So torn between Nursing and Social Work... advice?

[nybsn]

I'm in NYC at a community college, have about 45 credits. Originally, I was intending to do the BSN. I already have a background in EMS and PCA (phlebotomy/ekg) so it seemed like a logical degree choice. Thing is I heard that most schools (like LIU) give med calc tests every semester and you have to get 100, no less, on each one. I don't know how true this is, but this was a major turn off for me. I mean, so if you get a 90 or a 99 then they fail you? Come on now.

So I had switched over to Social work this past Spring, did two intro classes associated with it. I'm comfortable with the curriculum but I keep hearing horror stories about low pay and it's beginning to worry me. My friend's daughter got her BSW 5 years ago and landed a job making $55k. She got her LCSW about 2-3 years after that and is now making close to $75k. Still, everywhere I look online I keep hearing about low pay, the pay sucks, etc. I don't mind the work involved with being a social worker as long as the wage is enough to live on. I mean $60k-$75k is pretty decent, not rich but it will definitely do. I'm making a little over $41,000 right now as a PCA.

Now that I'm having doubts, my next choice was Occupational Therapy at Touro College. However, they only offer a full time curriculum, even their extended study is a full-time course load. The admissions person said most students in the program don't work and very few work part-time but it depends on the person. I don't mind working part time but she made it sound like it was going to be nearly impossible.

And now I'm back to re-considering nursing again. LIU has a part-time track but like I said, med calc tests that require 100 minimum to pass? I'm sorry, but that's terrifying.

Any advice?

[lunchboxRN]

I failed algebra in high school once. Had to take remedial algebra in college for pre-reqs some years later. I aced it, {thanks brain for maturing!). We had a 90% pass rate on the med calc tests each semester. I passed each one easily. It is basic, basic algebra and knowledge of the metric system. My school had a short class offered prior to the start of "real" nursing school. I definitely took it! The year after I graduated, they changed to a 100% pass rate. I didn't hear any horror stories from those a year behind me. This is a minor concern, really! I know it seems daunting for those of us not blessed as mathematicians, but it is doable.

My cousin is a social worker, acting more as a counselor to white collar criminals and such. She has a lot of long days and evenings. After doing multiple sessions, she has to go back and do much documentation on each. She does well for herself. My daughter sees a LSWC as a therapist,she is part of a practice. I pay good money for her, I think she does ok $$-wise. I work in contract with a lot of social workers in more of a traditional role. I don't think they make as much as I do...but they also work less! However, all the above have masters while the pay varies a lot.

OT/PT always seemed interesting. It can be hard work physically. I know the home health ones I run into have many patients during the day (same as us RNs). Plus, they require Masters.

In short, do what you like/love the most. There are difficulties and barriers in each path to overcome, often times it's not the ones you expect.

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

If I could turn back the hands of time, I'd tell my younger self to consider obtaining a college education in a field that pays well. As well, I'd advise my younger self to consider how long a particular educational path takes when considering it as a career choice. As well as considering the job opportunities for new grads and experienced people.

Hands down, in my area, nurses are paid more than many other careers that require longer educational paths.

If you truly have no passion for a particular career, DO NOT do it for the money. You'll be miserable!

But if you have multiple passions (I loved teaching as well as medicine) choose the one with the best work opportunities and best income.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Nursing can be physically very hard. So many nurses wind up with bad backs, nurses might have to work evening and night shifts, weekends and holidays. Few OT's or PT's do so, and even fewer Social Workers, in my experience. It's very painful to be working while your children are in concerts, plays, sports, and while family are gathered for the holidays - but you are at work drawing blood, cleaning poop, getting spit upon or cursed by relatives and detoxing patients - or even delivering healthy, beautiful babies or assisting surgeons in the OR for emergency operations.

There are hundreds of posts here about how painful Nursing can be. There are likely boards like allnurses where the other professionals you mention post. Why not check them out? Also, talk to some people who do each type of work you have thought about doing and get a feel for the reality of each.

How about being an architect or joining the military and becoming an aircraft mechanic or joining the infantry? Why not look into many and varied fields? Seriously, I wish you the best. Just don't settle on something just to settle.

And if you do choose something but later want to change, go ahead and change.

[KayL]

Just wanted to suggest first, don't believe everything you hear and second, maybe speak to a nursing advisor who can give you correct advice? And I am an advanced hater of math, and math was super easy in nursing school. It is very basic and you will probably learn to do it in your head. Maybe Google some examples? And my third and final piece of advice, don't let anyone deter you from what you truly want to do...if nursing is something you really want, then go for it! Good luck!

[odaat]

I originally wanted to be in some sort of social work and got my first associates degree in social science with plans to continue on that educational path. However when I graduated with that degree my best friend graduated with her masters in social work. I saw the debt she had accrued along with the job offers she was receiving and decided to change tracks to nursing. As a single mom I just couldn't agree to the pay she was being offered for the level of education she had.

So I got an accelerated associates in nursing and right out of school started earning the same as her and now 5 years later earn more than her. Also it turns out that nursing really is my forte and I just love it! Not only am I helping people which is all I originally wanted but I'm also constantly mentally, emotionally, intellectually, and physically stimulated. It truly satisfies more than I think social work ever would have. And the best part, I work 3-4 days a week and I leave work at work; my best friend is constantly drowning in paperwork and minimally compensated overtime and never can leave work at work. She always says if she could only stand the sight of blood without passing out she'd would very much rather be a nurse!

So in the end you have to choose what is best for you but following my need for better financial compensation was very important to me and it ended up working out very well for me on all accounts.

[direw0lf, BSN]

A family friend went straight to her MSW and works in a public school. She says she's burnt out already because all the red tape and paperwork make it impossible for her to make a difference in any child's life. she can afford to take her toddler to disney world every year though on just her salary and she rents a house in a good town. She gets summers off. I agree to do what you love since there's lots of unique pros and cons in nursing and social work. I never thought of nursing as making such "big bucks" that I'd chose it over some thing else for the pay.

[Marshall1]

Why not contact the school directly to ask about the med calc test requirements instead of making a decision on what you have heard and have no factual basis to make your decision on?

[Libby1987]

My life long best friend is a social worker, a BSW. She enjoys it BUT she has only worked part time all these years for her mad money, her husband is the main provider of income and state benefits.

Our OT out earns me with less experience and responsibility.

How's the nursing job market in your area?

[direw0lf, BSN]

Why not contact the school directly to ask about the med calc test requirements instead of making a decision on what you have heard and have no factual basis to make your decision on?

This is a great idea. I also found it kind of like the OP was not whole heatedly committed to nursing if just math would cause a change of major, without even trying to find out more about it?

I mean I have so many weaknesses, like one right now, spent 3 days writing scholarship essays and coming on here so much because I get frustrated writing lol. There's a lot of writing in nursing school but I won't change majors because of that and if I would maybe nursing wasn't what I really wanted bad enough I'd think.

[sunflowerr]

I relate to you a whole lot. At one point, I had considered going to school for nursing, social work, or OT as well. I want a job where I am able to help people and I'm interested in working with people who are mentally ill. You do both of these things in nursing and social work (and possibly OT depending on your patients/where you work).

But I've decided on nursing because of the versatility of the BSN degree. As a nurse, I'll be able to help people, and I can be a psych nurse. But if I get burned out there, I can switch to another specialty. In my area, it's also easier to find a job as a nurse vs a social worker. I am very interested in medicine, diseases, and how the body works so that's another reason why I chose nursing.

I think it all depends on what YOU are passionate about and what you want to do for around 40 hours a week.

I have a relative who is a social worker. She has a MSW and works at some sort of rehab where she holds group therapy for the patients. She also helps them find places to live, jobs, and things like that. She makes around $60k and says she loves her job. There was a point where she was unemployed for nearly 2 years because she could not find a job, though.

Occupational Therapists need a minimum of a masters degree to practice, and in 2025, the standard will be changed to doctorate. You would get grandfathered in if you received your masters before then, but you would end up competing for jobs with people who have doctorates. Just something to keep in mind.

Have you looked into becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant? You only need an associates degree. I've found that OTA programs are scarce, and if I had gone that route, I would have to attend a community college a few hours from where I live since they don't have a program at my local CC. The pay is pretty good, average is around 50k, and they are in high demand.

As the previous posters said, med calc tests shouldn't be the reason why you don't consider nursing. There have been many many posts on here from people who want to be nurses but aren't good at math. You're not alone in that . You don't need to know calculus to be a nurse. I'm sure you would be able to do well on the tests with a lot of studying and maybe a tutor if you felt you needed the extra help. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[nybsn]

OTs require PhD in 2025? Really? Wow. No thanks then lol.

Well, see, when I first wanted nursing. I tried a pre-nursing class at my community college, it's a medicine math class. It's like that's all you do there. The teacher was very very VERY strict. There were three tests and you had 45 minutes to do each. That semester, I took that class with A&P I. I was getting 50s on my tests in the med math class. As a result, I was starting to mess up in A&P I. So I got discouraged and dropped the med math class halfway through.

After I dropped that class, my A&P I grades improved. I got a C+ but that counts as passing at most schools here in NYC. I think taking that med math class is what really got me bummed out about continuing the nursing path. That class is not even transferrable to a BSN, it's just a requirement for that school's ASN program (which is hard to get into anyway since its a community college, but I tried to be optimistic about it). Looking back, I shouldn't have taken that class.

If I go back to RN route, I have mostly science pre-reqs left to do. All my liberal arts ones are done. I have A&P I and A&P II which I did last year.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

OTs require PhD in 2025? Really? Wow. No thanks then lol.

Well, see, when I first wanted nursing. I tried a pre-nursing class at my community college, it's a medicine math class. It's like that's all you do there. The teacher was very very VERY strict. There were three tests and you had 45 minutes to do each. That semester, I took that class with A&P I. I was getting 50s on my tests in the med math class. As a result, I was starting to mess up in A&P I. So I got discouraged and dropped the med math class halfway through.

After I dropped that class, my A&P I grades improved. I got a C+ but that counts as passing at most schools here in NYC. I think taking that med math class is what really got me bummed out about continuing the nursing path. That class is not even transferrable to a BSN, it's just a requirement for that school's ASN program (which is hard to get into anyway since its a community college, but I tried to be optimistic about it). Looking back, I shouldn't have taken that class.

If I go back to RN route, I have mostly science pre-reqs left to do. All my liberal arts ones are done. I have A&P I and A&P II which I did last year.

They have to make sure students can do math. As another poster said, math errors can harm or kill real patients, so nurses have to be proficient at math. That said, with practice, you would master the math.