I am 47 years old, soon to be empty-nester, and retired. Looking ahead, I want to fulfill a long time dream and become a nurse. I'm too young to just sit on a beach drinking margs all day (sounds good but can't do it more than a week) but I'm wondering if realistically becoming a nurse in my early 50's might not work out so great as far as getting jobs.
Over 50 too old to start out??
I'm not really doing it for the money (though that would be a nice benefit). I want to have a fulfilling, meaningful existence and really love the medical world. Years ago I was a CNA while initially going to nursing school but young twin children required more mommy time so I stopped pursuing nursing. I became a stay-at-home mom who worked as a medical transcriptionist for 13 years.
I'm fit, healthy, and available. Just waiting for my name to be pulled out of the "hat" for the local nursing school lottery.
I am in my 60's and a clinical instructor, I know some of my students are my age or older and have found employment.
I want to know what job you can retire at 47, put 2 kids through college and live comfortably I need to get in that profession,
Ginger's mom ~
It's called having your both your parents die and leave you an inheritance.
I have invested the money they left me which provides me income.
I was working in a job that I hated and quit a few years ago to go back to school to do what I am interested in (nursing). I am fortunate, I guess, to have this opportunity.
If you want to do it, you should go for it. You are a far better judge about what you want and what you can handle than any of us on the internet. It probably won't be easy, but nothing that ends of being worth the time and effort ever is. :)
Go for it. My former neighbor went to nursing school in her 40s and ended up working for the health department giving immunizations and educating people about public health. Here kids were grown and still living at home, but were contributing. Two out of three of her kids had good steady employment and helped out with bills, so it actually made it easier on her to go to school. On top of that her husband had two fairly successful businesses doing contracting and flipping houses into rental properties. My cousin is pushing 40 herself and is about to go to nursing school after she finishes her bachelor's degree in psychology.
OP - I started Physical Therapy school when I was 53, and graduated with my DPT at 56. I didn't have any trouble finding a job and had my pick from several offers. I think being a little older is an advantage in medical fields as it makes you look more mature and more experienced. I see quite a few elderly adults in my current job (home-health PT) and too many of them just sit on a recliner and watch TV all day long. In my opinion and experience, that kind of inactivity is the perfect recipe for mental, psychological and physical decline. So go for the nursing degree, you won't regret it.
I started school at 48 with very few college credits to my name. I attended part-time at first, while I waited to get the pre-req classes I needed to apply to nursing school. I worked about 20-28 hours /wk throughout school. I graduated with my ADN at 52.
I have to say that it wasn't easy; there was plenty of blood, sweat, & tears...but I have no regrets! Just the education & fellow students alone enriched my life more than I could dream of! And then there is the respect I gained from others, but even more important is the respect I gained for myself. Plus, I am convinced that the experience made me feel 15 -20 years younger!
Word of advice; a BSN is now a must if you wish to work in Acute Care.
Started prerequisites at age 53, graduated with BSN at 58, currently working hospice with CHPN, just started my AGNP at age 61 so I can do face to face, monthly facility visits and palliative care until I'm 75 or so. No, you're not too old.
I'm in southern California and was faced with the lottery/waiting list dilemma so I moved to Rapid City SD to go through the SDSU BSN program. Retrospectively, it was a great decision. I highly recommend relocating for school if you're in the same boat.
Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.
Go for it! When I taught, one of my best students was 43---the oldest in her class. She had a lot of life experiences, maturity, and "smarts" that she brought with her and was a delight to teach, and managed to do well in clinicals/classroom. Good luck!
This is all I'm going to say, and you can take it or leave it. I'm going to go against the grain if everybody else here. I'm going to preface this by saying I don't necessarily think age is a factor here, I think your reasoning off the bat is going to be your downfall.
People romanticize what being a nurse is. It's my life-long dream, they say. I hear that no less than twenty times a week on here. I just want to feel satisfied at the end of the day and to know I've made a difference, they say.
Nursing is a job. It's a job. You deal with hateful coworkers, inadequate management, short-stacking, negativity of family, doctors that get crappy..... It's a job. You often leave on the verge of tears. Along with out and out exhaustion. Yes, at 47,at 12-13 hour shift is harder on you than it was at 25. Take it from me.
If you are retired abd are looking for that great fulfillment, volunteer somewhere. Homeless shelters, food banks, get that warm fuzzy feeling that way. It's not nursing.
Look at how many threads on here from people saying, I'm a new grad and I hate my job. This is not what I thought Nursing was going to be. If you think you will have all these families thank you and remember your name and how you made a difference in their lives forever, you are wrong. It's about getting one patient well enough to get out, so the next, sicker, one in. It's your job to get them well enough to get off your unit.
The oldest person in my nursing program was 56 years old. I hear after we all graduated she got work and was loving it. You should do what you want. Don't let age stop you. The oldest nurse I've ever worked with was 82. I thought she was like in her late 50s or early 60s. She was in excellent health. She told me that she was going to retire at 85. So there you go. It' up to you how you navigate in this life.
There is also the fact that if you're reading any of the post on this site, than you know that nursing is nothing what you may think it is... Go forward at your own parel. That; you can bet your life on.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
This post. nailed. it.
Only you can make that call. Do you live in an area where getting a job will be a problem after graduation? And will you like the kinds of jobs you may be able to get? Will you be getting an ADN or BSN?
In some areas, new grad ADN's have serious trouble finding a high quality job. Many employers prefer nurses with BSN's, limiting the options for those with just ADN's. In other places, that is not the case and new ADN grads don't have problems finding a job. What is the job market like in your town? That is the question you need to be asking.
Also, will you be having to borrow any money for this education? Can you really afford it? Or should you be saving this money for retirement while getting a job that doesn't require you to spend much money?
Are you really prepared to work nights, weekends, and holidays? If not, that will limit your job options (and pay) even further. A lot of people who imagine being a nurse, only imagine being an experienced nurse with the perfect job. They sometimes don't consider the first few years of a career in which is nurse may be working a less-than-ideal job or may be working the off shifts that the more senior staff doesn't want to work, etc.
But if you have really thought all of that through ... and done thorough research about the job's you will be likely to get after graduation ... and you still want to do it ... it can be done at your age. It's hard, but possible.
Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN
3,181 Posts
I am in my 60's and a clinical instructor, I know some of my students are my age or older and have found employment.
I want to know what job you can retire at 47, put 2 kids through college and live comfortably I need to get in that profession,