Retiring from Air Force, need career change

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So, after 24 years in the Air Force I am retiring inFeb 2014. I have a B.S. in Business Admin and have decided I think I want to go into nursing as a new career. At retirement I will be 42 and looking for something fulfilling to do. From my lurking around here I've read some good and some bad first hand accounts of people's experiences in nursing. Currently, we are living in South Carolina, about an hour away from Columbia but intend to relocate to Las Vegas at some point.what I'm looking for is some advice from those of you interested in giving it. My wife and I are debt free, our kids are grown and out of the house so it is just us. I feel this would be a great time to jump into this career path. What are some words of wisdom from those of you who have "been there done that"? Do I have a tough road ahead because of the age thing? All comments appreciated!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

It's not the "age" thing at all.

It's this:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/cnn-article-nurses-808314.html

Please read it carefully.

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I went back to school at age 42. Entering college when my oldest daughter did. I finished with my BSN in December and start work next week. I was offered and accepted my position in October before even graduated. The majority of my class have already found positions.

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Seriously Air Force Guy, read the article nursing is only going to eat your retirement money.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
I went back to school at age 42. Entering college when my oldest daughter did. I finished with my BSN in December and start work next week. I was offered and accepted my position in October before even graduated. The majority of my class have already found positions.

Texasmum: Please allow that your situation is the minority situation right now. To encourage someone to spend their retirement income on an education that will (according to MOST sources) not yield employment is not helpful.

If the current nursing employment situation is not familiar to you, please read more posts here on allnurses.com.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Hi Air Force Guy - thanks for your service. My husband did 23 years in the Air Force and also retired at 42 - great gig! I work with an RN who became a nurse after the Army - it can be a hard row.

Its not the money outlay, but rather the job situation. The above quoted link has some good info.

Another option would be teaching JROTC. My husband does that now and loves it. Not nursing but something similar....still helping people

We were stationed at Nellis too in the past - lovely weather, very overcrowded, horrid traffic and way too many tourists - lol! I actually started my nursing career in Las Vegas at Sunrise Hospital (as an LPN)!

At any rate, we don't want to discourage you from nursing but want you to go into this with your eyes open.

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That is an interesting article. However, reading it I do see glimmers of hope for the profession. For those graduating this year or next I can see things will still be slow. But by all accounts this job market should see an uptick in hiring within the next three years. For me, that works as I won't be able to enter the program until middle of next year with a graduation date in 2015. As with any current market there is stagnation for new entries but as long as the economy continues to rebound things should stabilize if not grow. The healthcare industry should see a modest increase over many other career paths. So I'm cautiously optimistic. Thoughts??

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You have to consider all those who have been waiting to find employment and are either elsewhere working or only working part time who are already nurses in line ahead of you. This has accumulated since 2007, when things tanked and many hospitals were on hiring freezes

Illinois alone graduates >5000 nurses a year willing to travel cross country. So, know that these will be more experienced than you even with little experience and maybe even a short refresher course, ready to roll. Most will jump at the chance should things change to a positive hiring situation.

Edit to emphasize 2007-2013, 6 x 5000...

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

While attempting to be realistic, the adage that being a nurse is a key to a great career is no longer true. CMS (Medicare/Medicaid) cont to cut reimbursement to hospitals/physicians so what we are seeing is that as the reimbursement dwindle, so does the amt of nurses that are hired.

RNs are the backbone of the healthcare system in the US. When there are cutbacks, it hits the RNs the hardest - hospitals can pay far less to an unlicensed assistive person (UAP) and dole out the non-RN duties to them. Is this the best solution? Nope. Is it happening? Yep, across the board.

Please don't feel discouraged - with your Air Force retirement check in hand, perhaps working part time would work fine and/or you may not need to go to work immediately after nursing school.

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