Using layoff to my advantage...Nursing School here I come!

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Layoffs have been pretty bad here in Wisconsin. Last year my husband was laid off from the Law firm he worked for. Despite having years of experience in bank management and customer service, it took him a full year to finally land a position with Wells Fargo. He did not waste his time sulking though, while he looked for worked, he also enrolled full-time in WGU (Western Governor's University) to pursue his Bachelor's in Education. Because this school allows you to complete classes at your own pace, he completed all classes needed for his Bachelor's in only 1 yr.:D I worked during this entire time, and with his unemployment, we were able to stay afloat. He studied and worked like a madman. He is set to begin his second round of student teaching this month and will graduate this December.

Well, I was laid off MY job this February after 2 years of working for a company. I have been attending the local community college part-time trying to finish up my pre-req's to begin nursing school, taking 2 classes at a time. I have been applying like crazy but so far, no dice. I don't intend to waste my time either. I have only 4 classes left before I can begin my core nursing classes for the Associates in Nursing (A & P 2, Microbiology, Intro to Psychology, Intro to Sociology). I plan to take A & P 2 this summer (a 6 week course) and if I am still unemployed come fall, attend full-time taking my last three classes. With a little luck, I will begin my core nursing classes spring of next year. I plan to study for my NLN exam this summer; I Just purchased a couple of books for it and a audio recorder to tape my class lectures. I'm currently taking A & P 1 and Developmental Psychology and pulling high A's in both. My English and CNA classes have already been completed.

After 10 years of working crappy data entry jobs just for a paycheck, I gotta tell you, it feels nice to have a actual plan of what I want to do with myself and know I will be good at it. Math is still the bain of my existence, but a small hurdle to overcome to get to my goal. If you find yourself recently laid off, as many of us have recently, take it as a blessing and a calling that it's time for you to go out and become whatever it is your heart truly wants you to be. Don't waste your time, and use it wisely. :yeah:

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I used my unemployment for the same thing! Honestly it was like a $20k grant from heaven. Even though I looked for a job I took the time to take classes, sadly I've finished all my prereq's and have a stack of job rejection letters motivating me.

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I hate to be a downer but no one is hiring teachers. In VA, many teachers are losing their jobs and the ones that were able to keep their jobs are taking a 4% cut in pay (I should know, I'm one of them that's taking the cut in pay). Your hubby should have gone into nursing too.

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LOL, I thought the same thing cathy, but he hates science and even the thought of having to memorize skeletal muscles irritates him. The profession is just not for him.

It took me a good 10 years to talk the man into going back into something, ANYTHING to get his degree, so I am just proud of him for doing so and actually finishing. With 3 kids and a wife to support, thats a hard feat, and he finished in a year. So its a milestone we pushed off years ago when we decided to have kids and get married before finishing school. We both have read about the job market for teachers, we know it will be tough, but we are hopeful he will find something, and it sets a good example for his children about the importance of education.

Now I gotta find a way of convincing him to go for his Masters.:lol2:

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I hate to be a downer but no one is hiring teachers. In VA, many teachers are losing their jobs and the ones that were able to keep their jobs are taking a 4% cut in pay (I should know, I'm one of them that's taking the cut in pay).

I have a friend who has not even graduated yet and landed a teaching job in Fairfax, VA, she was so excited! She goes to school in Maryland but no districts were hiring so she tried Virginia.

OP, way to go on pursuing nursing at this time in your life!

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I am completely relate.

I am/was a Special Education teacher and after moving back to FL, I have not been able to find a full time teaching job. :mad: I have been looking for over a year. I have had to sub (sporadically) to help my hubby make ends meet. My hubby is also a teacher, but hasn't been given a continuing contract. Each year is like a wait and see for a new contract for him.

I have decided to finally do what I always wanted to do...become a nurse. I am tired of waiting for a school to call or calling schools looking for work. I'm over it. :uhoh3:

I have my interview with the DN on 4/22 and hopefully will begin June 1 or Sept 27. :yeah:

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kmbaker,

what nursing schools in FL are you applying to?

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I checked out a few (Miami Lakes Tech, McFatter Tech, Miami Dade College, Concorde, Dade Medical College, and ultimately decided on Keiser.

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Specializes in ICU.

That's interesting that your school lets you take developmental psych before intro to psych. Anyone else's school do that? At mine, Intro to Psych is a mandatory pre-req for any other psych class.

What a great story, I wish you so much luck in finishing up school! I wish I had as good of an attitude as you and your family do when tough times hit! :)

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Specializes in Private Practice- wellness center.

Good luck on getting into a nursing program.

As for your husband, for what it's worth, many corporations hire people with teaching degrees specifically for their training programs. That may be something he could look into while waiting to get a position in a school district. :D

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Specializes in Home Care.

Its a tough job market no matter what kind of work you do, especially here in FL. I fear it will only get worse.

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That's interesting that your school lets you take developmental psych before intro to psych. Anyone else's school do that? At mine, Intro to Psych is a mandatory pre-req for any other psych class.

What a great story, I wish you so much luck in finishing up school! I wish I had as good of an attitude as you and your family do when tough times hit! :)

Yeah, no pre-req for it. It wasnt a very difficult class, most of the stuff in the text was common sense stuff I knew already, especially the child development portion. But I did learn alot of new, interesting things. Our professor is friends with another professor from Harvard that who does research in secure infant attachment psychology. He got her to come and give a lecture on it, and man, I am really sorry I didnt know that info BEFORE I had children. I would have done alot of things differently. The stuff really should be taught in High school IMO.

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