split of chores, quantity/passion of sex, money saved vs. convenience, etc. We now are discussing our "ideology" rather that fighting the merits of our respective position. We "discovered" we are very different people. Question on the table now: How do we continue to build our relationship with our differences? Our marriage will last or break depending on our adaptability and desire to make it last. I'm making choices to address some of her concerns i.e. put the sex issue on the shelf for several months, cooking more, more efficiently using my time. We are not delusional. Nursing School will definately test our relationship. I think if we can get through the next 3 years, we'll be OK. My orginal post was SO MUCH nicer. Arrgggg! Tough lesson in learning to do a Ctrl-A and Ctrl-C before submitting (places all your hard work in the clipboard). Mr_D PS -- It happened again!!! Thankfully, I didn't lose my work this time, just "repasted" it.

I just wrote for the last 30 minutes a reply and this "new and improved system" lost it. First lost track that I was logged in, then lost track of my thread ( invalid thread error). I'm pissed!! :angryfire

I'm seriously considering going for my MSN immediately after completing my BSN, basically b/c my life is set up for school and would be a good time to do it. In terms of career flexibility and earning power, is one better off going the clinical route (APRN, NP) or Administrative route? Also -- how valuable is an MSN degree? Any of you out there wish you already had it? or alternatively, regret spending the time and $$ to get it? And how valuable is MSN clinical training? I mean, are you much better off in terms of training? thx, Mr_D

It's almost comical how many were having second thoughts at the altar! 8 years later and I'm still wondering. Had I to do over again -- Thinking in terms of the "right" decision or "wrong" choice creates a helluva lot anxiety! I had enough smarts to know I needed therapy -- took several years to realize: * A choice is . . . simply a choice. ** I am a choice maker ** * I live with my choices!!! And you can do a real nut-job on yourself when you temporarily forget those points. I came to the conclusion that I'm not very talented at making good choices. These days, I rarely make one by myself -- I consult with my "advisors" (folks who really care about me), sometimes even on simple things. It's the most powerful tool I've ever learned. More concretely, I met a lot of cool guys and gals along the way, and I was too self-absorbed to notice or care. You know, a simple "hello, how are ya?" or "happy birthday" or "so sorry to hear your mother died", even an annual Christmas card. ha! I barely returned phone calls. I took a lot of potential friends for granted, and hurt a few feelings along the way. And now I've discovered in my late 30s that making new friends is a lot harder b/c everyone is so damn busy. I set myself up for a lot of regret. I definately would have reprioritized things so that people who offered me the opportunity of friendship could be a part of my life today. I would done more fun things too, like improv comedy, acting and (real) dancing. Your 30's tend to be the busiest time in your life -- so ham it up in your 20's!! Mr_D

I actually thought about a business that offered "bad credit services" so that one's credit report was more/less guaranteed useless!! When YOU needed credit, you'd log via the internet and "correct" your credit record, then "maul" it again a few days later.

I appreciate your response -- my last two posts address most of it. I think Lizz would be in a more powerful place if she shared more. In dealing with this stuff, there's no acknowlegement (that I recall) of her being a novice at this at any time. In relating to others, she doesn't share any of the confusion, dead-ends, frustration, outrage, despair etc, etc, as she learned about this system inside out. Instead, she appears more distant and "expert like", and comes off as "It's easy, just do it". Combine that with some moralistic responsibility language and she does come off as insensitive (she acknowledged that). She didn't learn responsibility in one day. I would guess that it was a process over several years, there were some real bad days and a few bumps in the road. Her vantage point would be far superior if she allowed other's the same learning curve. Mr_D

I call as I see it. I witnessed how you related to Melanie, in summary, a condescending know-it-all manner. I'd said many times that I'm not about protecting the guilty. I happy you won your cases. I haven't heard you say anything about protecting the innocent. In fact, you indicated that given the desparation of collecting debt, you are willing to accept "collateral damage" (To answer your question, that is where I got it from.) I've had my own experience in these matters re ID theft. I was treated like a criminal. No, I don't have to respect this system. If I get ensnared again, I'll work it just as you did, but until some substantial improvements are made, I'll never respect it. If I said anything that's not supported in these posts -- then I am out of line and I truly apologize. I'm not interested flinging insults. I do get quite passionate in debate. Rambling on to the playground . . . Mr_D

Ok -- I see it's confusing. I don't see it as two completely different things. The credit system, the collection process, ID theft, the judiciary are interwined -- and fail more than they should. If the system (as a whole) can be manipulated and used to destroy (a) the credit of innocent person (b) a person who is making every effort to satisfy the creditors (Melanie's case) © a persons ability to gain employment Then IMHO the system is fatally flawed. I also point out that if a person who is 100% innocent (ID Theft) can't find justice in the system, then I highly disagree with your assertion that the system generally works. Or, may should qualify that, it may work for a few a special interests. And I don't buy your assertion that it's 100% responsibility of the people to sort out this legal morass. The system-designers have to take responsibility somewhere. And they don't. I would love for you to have a better way of collecting your debts -- but not at the expense of innocent people. I won't accept collateral damage. Mr_D

OK I got it. You are in business now and really don't really care how the process works as long it serves your needs. Your position is beginning to make more sense. Melanie, save your breath. There's no use in this conversation. Lizz, as far as your last statement . . . you are living in your own reality: IDTheft Statistics 1 Notice the Big Red Letters in the middle of the page, pasted here for everyone's convenience: Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. The average victim spends 175 hours and $1000.00 repairing the damage. The next FTC document covers your home state of California. California Stats Here's a quote from the document I selected for this thread (bold added). ... In the meantime, they are often unable to obtain credit and financial services, telecommunication and utility services, and sometimes employment. Wages may be garnished, or tax refunds withheld, due to the bad debts or other penalties levied in their names. Where the identity thief has created a criminal record in the victim's name, consumers report having driving and other licenses revoked, failing background checks for employment and other purposes, and even being arrested and detained. So your quote again is: Alrighty then . . . . So if someone who is totally innocent can't easily clear their name . . . but the system generally works for folks in Melanie's situation? LOL ! ! BTW -- While looking for these links, I found out on the FTC site that some protections we addressed on this board expired Jan 1 2004 unless Congress renewed them. I don't know know if that happened or not. Mr. D.

It's a tough question and I'm about to get in trouble with my significant other if I don't get some things done soon, so must be brief. I generally support a generous amortization of huge debt so that people can pay it off -- even if it's apparent that they never will. I mean, why not spread it out over 30 - 50 years? But I'm conflicted here. I had cancer at 23 and the healthcare policy I had was a dinky student policy that after $5000 quickly excluded itself from everything. I'm not sure the total (it was easily $100k) nor how everything got paid. My mother tells me she found some grants and there were anonymous doners. I always suspected there's more to the story, and if so she's not talking. I am quite thankful that I don't have that debt. It certainly would have been a huge albatross around my middle-class neck. So -- I think there is a point where we should help out those in need. A social contract of sorts -- if you get THAT sick, we all will pick up the tab afer X thousand dollars. It's better for everyone all around. Also -- we don't have the right to die. My grandfather, who was quite ill, wanted desparately to die, and we suspect his requests were ignored for monetary reasons. He accused the medical establishment of draining his life savings and bilking medicare before allowing him to go. It's a cynical accusation, and I don't know who's right. I was younger then so kind of hard to know all the details. OK -- met my quota for posts today -- must go. Mr_D

In cases of Identity Theft, yes, there are victims. I used the word entrapped b/c there are so few rights available to vindicate one-self. You are guilty till you prove yourself innocent. And it takes a LOT of effort. Interesting philosophical question is who get's to decide "victimhood". What criteria should be considered? I can think of circumstances where the above situation is unreasonable -- namely ID theft, catastrophic medical bills, awful divorce situations, etc. It is a trick question b/c it plays to an underlying assumption that the $50k is unduly spent, or that $350 per month is a reasonable percentage of gross income. And then if employers are allowed to use the information against you? That's almost a guarantee that if one didn't have bad credit before, you going to have it soon. The system perpetuates itself -- resulting in good people getting hurt. That is unacceptable in my book. If it helps explain my position, I'm not interested in protecting the guilty. I want a system that respects American citizens, that truly one is "innocent till proven guilty", and takes humaness into account. We do have the abilty to create to build a better mousetrap, just not the political will. I wonder who is doing the complaining. I don't have time this week to research it -- I am curious though. These days I rarely use credit -- and have some sense of accomplishment that the only interest I've paid in the last 10 years is mortgage interest. I never had credit problems until my ID was stolen in the late '90s. I have a post about that, don't yet know how to link to it at this moment. In summary, it was a dreadful experience and one of two reasons that caused me to abandon the Republicrats and become Independent. To take a position that appears soft on "deadbeats" is politically incorrect. It's very difficult position to hold because one get's labeled as "liberal" or "softy" or many other castigating descriptions offered by radio talk show hosts, including the rhetorical ploy of "making everyone a victim". FYI -- I'm Independent and pick and choose positions from all over the political spectrum. Friends describe me as Libertarian -- I suppose that's OK, I prefer Independent. And what if there are victims? This debate is somewhat similiar to mistakes in capital punishment -- is it acceptable to put innocent people to death and justify it as collateral damage? Are they victims? Some justify the collateral damage as beneficial to the greater good (until it affects them personally). To me, it's akin to a huge game of Russian Roulette and I don't want to participate in it. I agree with a lot Lizz has to say about personal and fiscal responsibility. I also find her position alienated from any sense of history or humanity. It's mean-spirited and unfortunately politicians play on it. Taken to the extreme, anyone who isn't successful didn't try hard enough, didn't know enough, didn't pursue it enough, has obvious character flaws, etc etc. There's no middle ground, no room for failure, no responsibility on part of the system-creators. Also, I think we fundamentally disagree on how we choose to see people. I respect that. Mr_D

The moral superiority ego is coming out full force now. RNnTraining doesn't owe anyone here a detailed explanation of her court case. And she's been incredibly open about her situation -- and the fact that she's not answering YOUR questions does not lead me to believe she should be classified as "irresponsible". Based on her life and circumstances, and using her own smarts and resources, she's come to the conclusion that it is a moot point to persue another round of legal action. Who are you judge her as irresponsible and second guess her decision? Maybe, just possibly, the world is complex enough that one solution doesn't fit all?? Ya know, she may have surveyed all her options and decided it the best use of her time to take care of her kids. Even that assumption is simplistic. I object to relating to her as incompetent or irresponsible just because she doesn't satisfy your criteria. Believe it or not, there are very smart and diligent people who get entrapped in this forsaken credit system. Afterall, it has consistently ranked in the top tier of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission for many years. I don't know the stat for this, but I doubt that most of the people who truly are dishonest/irresponsible are contacting the FTC. Speaking of responsibility -- where does yours begin when it comes to the collateral damage (harm done to basically good people) caused by this credit system? If you were to rank your roles/identities in terms of importance from 1 - 100, what would they be? You have identified yourself as a nurse, a business-owner, a former deadbeat. You are a daughter, maybe a sister, a spouse, maybe a mother, a friend. You are a wage earner, taxpayer. Maybe dancer, dog-lover, heavy-metal drummer, Christian, etc etc. How far down on the list would "citizen of the United States" appear? 50? 75? Would it appear at all? How much time do you give a month to civic responsibility? One huge contributor to your success are the thousands of people before you who passionately fought this credit system in the courts, the state legislatures and Congress. They recogized inequality when they saw it and didn't rationalize it as a "necessary evil". Their victories gave you a voice that the credit agencies had to listen too and gave you a place to stand in court. Had the role of "citizen" not been high on their list, your recently-discovered mantra of personal responsiblity and persistance may not have worked out so well. From your experiences and knowledge of this system, you have a wonderful gift to give. You can simultaneously represent the interests of business owners AND the rights of individuals. Why do you waste your gift on being petty, judgemental and sanctimonious? Your life experiences provide no excuse to relate to others hurtfully. IMHO -- RNnTraining is due a thoughtful retraction. Mr_D

So what are you saying? "Tough luck. Really. Here's how the system is suppose to work. Maybe you forgot your court date or something. But those deadbeats are the issue, not what happened to you. (And truthfully, I'm still not quite sure about your story . . . things like this only happen to irresponsible people)" If this (and many other accounts like it) aren't enough hard evidence that this credit-system is screwed, then I don't know what could be presented here that would have any impact. The critics of this system are for real. You can continue to dismiss them . . . but they are for real. I am the least surprised that the "system" didn't work b/c collection agencies primary aim is to get at the money. They know their chances are diminished in a courtroom and they most likely perfected a way of keeping it out of the courtroom. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lifted the court notice letter right out of her mailbox -- seriously. My experience with collection agencies (during my ID theft) is they are ruthless, almost criminal, and will do most anything, even illegal, to get at the $$$ and their share of it. I pushed for legislation that prohibited anyone but the contracting party (in RNnTraining's case, the hospital) from having the power to impact a credit report. Collection agencies should have NO legal standing other than as a 3rd party service provider. Only the creditor should have the legal standing to file a bad credit report or file suit to sieze accounts. It should be impossible for a collection agency to appear on a credit report (they could do all the legwork, but the actual creditor is listed as the legal party providing the complaint). Had these protections been in effect, RNnTraining's experience (and my own) could have been far different. It is absolutely criminal that a 3rd party to a situation can work the system and eventually sieze personal assets. This is outrageous. RNnTraining was denied at least two jobs because of "a numerical score" and the word "bankruptcy" on a credit report. Now we read a little more of story here on this BBS. Even if one is suspicious of RNnTraining's integrity, the disparity between the two sources of information is alarming -- and proof enough that employers are making decisions on spurious and incomplete data. And of course, since employers don't know the complexity of the entire story, they fill in the gaps and create their own simplistic one: No matter your anger towards deadbeats, what happened to RNnTraining (and many many many other people) is not right. And I get passionate about this b/c legislators parrot the same pablum as a reason to keep the status quo -- regardless of THE FACT THAT BASICALLY GOOD PEOPLE ARE GETTING HURT. Of course -- they also get big contributions from Credit agencies and Collection agencies. In RNnTrainings situation, everybody lost. What kind of system is that? And even if the nation is full of "deadbeats" why would you defend a seriously flawed system? How much "collateral damage" is too much? Mr_D

I appreciate it and can't describe how glad I am that it's gotten a little better for innocent people. I think you mean well, and not wanting to be critical, but your formulation is simplistic. America grew pretty darn quickly before credit agencies existed. Capitalism flourishes in other countries that have superior credit/privacy laws. The American dream is . . . I won't go there, not enough time. The politicians I lobbied used the same language of "bunch of irresponsibile freeloaders" as their reason to keep the status quo in the credit industry. Focusing on irresponsibility and freeloaders does not excuse a poorly designed system, not does it excuse that average Americans were left out in the cold when designing the system. The result is a divisive set of identity politics, where folks take a nasty turn on those who don't pay bills. It makes sense to condemn those who personally screwed you. It's rhetorical ploy to castigate an entire group of people as deadbeats. If they don't pay their bills, then don't give them easy credit. And leave it at that. The moral castigation ends up hurting everyone when used by policy makers in their appeals to be "right" with a select bloc of voters. It's a ploy to get you all hot and bothered -- that's the name of the game in divisive politics, pit a profitable business arrangement against the "boogeyman". It the oldest trick in the book. The actual policy gets lost in all the rhetoric and "necessary evil" becomes OK. It's not OK. I no longer will accept "necessary evil" without a fight. The credit reporting system is one of two issues that propelled me to escape the political plantation mastered by the Democrats and Republicans. I am independent and an activist because of the identity theft and NO rights afforded to me. I will no longer accept being left out. I want a place at the bargaining table when it comes to the policies that affect my life. And accepting "fallout" for a unfortunate few is not a deal I'd agree too. I suppose $10 a month is a bit unfair, although I don't mind it much. ???? Sorry -- no comprehende! OK -- must log off the boards for a while, have to write an essay for nursing school application. This gets so addicting! Take care, Mr D

Wow. They didn't have that freeze feature in 1998. My wife and I were buying a house when we discovered my SSN had been used to rent apartment, pay bills, etc in south Florida. It took 9 months and hundreds of hours to clear it up. The Agencies were jerks, treating me like I was trash. The police departments would not take jurisdiction. I had one sergent tell me that I maybe better spend my time in a personal finance course. It was the most aggrivating situation. We presented all the facts proving my innocence (like I've continuously resided in Georgia for the last 20 years) to the mortgage company, and they pre-approved a loan. We found a beautiful house. TWO Days before the closing, the mortgage company called and asked us to clear up the credit record blotch by paying the collection agencies ($2500) or they will deny the loan (a practice called cross-collecting). They almost had us -- pitting our excitement for finding a new house against us. The ONLY reason they backed down was we had a 20% downpayment and we threatened to raise legal hell. Ten bucks a month? $120 a year!! For the privelege of getting an "update"?? of who's accessing MY information? The credit reporting agencies should pay ME a commission every time they sell it -- after all, I am the content provider. Why should they be the only one's to make money off my credit history? I'm glad you find if valuable - to me it's highway robbery. The fact that it's a service and not a right is due industry influence pedaling in bi-partisan Congress. Ya know, that $120 a year could be put to better use. Do yourself a favor and add that to your retirement account. You are still entitled to a freebie report once per year anyway. FYI -- I lobbied hard for providing consumers additional rights, including an 800 number. I am still amazed that there is so little legal recourse available. Till there is, I will NOT support employers having the right to credit report. Mr_D

I can't agree with you more about people taking personal responsibility for events in their life. But you take responsibility for what you are defending. And the credit system you defend has a LOT of problems because it ensnares a LOT of (truly) innocent people. Those people catch a lot of moralistic wrath simply b/c they have a bad credit score. Bad credit score DOES NOT ALWAY EQUATE to irresponsibility. It does lend itself to a lot of stereotyping . . . And these people get seriously penalized when seeking a job or applying for a mortgage -- there's enough of them to have produced a huge outcry. And it's only through intense public pressure that we now have the right to review the reports, and the right to expect the credit agencies to answer the phone, the right to add commentary to a line item, and a modicum of recourse should they fail to remove inaccurate information. Some of those most basic rights didn't come till 1991 and 1998. (FCRA II). As for a consumer to have the ability to "freeze" their credit record, I doubt you on that. Most ID theft victims rage in frustration that they get one item cleared on their report only to have another appear a week later. If it's the case, then it's recent change that the big 3 reporting agencies have been fighting for years. By law (the one's our Republicrats passed), they own your information, not you. I agree with your basic sentiment that creditors should have a way to protect themselves from unscrupoulous borrowers, but do your history homework on credit agencies. Any why not have a judicial system that can seperate the innocent from the guilty? You won't gain many friends defending the practices of these guys. Gotta go again -- take care Lizz

I have to say you are coming across as morally superior here. Just b/c you had sinned in your credit ways and now see the light doesn't mean that one prescription fits everyone. It would be one thing if this credit system was accurate, fair, and responsive to end-users. It ain't. And the laws surrounding the financial industry (especially the Fair Credit Reporting Act) have been bought via campaign finance (a.k.a legalized corruption) and were written by lobbyiest representing banks, mortgage companies, and collection agencies. Average citizens had NO voice in setting up this system. Then there are the cases where a divorce, catrastophic health bills, natural disasters, ID theft corrupt your record. Why isn't there discretion in the law for these scenareos? For ID theft why is it NOT possible to go before a judge and get the protection of government? In a similiar situation, you can bet your sweet a$$ employers get their day in court. Like so much else made by the Republicrats, credit laws benefit those who are politically connected. There is a lot of room for outrage here. And it's not just b/c a few people have bad karma to hide. A few really despicable employers use credit reports to find desparate people and take advantage of them (sometimes in truly unethical ways). Employers should have NO right to ask for credit history. The fact that they do illustrates how little political power employee's have. If I had a wish, I ask everyone who despises employer credit report ability problem to write a terse letter to their congress critter demanding more rights, enclose a small donation, and a copy of a check of the same amount made out to any 3rd party organization e.g. cuip.org, termlimits.org etc. That would raise some eyebrows. Gotta go, being summoned to get off the computer now. Great thread. later, Mr D

Bad idea? depends on your passion. If you are "into" computing, then it's not a "bad" idea. It's a difficult career path though. There are a LOT of very talented people who were layed off because of the the dot.com bust, the bad economy, AND the outsourcing to cheaper labor in India, Pakistan, etc.. The competition for jobs is unreal. And . . . It can be quite rewarding. Beautiful thing about computing is you can "try before you commit" as a hobbiest. So build a couple PCs, set up a home network with Linux and Windows, write some PERL\Javascript programs, create a blog site detailing your experience and have a blast. If you can do this in a way that complements your current job\nursing, then that's the way to go. If you get excited, your coffee consumption increases dramatically at night, then take a couple of courses at the local community college and join your local LUG (Linux user group). If you get bored after a couple months -- well, you've learned something before committing to a BS in CS. Another idea -- figure out how to leverage your Nursing experience. That could lead to such things as insurance underwriter, risk analyst, worker's comp specialist, lab technician, author of nursing books, etc. These professions rely heavily on computers and get a good amount to screen time. Hope this was helpful. Good luck.