i am a 26 year old single rn and make 74k gross pay a year. i have been having major anxiety lately for the last few months and have been thinking of quitting my job and going back to school. my dream has always been to work with animals and be a veterinary technician. i like nursing...but don't love it. it's hard leaving a job that pays so well though! i am super anxious before work all the time and feel sick to my stomach at work. all i do before an upcoming shift is stress out over it and then i can't sleep half the night because i am worried about it. then i am tired at work. i have had times where my pulse will actually go up to like 120 bpm from being stressed out. i work in adult psychiatry. i realize my job isn't physically hard but mentally it can be. i think i would be more stressed out working in an acute care setting like er or some super fast paced unit
i think i would be way happier being a vet tech but am worried that i'll go for this and be in the poor house. from doing a bit of online research i have realized that i would probably only start at around 15$ an hour which is approx 30k a year. i moved half way across the country for my current rn job after i graduated. there is no way i could afford to live in my current high cost of living area on a vet tech salary. plus, i'd have to move back home and live with my family again because i would be ineligible for student loans based on my current income and wouldn't be able to go to school and afford to rent an apartment on my own. it's a 2 year program and i would need to be accepted still.
i've tried talking to my friends about it (who are all nurses too!) and they have said well "its 100 times more stressful working on a floor having demanding med/surg patients so your lucky...don't quit your psych job its not as bad as "regular" nursing". i haven't really pursued changing specialities because of this. i am also stuck between a rock and a hard place because a) i actually started out in psych right after graduating 4 years ago b) we barely use any hands on medical skills so i'd feel so lost even with orientation on another unit...where id be lucky to get what like a couple of weeks max? i seriously feel like a new grad still in terms of medical skills/confidence in my nursing judgment...and i've been an rn for like 4 years. i sort of regret hands on skills wise taking this psych job over a job offer i had after graduation in med/surg
any advice?