What should I do in Chicago?

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I'm veryconfused, I have a bachelor's degree in a Liberal Arts field however I want to returnto school for nursing. I've been looking at accelerated degree programs andwhile they seem right the tuition doesn't. At Loyola the prereq list is insaneand would take me nearly 1 to 2 full years of community college work just toget those then there's the $50,000 tuition cost for the 16 month program. At Resurrection's accelerated degree program it would take me at least a year to get theprereqs then there's also the high tuition. I'm thinking I'm better off gettingmy associates degree at a community college where it will be much cheaper.However I'm very concerned about the job market and I'm not willing to relocateat this time. I know here in Chicago jobs are very tough to come by as isunless you're an established professional. Please give me your honest opinion.I also know that some schools will accept with a bachelors in a different fieldfor a Master's in nursing so long as I am a RN. However this seems like a lot moreschool in addition to what I've already done and an Associates seems like thebest route. What to do, pay high tuition, or get an associates and not find ajob?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Honestly, if nursing is what you really want to do, I encourage you to take a more traditional route. I work with a very large, multi-state organization. Our recruiters prefer generic BSN grads, followed by ADN grads. Our hiring managers are no longer receptive to ABSN grads due to problems they have encountered in the past. Please perform a very thorough investigation before committing to an expensive and intensive acccelerated program. I strongly urge you to avoid any entry-level Masters (MSN) programs. These are even less popular among hiring managers than the ABSNs. FYI, in terms of starting salary, the type degree makes very little difference because everyone starts at the same place, job-wise.

Although organizations in most large cities only hire BSN new grads, this is not the case in all areas of the country. ADN grads are still finding hospital jobs in smaller cities & rural communities as well as non-acute (LTC, LTAC, etc) facilities just about everywhere.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

I recommend you take a look at Rush, and their GEMS program.

In Chicago that will give you a slight competitive advantage over a BSN.

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