Should I become a CRNA???

[bailey2227]

Hi,

I'm a 27 yr old male taking general education courses towards a degree I"m still unsure of. I spent 5 yrs active duty in the United States military. I then followed that up by working for the government (Child Support Enforcement). I have the military to pay $40,000 towards my college education. That would pay for my 4 yr degree BSN.

I have been looking into different programs. I've read some reviews on the CRNA forum. I decided to register and maybe get a few questions answered before I dove any further into investigating the CRNA field.

Do you think with the huge surge into the nursing profession the field is going to be flooded by the time I would graduate from nursing school and become a crna?

Do you think the salaries of CRNA's are going to come down in time? Not that it is all about the money. Just an observation.

I figure realistically it would take me 4 1/2 yrs to get my BSN. From all the threads I've read, I would count on 2-3 yrs of ICU experience prior to getting excepted into the CRNA program. Then 24-36 months of CRNA school. So, I would say 8-9 yrs realistically to be a CRNA. In my eyes to be making $150,000 that is well worth it. I would be shattered though if I went to school all this time to not have a job.

Any information is greatly appreciated. I will be the first to admit I want my wife to be able to stay at home and raise are children. I don't want her to have to work. For me to be able to provide that for her at 35 yrs old is fine with me. Thanks again. I look forward to hearing your responses.

[bopps]

Its up to you really. I would focus on becoming an critical care RN first cause thats what you will have to be first for at least 2 years before CRNA schools will even accept you. You can still make very good $$ doing that. I guess I would discourage you from making that decision before you have even tried nursing. Being a CRNA is an awesome job( and one I have and am considering mysef), but can you tell you want to be one with out observing RN's and CRNA at work first? It really isn't all about the $$ there are other jobs one can find that pay 150K a year without the specialized knowledge and stress associated. In other words you really have to know your stuff and enjoy your stuff if you are going to be a CRNA. I don't think thats something you can base a decision on ahead of time. I'm not trying to discourage you at all. What would I advise? Spend some time shadowing RN's in critical care areas and time shadowing CRNA's first. Then if you think you like it get your BSN, work as a RN in critical care ICU ED etc and go from there. Thats what im doing! Good luck and remember regular RN's make good $$$, have fun, and use their brain too!