It seems as of late, I am in a constant state of wondering about new fields. There are definate times asa CNA, I balance myself on the border of burnout and cynicism. Some of my disatisfaction may have come out on this board, as much as I try to be constructive. There are genuine people looking for good advice, and I do try to help as this board is a great read. However, the bottom line is that I am at a point that I have been at for quite some time where I cannot learn or do anything more advanced without training. That fact is soul-crushing.
I have done my research into many different areas as far as to where to go next.
1. I decided against EMT-B as it seems to be a cut and pay and after a long talk with a RN co-worker who went EMT-B all the way to Paramedic before becoming RN.
2. MA seems to be a big ripoff. No jobs.
3. RN is very far away. The school schedule is very inflexible and it would bring hardship on me to miss work
to go to school. There also are many prerequisites and long waiting lists. The schools also have a bad reputation
as wanting to "kick you out" (justifiably or not) from day one.
4. LPN is shorter, has no prerequisites, and less of a waiting list. All the same things that turn me off from RN are generally true of LPN as well. Plus, I would start to feel really taken advantage of if I did almost the same things an RN does while making $10 to $15 an hour less.
5. Anything longer than 2 years like OT/PT is unrealistic in my situation.
However, what have you guys and girls heard about Surgical Tech? Are the jobs available out there? How is the workload? Does this offer me living wage? How are the schools? Are there any bad stories of Surgical Techs with worthless certificates?
As many areas that i have worked, this is one field I never really have a chance to interact with anyone who does this.
