Start as nurse or new career opportunity?

Wuzzie · Aug 7, 2020

9 hours ago, xlightx said:
Some people tell me to do nursing for a little after I graduate then try it out but either way, by the time I come back to nursing again, I would forget all those skills so wouldn’t it be better to give this mortgage job a try before?

You need to take the NCLEX and work as a nurse (perhaps doing the mortgage thing on the side) for at least a year but a better plan would be for a couple of years. You could then switch to a per diem nursing position which would allow you to work full time in the mortgage industry. If you graduate and don't work as a nurse you will have an extremely difficult time finding a job because a good chunk of learning HOW to be a nurse is on the job. If you don't work as a nurse and try to go back you will be behind the times with limited skills, no proven experience and a forgotten education. Your choices of jobs will be extremely small and you might as well forget acute care. In any commission industry it takes awhile to build up your client base so it's unlikely you will be making the monthly salary you've been quoted for a possibly lengthy period of time especially considering the current crisis and there's always that variable that you just might not be that good at it. If you have student loans to pay off I wouldn't bank on any commission-based job. At least nursing would give you a consistent salary. Look, if you don't want to be a nurse don't be one, be a mortgage broker. There's nothing wrong with that.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 7, 2020

If you graduate and don't take the NCLEX, you may not be able to take it later. If you take the NCLEX and don't go to work as a nurse soon after, it increases the likelihood that you will never work as a nurse. There are plenty of people out there with nursing degrees but no RN, or RNs who graduated years prior but never worked as nurses. The latter are considered stale new grads - not fresh out of school and thus in a weird limbo, not often eligible for new grad residencies and not experienced or desirable for direct hire. If you don't want to be a nurse, don't be a nurse. If you think you might want to do it in the future, do it now and get to that PRN point as Wuzzie suggested. I know mortgage brokers, and it can be a fickle market and profession. I recommend watching the movie "The Big Short" (about the last housing bubble), and paying attention to what happened to those mortgage brokers. Good luck, whatever you decide.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Aug 7, 2020

10 hours ago, xlightx said:
OK so I’m gonna word my last post a little better. I finish nursing school in 2 months but I also have the opportunity to work as a mortgage banker with some of my friends who already do that. My friends make 100% commission and I have one that even makes around 20-30k a month (he’s good at his job.) my question is: after I finish nursing school, what do I do? Am I allowed to pass my NCLEX and start this job if I choose to and come back in the future if I ever want to do nursing again? Some people tell me to do nursing for a little after I graduate then try it out but either way, by the time I come back to nursing again, I would forget all those skills so wouldn’t it be better to give this mortgage job a try before? I need a nurse to explain to me . Just the question I asked. Thank you

No, not a good idea. After a while, you are no longer a new grad, so most places will be leery to hire you. There are threads by others on here that discuss that they didn’t go straight to a nursing job for x reason, and now the cannot get hired anywhere. Even with that said, many new grads are having trouble finding new jobs.

I responded to your other similar post yesterday. My step mom is interested in the details of this 100% commission job. If this is true, per her words (and 30+ years experience, is a VP of mortgage with a worldwide finance company and the education to go with it, she is in NYC). She believes that there is something illegal/unethical taking place if someone is making 20-30 grand a month in this current economy, and would love to know the company/details. You can pm that to me if you are uncomfortable to post. Unless you know in your heart there is something that's not quite right in this deal. In the pre CV-19 economy in some locations, with experience, it was possible.

Either way, you sound as if you want us to give you permission to do it. You don't need permission or an okay. Do as you wish. You've already seen much advice from both posts, but only you can decide what you want to do

caliotter3 · Aug 7, 2020

You aren’t “allowed “ to do anything. You either work as a nurse after graduation or you don’t. Employers will either hire you or they won’t. They will hire you with the break to work with mortgages or they won’t. I suggest you accept that you will be limiting yourself either way. Just make the decision and do it. If you decide to go with the mortgage work, give it all you have. Should you decide to go back to nursing, make certain you have savings to tide you over for the inevitable employment dry spell, then deal with a nursing career with all your energy. Right now you are limiting yourself by worrying. No decision is a decision. Make the decision then proceed. You will be happier for it. Good luck.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Aug 7, 2020

Anything 100% commission sounds both shady and risky.