Should I go into nursing or another field related?

[rystle]

I'm 23 and I don't know what to do with my life. My parents have encouraged me to go to nursing school even though I don't really want to. I currently have an associate's degree in liberal arts, I know a worthless degree.

I love to help people, but I'm kind of shy. I don't think that I can take the stress of being a nursing. I can tolerate blood and always have been able to. Vomit is the hardest for me and poop too. I know the job doesn't revolve around that, but I don't see how I would be happy.

My true passion is Nutrition, is there a way to tie nutrition into it? Is Registered Dietitian the only way I can go? (I'm just scared of Chemistry because I haven't had it in forever.) I also enjoy exercising and cooking healthy, but I'm vegetarian so I would never go to culinary school because I don't want to deal with meat. I thought of becoming a personal trainer or maybe even a dental hygienist.

I keep going back to nursing because none of the jobs offer the benefits or advancement. I want to find a career I love though. I also want a good salary.

But, then again my love has always been nutrition. I love formulating diets for people and giving them recipes to eat better. I would actually do it for free and be happy with it, lol but I do want a career. My concern is the 12 month unpaid internship, but I could just go for majoring in Nutrition and get my master's degree in Dietetics.

[leenak]

I have a friend who is working to become a dietician and she loves it. If that is what you want to do, I say go for it. Life is too short to go into a career you don't like.

[Nursing2102]

Nutritionist? I don't know the type of schooling that would consist of though.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

I do not advise going into nursing knowing that you do not have a passion for it. As you mentioned, it is a very stressful career and sometimes even people who love the work of nursing end up leaving the field due to the stress. I think you should follow your bliss and become an RD. It sounds like you will be a great one! Don't let chem hold you back, take that course alone or with easier ones, study hard, get a tutor if needed and get through it. You can do it!

[CDEWannaBe]

Find a good chemistry professor and just take the class. Check out Chemistry for Dummies from your library... it's a great reference. Then get your Dietician/Nutritionist degree. There's a great book called "Do What You Are" based on the right job for your personality type. Amazon.com: Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type (9780316167260): Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron-Tieger: Books

I failed Chemistry is high school, go a BA in business, and in my late 30's decided I wanted to work in healthcare. So I took the Chem class, thinking if I failed then I wouldn't have wasted much time pursuing a career I wasn't suited for. I got an A.

Parents always want their kids to find a safe job with benefits. But you won't be successful if it's not a job you want to do and are equipped to do.

[emcadams]

I agree with CDEWannaBe...you won't be happy in a career you have no passion for. Go for the RD! You can work so many places, coauthor cookbooks, etc. My advice is if you are scared of chemistry, take it at a community college by itself. If you need regular General Chemistry, but need to take intro to chem first, just make sure you take each one by itself. Yes, that is a long road, but many community colleges offer both of these courses over a summer session (mini A and mini B, for example). pay the extra dough and get a chemistry tutor if needed. Don't wait until you get a C on your first test to enlist help! (not that you will, just get help, as even if you are great at chem, its always nice to have support!). In my experience, those who do not well in Chem isn't because they can't do well...they just don't set aside a few hours to read the chapters, give enough time to complete assignments, and then complain that the "test was so hard". Well, its meant to be hard and you need to put work in to have that A or B come out of it. So if you are bad about setting aside your own study time, enlist a tutor so that you have designated time. But yeah, if you have thoughts of..."i really want to do xyz, not abc" I would not waste one moment of my time doing abc.