RN- associates or bachelors degree?

[golfergirl17]

How difficult is it to get a job an a registered nurse with an associates degree? I had a discussion with one of my coworkers who said that both his mom and sister are registered nurses and he said that you have to have a bachelors to become a rn. I told him he was incorrect and that I know people who graduated with an associates degree and passed the NCLEX and are working as a rn at a hospital. Obviously the more school I have under my belt would be more beneficial and look better for trying to get a job. I am planning on the associates degree and then finding someone who will do tuition reimbursement to pay for my bachelors.

Who is corret, me or him? Also I live in Florida, any ideas where the nursing jobs are after I get done with school and pass the NCLEX?

[luvinRN]

you can definitely become an registered nurse by way of an associates degree, its the minumum requirement for becoming an R.N. Getting a BSN in nursing may be more appealing to employers and you can also move into administration and case managent with a bsn, im a BSN nursing student right now and most of the nurses that are my preceptors are r.n ( a.s degree nurses).

[ItsTheDude]

heck, in some states you can become a rn with a diploma (1 yearish). the higher level the nursing education (diploma, adn, bsn, etc) the more opportunities you may have.

there are diploma and adn nurses in high level positions as well (admin/management/etc), but those positions favor bsn's.

with that said, starting out most employers pay all newbie rn's about the same no matter the level of ed.

[DoGoodThenGo]

Not for nothing but, there are numerous posts and or threads covering the matter of current and possible future employment of diploma, ADN and BSN nurses.

While no state in the United States yet restricts entry to BSN grads only some other countries have, Canada comes to mind, with (IIRC) the UK soon to follow.

Again this all has been discussed in previous threads.