Published
I live in NYC, I'm approaching 30, not getting any younger. I've been working in the health field for the past 6 years or so, I started out in EMS and then moved into EKG/Phlebotomy. My job is under a union that will pay for your school as long as the degree is healthcare related.
So I've been in college for 3 semesters now, taking the pre-requisites for nursing. I thought about doing Healthcare Administration since I've always kinda had a soft spot for business admin in general, but based on my research, the job market is supposedly bigger for nursing (even though that's what many where I live are going for).
Is RN or Healthcare Admin what I *really* want to do? No. Those are my Plan B careers.
My passion, all my life, has been in making/writing films. Before you tell me that they have schools for this as well as Media Technology degrees, you don't really have the same opportunities one would have when graduating with a "regular job degree".
For instance, I can graduate with a bachelors in Nursing, go to XYZ Hospital down the street with my resume, and apply for an RN job. On other end, if I were to graduate with a degree in filmmaking or media tech, I don't have that same luxury. I can't walk into Warner Bros studios or Disney or Miramax with my resume and say "Hi I'd like to work as a Director for you guys, may I please have an application?". Nope, you're pretty much on your own with those degrees, it's more about who you know. If you can sponge up enough $$$ on your own to make your own film by yourself, if people in Hollywood like it, then you're in ("Paranormal Activity", anyone?). Totally different (and much harder) ball game than "regular degree jobs".
So if you're unfortunate enough to have a passion/dream in that field, it's an automatic MUST that you need to have a "Plan B" career in case all goes wrong or nothing works out. So for the past several years, I've been doing filmmaking on my own (I'm self-taught), I started with screenwriting and now I've begun making short films. I'm pursuing my passion while maintaining a Plan B route. But I'm trying to do this in the least stressful way possible for the sake of my own mental and physical health.
So I'm kinda lost on what I want to do next semester now. People keep on telling me how hard nursing is, I keep ignoring it, but then again I ask myself "If it's as hard as they say it is, am I really going to have time to study as an RN, go to work, have family time, and do filmmaking on my own time outside of that -- all while trying not to go insane?" or perhaps I should go with Healthcare Admin if the workload is a little bit less?
Like I said, I'm still in the prerequisites, I haven't touched any science classes like Bio yet, so I can still switch if I wanted to. Don't get me wrong, I love healthcare and I love dealing with patients, I'm not trying to undermine it in anyway by calling it my Plan B route. But in the event that my dream doesn't work out, I'd still like to live under the assurance of having a financially comfortable life.
What would you all do if you were in my shoes?