Shifting Career Archi to Nursing

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Sep 7, 2008

I don't know what Archi is, but nursing in your country has a very high unemployment rate. If you are looking for a good paycheck, you may want to explore our professions.

What I tell students who are second coursers, do some volunteer work in a health care facility. If you feel this is a profession that you will love then continue to apply for nursing.

Nurses who enter nursing, in my opinion , can be miserable nurses and they patient pay the price. It is not a profession you can do well unless you love it.

NURSERUBY1206, LPN, LVN · Sep 7, 2008

Are you sure you wanted to be a nurse rather than to be an architect? There are so many unemployed nurses nowadays that I don't know where you would find yourself when it's your time to graduate from nursing. Architecture is a very good course because of the dwindling number of practicing licensed architects. My best friend is a licensed architect and his profession doesn't limit him to accepting projects. As the practice nowadays, architects are also outsourced. For example, my architect best friend works for an architectural outsourcing firm. It is a company that accepts various projects for all over the world (Dubai, Saudi, Australia..). What they do is they auto cad the plans of their clients, compile them, then sent to their clients. The pay is good also!

It is easier for architects to go to other countries too. I hope you don't jump to the "I-wanna-be-nurse-coz-I-want-to-go-to-other-countries" bandwagon. Please research bit more, know what you want and plan your life accordingly.

Good luck!!

gemini_star, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2008

Please correct me if I am wrong, you are shifting to nursing because you have problems in school. Is the problem couldn't be solved? If that's your main reason in changing career, better solve your problem first. Running from it wouldn't help any.

Being an architect pays better than a nurse if you work in Middle East or other countries. More opportunity for you since everyone is taking nursing. If your heart is not in nursing, simply don't. You always have a choice and a decision to make based on which you enjoy doing most.

diapersprinkles, MSN · Sep 8, 2008

think first... for like a hundred times before you shift to nursing.

a lot of nurses, even those from good nursing schools, don't have nursing jobs. most hospitals are not accepting applicants anymore. i've heard that even some/most(?) 2006 and 2007 nurses have a hard time looking for nursing jobs. and then here comes the new nurses from 2008. the situation might not change that soon... maybe not unless the US or other first world countries will become lenient on granting visa to filipino nurses.

i am not discouraging you. i'm just telling you what's going on in our profession. nursing is a very fulfilling profession i tell you. but you better really love it. if you're unsure, don't waste your money, time, and energy.

good luck!

bingowingo · Sep 8, 2008

I think I am the best person to answer this question...

Actually I am a licensed architect who shifted to nursing. I have been in architecture for 15 yrs, a practicing architect but my passion was really in nursing even before I entered architectural school. Shifting from archi to nursing is quite difficult as in archi we are trained to be creative when it comes to our designs, to evenly consume the best space there is to our plans(as right now it is very expensive per sq meter to build a house, much alone do the specifications, you really have to be good at utilizing space). I decided my luck at nursing since it was the "in demand course", and to have a fallback course since as everyone is jumping the bandwagon, I decided also, to give it a try. This is my last semester in nursing and basically what I have learned in nursing is, it is very hard to shift from archi to nursing because there are a lot of medical terms unlike in archi wherein we are dealing with space..in nursing, we are dealing with lives. You can delete or edit a command in your plans thru autocad from our designs, and thats it.....we can accept change orders, but in nursing, there is no delete button..if you make a mistake administering drugs, then you are liable for that mistake...so think it over if you really wanna shift to nursing..Its a very hard course but rewarding since you would be exposed to a lot of people who in turn would make a difference to your life.:D

enitsirk19 · Sep 8, 2008

thx for all of your advices, i know the hard work of being a nurse as well as the first step of nursing student, my family is from Nursing Profession, and my mom also is a RN, i lost interest as an Architect student due to first it was force to me to take,2nd because of the school name ( UP Diliman). Im also aware the unemployment rate here in my country, but i will take my chances about it.

yes, i'm also aware about the "blind dream" for nurses to work in the countries, but partically for it was just an oppurtunity,

Then I decided to choose this career for myself, but still I wont give up on choosing this path, i already failed once I wont let that happen again

nyttxrn2008 · Sep 10, 2008

That's the spirit! I can see that you have weighed the advantages and disadvantages of going to another course. I myself was in architecture a long time ago and switched to nursing. My mother is a nurse too and she wanted me to pursue architecture because I love to draw. I've gone through what you've been through and heard everything what needs to be said but it was so very different then. No matter what you've read or heard from friends, families and others, the decision is still yours. Remember the good advises but don't throw away the bad ones too. All of these will help guide you through your new profession and be good at it. Goodluck and keep on posting! :typing

thx for all of your advices, i know the hard work of being a nurse as well as the first step of nursing student, my family is from Nursing Profession, and my mom also is a RN, i lost interest as an Architect student due to first it was force to me to take,2nd because of the school name ( UP Diliman). Im also aware the unemployment rate here in my country, but i will take my chances about it.
yes, i'm also aware about the "blind dream" for nurses to work in the countries, but partically for it was just an oppurtunity,
Then I decided to choose this career for myself, but still I wont give up on choosing this path, i already failed once I wont let that happen again

mheyflower · Sep 11, 2008

All my life I wanted to be an architect but I do not have a choice so here I am bringing care to people.... Wish we could switch places..lol.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Sep 11, 2008

Then I decided to choose this career for myself, but still I wont give up on choosing this path, i already failed once I wont let that happen again

I'm afraid you may be facing another disappointment in your plan of shifting your major to nursing. I understand your desire to be of service to others by being a nurse. This is definitely a valid reason for choosing a nursing career. I have little doubt that you can handle the demands of a nursing program. You are probably a smart student being that you are currently enrolled at UP Diliman and have passed the UPCAT. But you have to choose a career wisely because you are basically preparing for a living and a future that will make you financially independent.

Unfortunately, a nursing career at the present does not provide any guarantee of finding a job that pays a salary. There are hundreds of thousands of student nurses enrolled in programs across the Philippines. Just think of how many nursing students graduate each year and how many will seek jobs. You will be in competition with many other nurses for very little job openings. You won't be able to utilize what you learned in your nursing degree if you can't find a job. I know it will take you 4-5 years to complete a nursing program. But just in my opinion, I don't see positive changes happening for nurses in the next five years only because of the sheer number of nurses there that are looking for jobs.

In the past, turnover rates for nurses in hospitals was rather fast as nurses left the country 'en masse' for overseas jobs. These days, newspaper accounts say that less and less nurses are able to find a job overseas. So even if you have the intention to stay in the Philippines as a nurse, that opportunity is not even easily available to you. Reconsider your decision before you face another failure. There are other caring professions that you can consider.

risperdal · Sep 11, 2008

the opposite is true for me...i always wanted to be an architect but got forced into nursing...even now that i'm officially nurse, i still look forward to studying architecture in the future

cheez whiz · Oct 20, 2008

hi, im new to this forum but i can not help but react to all the things i have read here so far..

for one not all second coursers are in it for the money, let us not be hypocrites and say that we are not attracted to the profession because of the financial rewards we are hoping it would bring because the truth is the main factor of why we choose to study the courses we want in college is base on MONEY. But being a nurse takes a lot of heart, for one thing it takes up all your time and energy leaving you with very little social life or none at all. I would like to believe that filipinos still make good nurses no matter how they got thrown into the profession because by nature we are a caring race. we will always have the TATAK PINOY that the entire world knows, without us half the world would not function..what with all the skilled workers and professionals we send out into the world to make there lives easier. I am happy that i am a filipino we are not perfect but we are resilient.

If you want to go into nursing dont let the unemployment rate among nurses stop you...go where your heart is but be prepared to serve bigger waves.