So, graduated early from Purdue with a General Health Science Degree. 140 credit hours....
Took 2 graduate courses in Biochemistry (561, 562) and Graduate Level Statistics.
Worked really hard. Proud to graduate.
Been working in retail management for fortune 500 companies, both small and large box. Large box now.
Interested, however, in healthcare for a career now.....
About to be accepted to Graduate Level Entry Nursing Program to prepare for RN and CNL licensure.
Have 22k in undergrad loans, private masters school costs 25k a year (which, is much cheaper to the ONLY
other general entry masters school in the state). With saving while working this year will graduate with a total
of 65k in loans. If I sell my Land Rover I can take off another 8500, but I already invested 14500 in my SUV so I dont want to sell it will last a long time.... And, already will have 4k for rent which is minimal in the area of this school (pure country). So 65k of debt is pretty much set in stone.
I also have 1 city ordinance violation retail theft when was 16 and two months, and 1 mip alcohol on record (uncle's came up to tailgate at Purdue......), and 1 MIP alcohol on record dismissed (first day at Purdue). I don't drink at all. But, it is what it is.
I verified with multiple state boards (including my own drove to the city 3 hours 1 way because strangely they do not answer phone calls EVER....) and all said I can get licensed. Unfortunately, I cannot commission in the army with my record and thus cannot knock out future loans.
I already know I am going to go thru with the education. How hard to find job? Any experiences with being a travel RN? I have read of people with DUIs getting jobs so I think I should be fine. How hard to handle these loans? I am 23 so I am factoring that I have a lot of years to pay these off....!
Should I choose a state other than Illinois for finding a job, I heard they have the greatest need per nurse to population than most other states. LOL, don't know if I am lacking confidence or what but either or I am getting the degree because I know I can get licensed.
The military decision is set in stone. I've seen people also I talked to with just bad credit that could not commission. They have 4-5X more people joining than previous years -- I was also told.
My record cannot be sealed for 2 years.
Yeah, I can pay community college in full for Fall 2011.... I'm going to look into it. I would easily be able to handle current loan payments from my B.S. degree. I feel I can get licensed after talking to multiple people, I'll try to get it in writing. But, I've seen people with worse get licensed. Not as worried now I have talked to people.
Thanks for the advice, this school will be dissapointed. Already sent my recommendation letters, will have to request recoordination....
Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.
Getting a nursing degree will not guarantee you a job. You will have to have some experience under your belt before you can expect to get paid enough to make any real money and that is going to depend on what states you work in, union or not, need for nurses in that area, etc. Do not expect to get a management job without some experience and remember that as a manager you usually are exempt and you will be putting in A LOT of hours that you will not get paid for and your best nurse on nights, with his/ her shift diff will probably make more than you do. If you decide to do it, make sure that you are completely honest on your job application. False information given on a job application will be grounds for immediate termination in most facilities.
What concerns me most about your post is the fact that you don't really say how you feel about taking care of sick people. Because I am here to tell you that working in retail is NOTHING like taking care of sick people. Nursing is not a luxury job in any way. You will not get a one hour lunch... you will be lucky to get 30 minutes. You will have to deal with people in all stages of mental conditions, including their family members, and a lot of time it will not be fun. You will have to be able to multi task in a way that you have never experienced and you will have to learn to keep your cool when everything around you is falling apart. And you have to keep your patients alive. You will clean up stuff that you have never seen or smelled before. You will struggle to find equipment and supplies. You will have to deal with numerous people who are uncooperative and unwilling to assist you. And you cannot leave it and walk away because the sick patients you have need you now!! You can't just walk away and say "I'll get back to it tomorrow".
You can make a comfortable living as a nurse, you can see some interesting things and learn a lot about the human condition. But you have to really like what you are doing or you won't be any good at it and you won't be happy. You might want to think this over a bit before you jump into these waters.
I have not considered ABSN, but I did read that about bedside but also there is the fact that accelerated is a lot to cram in one year for a 4 year degree (BSN). Kind of scary to think about.
But that's basically what you're signing up for with a direct-entry MSN program (any direct-entry MSN program) -- these programs typically consist of one extremely rigorous, intense year of basic nursing education (all of the nursing content of a BSN) crammed into one year followed by a traditional MSN program. I attended (as a traditional, experienced-RN student) an MSN program that also offered a direct-entry program for non-nurses, and many of my classmates were the direct-entry students -- they described the first year year (of their program) as, basically, sixteen-hour days six days a week, and then they joined the rest of us in the regular, traditional MSN program.
I agree with the other posters here, and would encourage you to look long and hard at ADN and ABSN options (or even seeing if you could get into a traditional BSN program), if only for financial reasons (significantly lower cost). The CNL role is new and not well accepted around the country -- IMO, it's hard to see that you're really going to "get your money's worth" out of that degree as a direct-entry student. You will only be eligible for entry-level nursing positions (competing with ADN and BSN grads) as a new grad of a program like that. Plus, IMO, it's not a v. smart idea to enter nursing through a graduate entry degree program. People new to nursing frequently have little or no idea of the incredibly wide range of career paths and possibilities available within nursing until they've been in nursing for a while. What you think may really interest you up front, as someone "looking in from the outside," may well not be what you find most interesting and engaging over time. Most MSN concentrations (majors) lock you into a v. specific professional role and career path. I've known several people who either rushed into grad school fresh out of "basic" nursing school or got into nursing through a direct-entry Master's program, only to find out after they finished the grad degree that they don't really enjoy doing what the degree prepared them to do. Now they've got a graduate degree they don't really want, the loans to pay for it, a career path they don't want, and they're trying to figure out what degree they need to do next that will get them where they want to be. That's not a happy place to be.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
I got my Associates 17 years ago. Worked out fine for me and I had no student loans to pay off. Then, once you are a working nurse you can take a Bachelors course on line and probably get tuition assitance from your employer. Then Masters if you are so motivated. All acheived without increasing your debt load........
The RN job market bites right now and there's no guarantees it will improve. It may take forever to get that first job and depending on your local job market you may not even touch a starting salary of 45k.
If you don't have to put yourself 65k in debt, then don't. IMO, get the RN as cost-effectively as possible. After you are working for a while and have paid off some of your other debt, then consider going for the advanced degree.
As a military vet myself, I feel for the OP as many people may not be aware of the challenges that exist for vets as they transition back into the civilian world and civilian schools. I remember that a lot of things felt sort of "taken care of" for me while in the military, and it takes a bit of getting used to when one is suddenly expected to make important career and financial decisions independently. Not impossible skills to learn, but it does take a lot of personal investigating and question asking.
A couple questions that sort of nag at me is what about your veteran's educational benefits? I know as an Illinois resident, there was an educational program called the Illinois Veteran's Grant, a state benefit program for Illinois vets that will pay up to 120 college credit hours at a state university in Illinois. I used this to fund my BSN. And then there's the GI-Bill or Post 9/11 GI Bill. I am currently using this to fund my graduate education. There's really no reason that a vet should go into serious debt with some of the really awesome education benefit programs that exist for us. Is there a reason that this route isn't an option?
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
A couple questions that sort of nag at me is what about your veteran's educational benefits?
There's really no reason that a vet should go into serious debt with some of the really awesome education benefit programs that exist for us. Is there a reason that this route isn't an option?
The OP was neither a vet, nor military active duty or reserves at the time he had started this discussion (August 2010).
Four years later, he appears to be serving in the US Navy according to his more recent posting history.
Easyas123247
79 Posts
The military decision is set in stone. I've seen people also I talked to with just bad credit that could not commission. They have 4-5X more people joining than previous years -- I was also told.
My record cannot be sealed for 2 years.
Yeah, I can pay community college in full for Fall 2011.... I'm going to look into it. I would easily be able to handle current loan payments from my B.S. degree. I feel I can get licensed after talking to multiple people, I'll try to get it in writing. But, I've seen people with worse get licensed. Not as worried now I have talked to people.
Thanks for the advice, this school will be dissapointed. Already sent my recommendation letters, will have to request recoordination....