Should I go straight through to MSN?

[ComingSoon]

This question may be a little premature but I would like to get everyone's opinion. I will be going back to school this Spring to start my prereqs for my BSN. I'm pretty much starting over because the last time I went to school it was for Public Relations so its a whole new world. I'm looking at about 3.5+ years until I have my BSN. I know that I want to go on to get my MSN and that is where my question comes in.

Should I continue straight through after getting my BSN and move right on to the MSN. Or should I work for a few years and then go back?

Also, how hard is it to work part-time while working on your MSN?

Thanks in advance!

[elkpark]

Welcome to allnurses! :balloons:

I always encourage people to work (at least) a few years and become generally familiar with the larger world of nursing before going to graduate school. You say that you want to get an MSN, but you don't say in what specialization. Most MSNs pretty much lock you into a particular career path and role, and I've known a number of people (and I'm sure the few I've known personally are not the only people in this situation :)) who rushed into getting an MSN only to find out after they had the degree that they didn't like doing what the degree had prepared them to do. Now, they've got a degree (and the student loans to pay for it!) and a career path that they don't particularly want, and they're looking at spending more money to go back to school to prepare to do something else.

Most people coming into nursing don't even realize how many different possibilities and opportunities there are within nursing, and many people find that what they thought they really wanted to do when they were starting nursing school is not what interests them most once they've gotten some experience and exposure within nursing (that's actually a very common phenomenon in nursing school ...). Getting any MSN will cost you a large amount of time, effort, and $$$; you might as well put the time and effort in up front to be sure that you're getting a degree you really want. Whenever I'm asked this question, I always encourage people to get enough experience in nursing to figure out where you want your career to go over time, and then figure out what degree (specialization) you need to get you there.

Lots of people work part-time while in a nursing graduate program (depending on the program). There's also the possibility of going to school part-time and working full-time (again, depending on the program).

Best wishes for your journey!

[UVA Grad Nursing]

Master's education is specialty based. How do you know what you want to specialize in until you have worked in the field? Nursing school and 'real world' nursing are different and I strongly recommend that you get some experience under your belt first.

While my University has had some new grads (those with less than a year of RN experience) take 1-2 core classes, most of our MSN students have been working 2+ years. This past year we had 190 applications for 70 spaces in the MSN program and those with RN experience were often stronger (and more focused) candidates than those applicants who were still in a prelicensure program.

[stellic]

Get the experience first, it will give you a whole new insight.