Deciding between RN vs. MSW

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hey everybody. :) I came to this site and wanted to post my situation with hopefully some useful insight! I appreciate any feedback and advice in advance. So I am stuck in a dilemma where I have to choose between earning my MSW or continuing with hopes of becoming an RN. A little background about myself, I am in my mid-20s and I already have a bachelors degree in psychology. I am feeling overwhelmed with school already and want to make the right decision with my choice because I am ready to be done and start working. I have many years of healthcare experience (as a unit secretary and other admin jobs) and in my most recent position I was a case manager in the social services field. I really enjoy working with people and helping others so I feel that both MSW and RN would give me the opportunity to work in a field that is satisfying to me. However, I have heard mixed reviews about MSW. Some MSWs I know are completely content in their field and make decent money. Others are "burnt" out and looking to switch to a more lucrative career. To me, my work is much more than the money but there is a pretty significant difference between MSW and RN from research. Also, MSW job availability worries me because there are way more RN jobs than MSW jobs. On the pro's side, I really really really enjoy working the psychosocial aspect of helping individuals more than the medical aspect. I am leaning more towards RN because the schooling is less expensive than getting my MSW (MSW program is minimum 20k around me), and I know with an rn degree you can eventually transition into case management roles, which I am more interested in than bedside nursing. I have to make my decision within the next week because I was accepted into the MSW program and have a seat waiting on me. I should also add that science has always been my weak spot. I have had to retake a few of my anatomy and micro courses in order to be competitive for nursing admissions. I also made a 78 on my TEAS. I believe that I can succeed in nursing school with the right dedication and study habits. I have not been admitted to nursing school as of yet but I am planning to apply for fall 2019 if that is the route I chose. Hopefully somebody reading this has some advice or has been in the same situation! :-) thanks so much everybody!

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Most people on this site are nurses or interested in becoming nurses, so I'm not sure you'll get balanced answers. In general, people move on after deciding on an alternate path.

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An RN licence will only cost you a couple thousand through a community college. Working with your MSW should let you pay for that yourself if you wanted to. Since you like the psychological side of it more, why not do both? Get your MSW, then go back for your RN license?

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Specializes in Emergency Room, CEN, TCRN.

There's a lot of overlap and collaboration between social workers and nursing. One of the biggest motivators I would see in going towards nursing is financial.... Currently working with a girl who's doing her MSW while I complete my BSN. We both work for the VA and plan on continuing work there. When I graduate I'll start at ~72k a year, she will start as a GS-9 which is about $50k. She's also going to be saddled with tons more debt from her masters level courses on top of that.

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I would consider getting your RN license and working as a Psych Nurse and then eventually consider becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), if you really love the field. An RN license is versatile with a lot of room for growth and change.

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Hello there,

From what you said in your post, it seems like you prefer to be a MSW but are worried about the cost. 20k can be paid off within a year or two of working in your field, if you are disciplined. Also, you are young so you have time to pay off loans quickly and still earn enough to invest in your future. Pre-nursing and nursing school can be very rigorous and stressful. You sacrifice everything to get through and you have to want it badly. With that said, if you decide to make a go of nursing you may be a natural at psych as suggested earlier. Best wishes.

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Specializes in MSICU.

Hello! We have similar paths so I thought I would give you my view.

I have a BSW and worked 10 years in child welfare. I was accepted to and set to start the MSW program with the hopes of going into school or hospital social work (both require a MSW in my area). But I ultimately decided to forgo my spot and instead pursue an RN. I decided that financially the money was better spent on nursing than social work (MSW is 30k in my area, which will ultimately be about my cost to complete nursing school).

I am finishing my prereqs now and will be applying to 2 different programs which will allow to sit for the NCLEX and award me a masters degree as well. One is a masters for entry to nursing (MEPN program awarding a MS-RN degree) and the other is a concurrent enrollment program through my community college (CEP awarding both an ADN degree and a traditional MSN degree).

I too plan to go into nurse case management after gaining several years of bedside care experience. I also entertain the idea of doing an advanced practice degree at some point; psychiatric nursing is very appealing to me. But so is midwifery and lactation consulting!

Also, regarding the MSW itself, my experience with my many friends in the social work field is that most who have their MSW feel stuck in their current position and either choose to go on to become licensed or are wishing they could work on licensure or change careers entirely in order to feel satisfied with their careers.

Of course, given the decision I made, I may have a skewed view of things!

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