33 and wanting to leap...

[kiranrand]

Hi

So I am 33, I work in HR and my undergrad GPA is horrible so I cannot get into any Accelerated programs. I have always wanted to do nursing so I am looking at making the leap. I do have a mortgage, car payment, and I am single so this is going to be challenging.

I would like to get some opinions for a few avenues I am considering:

Partime LVN porgram CNI 15- 20 months (this would allow me to continue working full time in HR) upon completion take NCLEX and then apply to LVN-RN program (8 additional months part time) still allowing me to work FT and then applying for jobs... and while working in nursing apply and complete BSN another 2 yrs, also part time, while working. I would be 36/37 when complete. I would then want to go into Ortho nursing...

Or this year, complete my prereqs, and try to raise GPA to a 3.0, take TEAS and apply with a school like National, quit my job, and go to school fulltime for their January start and be done with BSN at 36.

Pro for the first option is being able to work.

Pro for second option is since I will want to specialize, I will have more time maing connections and volunteering to land a job in a specialized field.

I would like some advice from those in the field or similar exp. Thanks!

[kiranrand]

@ Magnicious I think its awesome you have been able to save to pursue your dream. I am sure, in IT you have experienced being on call at odd hours or working long hours without any credit being due, exhausted, without feeling like you have impacted anyone. That is how I feel. Many people complain about long hours of nursing, but being in HR/Talent Management I rarely have a week where I work 40 hours. I never get paid overtime since I am an exempt employee. I wish I had started when I was 29- heck even 25. Clearly my poor academics were a sign of my lack of interest in the Business field. Please keep me up to date with your progress. Which school are you attending?

[kiranrand]

First I would like to say thank you for everyone who has taken time out to respond. I have never posted to an online forum so I was unsure if I would even get any feedback.

@ Magnicious I think its awesome you have been able to save to pursue your dream. I am sure, in IT you have experienced being on call at odd hours or working long hours without any credit being due, exhausted, without feeling like you have impacted anyone. That is how I feel. Many people complain about long hours of nursing, but being in HR/Talent Management I rarely have a week where I work 40 hours. I never get paid overtime since I am an exempt employee. I wish I had started when I was 29- heck even 25. Clearly my poor academics were a sign of my lack of interest in the Business field. Please keep me up to date with your progress. Which school are you attending?

@ HouTx I completely understand that nursing isn't a sure thing. I do not think there is any type of employment out there that is. PT/OT doesn't allow as many flexible hours. I would also like the ability to try out traveling nurse opportunities or go into ortho nursing or nursing anesthesia should I get in. Thank you for the input I sincerely appreciate it!

@ lub dub Thank you for commenting! I think I will take the TEAS test first, and see how I rank. If its low then I will go the elongated LVN route. If its high enough, then I will knock out the micro, chem and sociology reqs and try for the FT two year route. National University is a private institution in California.

@ ThePrincessBride I completely hear you on the infux of nurses. Kaiser in southern california will not even hire a new RN without 2 years of experience. From what I know of though, Nursing is one of the only fields for medicine (not including PA and above) where you can work OT and get paid for it. If I was to stay in the Business field, inorder to remain competitive, I would have to go for my MBA. Granted, there is tuition reimbursement from my company, but I don't forsee it leading to a happier me.

@ Mom To 4 Thank you so much! Who knows, if this is a dead end route, I may consider PT or OT.

@ ArtClassRN Were you 39 when you started? That is so awesome! In CA the community colleges are so hard to get into. There is a wait list for everything, I would def have to switch jobs because there are not many class offerings in the evening. 20 k is not bad for a student loan amount! The LVN classes are about 27k, then for the RN License an additional 18 k... and that's 27 months. Thanks for the well wishes, and words of encouragement!

@ loriangel14 Did you go to a private school for LVN then another private for RN? How long did it take you? Which school did you attend? It seems all these vocational schools have horrible ratings and reviews on Yelp. Did you work full time as well?

[kiranrand]

@ FLAlleycat That is awesome! Yes I am worried about dragging it out. Also worried about if I can financially make it happen. Thank you so much and kudos for you for setting a great example for your children!

@ 1pinknurse Yes, I am in CA

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

@kireanrand: If you look at the bottom right corner of every post, you will see a little button labeled "Quote." Hit that, and your reply window that opens quotes that post. You can delete parts of it if it's more than you need to respond to; just make sure you don't erase the QUOTE code at the beginning and the end of it (It looks like this: {QUOTE (name of poster) (number of post) } and {/QUOTE}.

Then when you respond, we'll know what you're responding to, because the quoted window will say who wrote the original, too.