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Hi, I'm a former airline pilot who has lost his job, and has no real hope of finding anything soon. I have $10,000 available for re-training, and am seriously considering going for the RN. I need to minimize my down-time as I have a house and bills to pay. RN schoools in the Twin Cities have a two to three year waiting list which would not be feasible. Let me know what you think of this plan of attack. CNA, and CPR through the local Red Cross. My previous college degree seems to count for very little as far as transferring. I would have to take anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, and I forget what else as pre-requisites while still receiving unemployment. Summer, maybe I could take some classes towards the RN generals? I could work part time as a CNA while going to LPN school next fall, and I guess there is a one year option. Once an LPN, I would be planning on getting the RN through Excelsior or another on-line school . My sister obtained her RN through Excelsior two years ago,and was just offered a charge nurse position at a larger metro hospital, so I figure the on-line thing can't be too bad. What do you think of that plan? My re-training advisor suggests I get the CNA, then become a CMA as I could finish sooner. Then I would take some CMA to LPN classes. To me this seems like getting too far off the path to get the RN. What do you think? Thanks

Not quite sure I would want to be a flight nurse - I flew air ambulance for a number of years, and from what I understand is pretty tough to break into as there aren't that many jobs in the Twin Cities (3.2 million metro area). Thanks.

Christen, the reason I am considering changing careers to nursing is that my field (being an airline pilot) has totally tanked. It may take me a year or two to find any flying job, and the longer you are out of it, the less marketable you become. I'm thinking of nursing for a number of reasons. Ok pay for a relatively short amount of schooling. The outlook is good as far as job stability. You don't have to start at the bottom pay wise when you change jobs as you do at airlines (I'm talking about $20,000 second year at a commuter airline). I've always had some interest in the medical field. In the airline, I had the status, but didn't feel like I was making a difference. Thanks again!

Every few months we would get an "admit" at altitude. I was listening to the Medlink frequency one day, and it was very frustrating as there was a big communication gap. The captain was the one having a heart attack (assumed), and Medlink just could not understand that it was the pilot, not a passenger. It seemed like it went on for minutes with the captain describing extreme chest pain, tunnel vision, shortness of breath, etc. They finally understood it was the captain having the problem. As luck would have it, it was the co-pilots first flight after IOE (initial operating experience). Two weeks later, another major airline pilot had the same thing happen, only this time they understood. I'm always happy crews are two or three! Oh - this is a response to one of the first replies. I didn't know replies aren't chronological.

Only fuel discharge for emergency dumping since they installed the DB Cooper latch. he he

Does anyone ever "call them out" when they are trying to make things difficult for others?

Yes, there is much back-stabbing among flight attendants (almost always females, not males for some reason). They would even call to report another being two minutes late! It always shocked the pilots (both male and female). That is one reason why I was wondering if it might tend to be a female trait. Thanks for the info!

Hi, I'm an airline pilot who lost his job due to company closure, and have no hope of finding another flying job in the near future thanks to our wonderful economy. I'm seriously considering becoming an RN, but have some concerns, and reservations. I'm shocked to hear about all the back-stabbing that seems to go on in nursing - both from my sister (RN), and through this site. It is so ingrained in me, and I am so used to pilots watching each-others backs, that I have a hard time believing so much goes on. Professionalism is of paramount importance. I would think that most go into nursing to help. Why then, do you help patients, but stab each-other in the back? Is it a personality trait of those that go into nursing? Is it because most nurses are female? A good number of our female flight attendants enjoyed trying to get each-other into trouble. I would assume those in nursing are not like this as becoming a FA is a few week course, and nursing is years. Is it just a small minority that do such things, and make it seem worse than it is? Are male nurses less susceptible to being stabbed? We always stuck together, and it was us against the company who was breaking the rules. It would be tough for me to go into a work environment with scheming co-workers. I would assume that anyone on a site such as this is not a back-stabber, but a helpful type - let me know what I would be in for. Tell me it isn't true! Thanks!:)

Hi Sparrow, I agree with you. I am an airline pilot who lost his job and am seriously considering going into nursing. It all comes down to greed and the bean counters. Each life is given a pay-out value, and the costs are compared to adequate staffing / rest. When we would fly a professional sports team, we would often go on duty at 9pm, and off duty around noon. One big advantage we had was three in the cockpit watching each-other. In the interest of safety, sometimes alternating cat-naps theoretically took place. In my earlier days, I remember slapping myself in the face to stay awake while flying. Allowing long duty days allowed profit margins to soar, and that is what is important, right? If fatigue caused an accident, WE should have known to call "fatigue" - which you theoretically couldn't get into trouble for doing. I agree that in the medical field, CEO's feel you only kill one at a time, so it is not that big of a deal. Politicians don't want to change things either as they would lose financial support. Everything is acceptable as long as it is not your own family member. I guess the only solution is to have the tally of fatigue related deaths go high enough that adequate staffing / rest regulations will occur. Is there such a thing as calling "fatigue" in the medical field?

I need a Advice on a possible airline pilot to RN career change. Hi, I'm looking for some advice on a possible career change. For the last eight years, I was an airline pilot. Suddenly, my extremely profitable airline closed about a half year ago. There are many thousands of well-qualified airline pilots out of work right now. The age 65 rule has done away with attrition (retirement age used to be 60, but now it is 65, so for the next four years basically no one will retire). Combine this with the economy, and I have no real hope of finding a job for at least a year or two. Becoming an airline pilot was a long, hard road...very expensive, with extremely low pay for a good number of years. It usually takes ten years before you can win the lottery by getting an airline job flying full size jets. Ever wonder why you hardly ever see a pilot under 30 at the big airlines? When things do turn around eventually, I will probably be able to get a job flying a 65 million dollar commuter jet for the pay of $18,000 first year, and maybe $20,000 second year. My 12,500 hours mean very little. Third year maybe an upgrade to captain, then $65,000. Oh, and I would almost for sure have to have a second residence as I would probably have to commute to work. Pretty tough to have a house, and a second place to stay on only $18,000 a year ! If the public only knew! I had worked for one of the lowest pay airlines that flies full size jets, and would be making $100 an hour right now if I still had my job. I just don't think I can stomach starting so low again. In aviation, seniority is everything - you basically start over at the bottom if you are unlucky enough to lose your job. I am asking for advice to those in the nursing field already as I am considering jumping into this - especially since the airline was required to have $10,000 available for retraining. I don't mean to make this so lengthy, but feel it would give you a better idea of where I am coming from...and I REALLY do appreciate you taking the time to give me advice! I was the one who talked my Sister into nursing when her career tanked. Luckily she ended up getting a job as a HUC / CNA when my Dad was in the hospital for a hip replacement (beating out 121 others). She then acquired her LPN while at the hospital, and then her RN on-line through Excelsior while working full-time, and now makes $31 an hour. She primarily works with post ops in ortho and neuro and describes work as almost always busy, and stressful. The union hospital in the Twin Cities routinely makes them handle more patients than they are supposed to. She said she is unable to stay properly hydrated as it would require restroom breaks for which there is no time. The two required 15 minute breaks often don't occur. Lunch breaks also are sometimes cut short. Most of her co-workers are competent, but some are lazy, and make quite a few mistakes. Is it really that bad with most of you? How often do you have a bad day? I have always had some interest in the medical field, and actually assisted her in some of the difficult areas of study as she went to school. I only have an expired first responder certificate. I definitely have compassion towards people, and used to enjoy flying air ambulance (RN, and EMT-P crew), and transplant teams. I don't mind paying dues, but can't say that I would be happy changing bed pans, and having a doctor talk to me in a condescending manner for the rest of my career. How often are doctors condescending? Charge nurses? I always treated flight attendants, mechanics, and baggage handlers with the utmost respect. I couldn't stand the pilots who acted superior because of their many extra years of schooling / training! I'm not used to anyone talking down to me (yes, some of the typical pilot cockiness), and am wondering how much this occurs. Once in a while a TSA screener would have an attitude, but such encounters were brief. I don't know how my psyche would deal with this being an everyday thing. A high level of professionalism is the norm with everyone who is involved with the flight. From what I have read, and heard, this will not be the case in a nursing career. True? How does the public perceive male nurses? How do co-workers treat them? As a white male, I had to deal with the reality of prevalent reverse discrimination...some airlines often hiring others with 1 /10 of the experience. Will I as a male be able to take advantage of now being the minority? I was shocked to hear one of the presidential candidates mention something to the effect that those at the bottom...the fire fighters, the nurses, ... need to be happy basically for it to "trickle" up. I never thought of a nurse being one of the "bottom" careers. Sorry to admit it, but my ego is giving me difficulties about switching into nursing. I'm used to being in one of the top careers, and the public holding me in very high reverence. I am surprised that something as important as nursing seems to be such a thankless profession. Is there a very strong feeling of personal satisfaction? At the airline, I had the prestige, but never had the feeling of helping or making a difference. Union members - I'm told that if you push to follow union guidelines that you are considered a black sheep, and you end up paying for it. Is that true? As pilots, we always watched each-others backs, and worked as a team. CRM - crew resource management was our theme. I have been told that quite a bit of bad-mouthing / gossip / back stabbing goes on in nursing. Is it usually like that for most of you? To recap, my reasons for going into nursing would be as follows: Job satisfaction - helping / making a difference. Decent pay for a relatively short period of schooling. Independent of the economy...I would have a job in the future. If you go to a different company, starting pay is livable. Many different specialties to go into. Reservations would be the gross aspect, the continual high stress, lack of adherence to union or hospital developed rules, being assigned too many patients - compromising safety, burnout, being a male, contracting a difficult disease, and condescending doctors / charge nurses. I'm all ears!