To Make a Career Change of Not?

[JM229]

I am hoping for some insight and figured that there is no better place to look for it than from a group of nurses!

I am 35 years old and am considering doing a career change to become a nurse. Medicine/science/biology has always been a passion of mine. When I went to college, I started as a pre-med student and then for various reasons (including financially) I changed colleges and ended up changing majors to Psychology. I ended up graduating with my Bachelors in Psychology and then ended up working in Human Resources where I have been for the past 14 years. So, for the past 14 years I have been unhappy and have be "researching" nursing schools (yes, I have been looking into nursing schools for 14 years). But because I had a great job and was making good money, I never just went for it. On top of it, I got very sick in the meantime and ended up in and out of the hospital many times which only encouraged my desire to be a nurse even more.

I have finally decided that it was time to do it if I ever was. The only thing is that I can only do an Associates degree because I still need to work full time. From the research I have been doing and reading on here, it appears that if I go to school for my Associates and graduate with no experience, it is VERY unlikely that I will be able to get a job. I wouldn't mind doing anything that I needed to do to get experience (ie. working as a CNA) however because I have a mortgage and expenses based on my income level now, I can't take such a cut in pay to do that.

I have 2 young children and would be sacrificing a lot to go back to school for nursing but I am willing to make the sacrifices to do something that I am passionate about however, I am concerned that after all my sacrifices I won't be able to even get a job at the end.

Sorry for the long ramble, but does anybody have any suggestions for me as to what I should be thinking of/about or considering as I make my decision?

[KerriA]

Hi. I have been a dental hygienist for 19 years and also have a BA in Psych. I have been looking into Nursing school for years and I have spent the past two years taking my pre-reqs. I have twin daughters who are ten. I am cetain the workload will be full but I think for the two years of struggle - the degree is well worth it. Esp since you can obtain higher degrees part time and have job flexibility in the long term. I am 40 this June and my kids just seem to need more and more my pay chack. I think Nursing has the flexibility to allow me to work for years into my fast approaching 'old age' and I'm sure I'll look back at the two years of school and sacrifice as wothwhile.

[NeoPediRN]

Honestly, no. Don't do it. Totally not the time, especially if you have a stable career. The economy is bad, you'll accumulate a large amount of debt, and worst of all, trying to find a job (with or without a previous career in healthcare) is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. ANY nursing job, nevermind your dream job. I'm not saying this because I'M unhappy or dislike nursing in any way, I'm saying it to be honest and completely true.

[Chris Caulfield RN NP-C]

I will tell you my experience.. I got a bio degree.. worked for a biotech company for about 4 years... started nursing school (2 years into working) at night-time/fulltime at RCC, while working full time. Many students in my program had children, worked full time, and went to school full time. I Graduated in December, passed my Nclex at the end of April and started working a Sub-acute rehab floor this week. I am only schedualed for weekends and every other monday so far, but I have been told that I will be able to jump into spots that open up. My orientation is during the next couple of weeks monday thru friday which is going great so far.

The open position had 18 applicants... they hired someone else for the spot I was applying, however, they also hired me for a spot that they were not advertising yet. I put out about 40 applications and resumes all online.. and I had 3 facilities call me for an interview. I just heard from the 3rd facility about one month later.

As far as debt.. I have no debt from nursing school, I paid about $6,000 out of pocket while working, however, I have lots of debt from my biology degree. Now I make more per hour with less hours, but once I hit the point where I am experienced... say 9-12 months... I can jump on per-diems, and agencies for extra hours and pay a significant portion of my previous degree debt down.

My reccomendation from a non-economist who follows the economy, trends, and reads alot about everything concerning employment is yes go to school. Stay working and work nightime, in 2-3 years from now when signficant others start getting their jobs back, and those that should have retired 2 years ago actually retire.. there will be more opportunities. There are jobs out there, you just have to go out and find them. I didn't make any cold calls, research facilities to find hiring managers, or network.. and I had interviews. So you might not start off at Mass General... but you can be sucessfull if you don't give up.

Take my reccomendation for a grain of salt... because I am only a Associates RN with no previous experience before 4 days ago when I started on a Sub-acute floor of a Rehab/LTC facility.

Good luck...

[sillypuddy143]

I agree that it can be done and I think you have the right Idea of the way to go about it. I too already have a lot of debt from my first degree I've worked for 5 years and know this is not the career for me. I've been accepted into a community college to get my associates and become an RN. I also plan to work while doing this and pay for school out of pocket. I've researched the cost and It should be around 8k total for the entire 2 years, which is nothing compared to what I owe for my first degree.

I think as long as you have a stable job and can continue to work while doing it, it's a great opportunity for you, and you can continue to work when you graduate until you are able to find a job as an RN. Hopefully by then the economy will have picked up a bit!

Good luck! :)

[bizo]

your 14yr experience should serve you in good stead, so i think you should do the nursing. i will suggest that you do the bsn(accelerated/second degree) since the duration is about the same as adn. the psych hospitals will be all over you if you tell them you have a degree in psych. home care companies also need psych nurses because they make more money on psych pts since it's considered a specialty. moreover, if you've researched nursing for 14yr, it's about time you spend 2yrs to actually do it.