is pursuing a degree in nursing still worth it in this depressed economy?

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Hi everyone. I subscribed to this so I can get a feel for what it's like out there before I sacrifice everything and go through with nursing school. I have 3 small children that I care for full time. I am scheduled to go back to work in Jan 2011, but have been seriously thinking about going back to school for RN and just holding out on work. I know how much time , money and heart/body/mind you have to put into it so I just wanted to know if it will all be worth it with this depressed economy. Are hospitals still hiring new grads? Should I go through with it or not? Mixed emotions & I need advice. Thanks!

Remember that it's not just new nurses having trouble finding jobs. Imagine being a new graduate History major right about now...

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@ DoGoodThenGo- thank you for that very insightful reply! you covered a lot of areas and i especially liked your thoughts on being a student with a full-time family. I can see myself being in that situation and hopefully gaining sympathy from the professors, but now that you put it into perspective for me, I'll be sure not to head in that direction.

that's why it is so important for me to weigh my options before starting the program. i know what i have to sacrifice, but i'm just not quite sure how to balance everything out. but what i do know is that my heart is into Nursing. one day i hope i'll get there.

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@ SteveEDRN - thanks! you said you're only about 14k in debt, if you dont mind me asking how much was it to begin with? how much do you have to pay back every month? I don't want to be stuck with another huge monthly for my school loan while I have a family to support. I'm kinda lost between going thru the program in a more private setting where tuition is over 90K for BSN or just go thru a community college for ADN where it less expensive. thanks.

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@ SteveEDRN - thanks! you said you're only about 14k in debt, if you dont mind me asking how much was it to begin with? how much do you have to pay back every month? I don't want to be stuck with another huge monthly for my school loan while I have a family to support. I'm kinda lost between going thru the program in a more private setting where tuition is over 90K for BSN or just go thru a community college for ADN where it less expensive. thanks.

90K for a Bachelors is ridiculous no matter what your major is.

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JoblessNewGradRN is right. The market is bad for ALL professions. It isn't a reason to not try to get back into school, in fact it's a perfect time to do it - you can try to ride out the storm there.

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I would go to the community college part time AND go back to the regular job in January.You should be able to take lots of your pre req's online or on the weekends.I took a lot of mine online at a college in another state..just check out the distant learning forum for help with that.After a year of taking the prereq's you will have a better picture of where the economy is headed and u will still have your regular job.Honestly,I would NOt give up a guaranteed job right now..just try to work around it while still fulfilling your dreams.

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My class graduated in August and here it is November and still 90% of us can not ind a job. We keep hearing the first of the year maybe things will pick up but it is scary:uhoh3:. We are in Ohio.

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Specializes in Tele Step Down, Oncology, ICU, Med/Surg.

I did nursing school with three young children and no extended family to fall back on for back up care. We survived but it was brutal. Honestly, the hardest time I had was with a young nursing student on a group project with me who was hyper critical. I never asked for special consideration but feel the instructors would have given me a little leeway had I asked for it. I would recommend being very organized, having a well stocked pantry enabling you and your spouse to whip up five ingredient meals, and having major back up plans; that and purchase tons of socks and underwear for everyone for those weeks where laundry will just not get done.

Nursing school was brutal, but we survived and are stronger for it as a family. I've also made some amazing friends in the process. It took me a year to the day since I graduated, 10 months since my license, to find a job. That journey was as brutal as nursing school but on an entirely different level. It's in oncology--which as a breast cancer survivor and orphan before my time due to cancer, clearly feels like where I belong. Better yet, it's 12 hour days in a hospital commute distance from my home which is like winning the lotto given the new grad RN job situation here in the SF Bay Area.

I did my degree at the local CSU which meant there was no debt. I would recommend a state university or community college program (with an immediate bridge to the state U for your BSN). I would discourage you from a private university for your BSN degree, use that as a resource for the higher level degree down the line, only once you have a job that can assist you with tuition.

I love being a nurse. Oncology Nursing puts life in perspective for me--it makes me value every moment I am on this earth and it forces me to chill and stay present. Yes, I am still a new grad RN at the start of my career, but I'm an older nurse and I never loved my prior work life like I love what I am doing now. I love nursing....despite all the yucky parts about it--and there is a bunch--it is the most rewarding thing I've ever done with myself (other than having my wild and wacky kids). The economy makes it rough for everyone to find work--but nursing is such a flexible field and I am amazed by all the different types of work RN's do.

It's doable, so get off the fence and go for it. Good luck on your journey~

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

in my opinion, more education is never a waste of time, whether you go to school for nursing or business, improving who you are is always worth it. there will always be a need for healthcare services so just decide what your goal is and go for it.

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I'm in nursing school now and there are a lot of jobs in the metro Atlanta area, but they all require experience. I've been a tech in two hospitals here (once you have a semester of nursing school done, you are able to work as a tech in a hospital). Most places will let you work there if you were a tech there before, otherwise we have a lot of new grad residencies available at hospital. I think it's worth it.

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It’s all a cycle. I think by 2018 there will be another shortage. I don’t have a crystal ball but that is what happened in the past. I originally come from the Philippines, but I hold US Citizenship now. In the early 80s, there was a mass exodus of nurses going to the US and elsewhere. It stopped around ’89. Enrolment dropped when the “gates to America” closed. In 2000, it peaked again. Until about 2007, the job market was fine. One nurse I knew was surprised to get a call from the Embassy about an application she submitted in 1994. So give or take every 8-10 years there is a shortage. Unless something significantly changes…..

So if you really like nursing, pursue it. Don’t expect that there will be a nice job market out there soon…..but it will come.

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A few thoughts. YMMV.

No one can predict exactly what will or will not happen with regards to the economy. However, there is a fact that we have an aging population, overall and even if people work until they die, they won't live forever.

I think those people who issue warnings about not going into nursing because of difficulty some grads are having finding jobs, is short-sighted. See above about not being able to predict the future. On top of that, while getting a job as a nurse isn't what it was a few years ago, it offers more prospects than any other field I can think of off the top of my head, right now, not even taking into account future opportunities.

As far as the negative posts about not being able to find jobs, yes, those posters cannot find a job. However, AN is not a microcosm of the entire nursing population for a number of reasons. What I mean is that is there were 10 NGRN on AN and 8 of them posted about not being able to find a job, it would not necessarily mean that 80% of NGRNs cannot find work.

Always remember that people, in general, are more likely to be vocal if they are dissatisfied about something than if they are satisfied. If I had a good burger from McDonald's I am not likely to do much of anything about it and I certainly wouldn't be calling the manager, writing a letter to corporate and telling my local newscaster like I would if I found a severed ear on my raw beef patty!

This next point is not meant to be negative and is merely my personal opinion based on anecdotal experiences. A good amount of nurses seem to enjoy drama. If that is the case, is it surprising that we hear so many horror stories about the doom and gloom that is the NG job market. I wonder if we went on Allaccountants.com if we would find as many NG CPAs lamenting the difficult accounting job market and predicting that NG CPAs will never be able to find jobs again.

I don't know of anyone wishing they had less knowledge. Sure, some folks regret spending the money they did on education, but generally aren't sorry they know more than they used to.

In the end it is up to YOU. If YOU want to be a nurse, I'd tell you that my personal opinion is it is a great time to go to nursing school. I am. You just need to understand the situation and have a realistic picture of the current situation and what may happen in the future and compare it to the alternative. If someone else can find a job they think they would enjoy, offers the stability of nursing and pays well for the hours worked, I would like to hear about it. Although we hear a lot of the negatives, the jobs that offer the benefits that nursing does are not a dime a dozen.

Sorry for the ramble :)

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