What pathway should I take?

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Hi everybody,

I’m new here and hoping to get some insight, since I haven’t been able to find a post that’s a similar situation to mine.

I was in a RPN program last year, really enjoyed it however had to drop out due to personal situations. Now that I’m in a better spot, I want to embark on this path again but I’m REALLY confused on how to go about this ?

My overall goal is to become a PHC-NP. At this time, I’m 23 and I work for a medical services company earning about $35k. I don’t have my degree and like I mentioned before, I have not completed any post-secondary. Currently live with my mom, have very little debt that I’m paying off and no kids. However my partner and I would like to start building a life together sometime in the near future.

What’s deterring me from doing the full 4 year RN program is that for all those years I would probably have to get a minimum wage job. My monthly expenses total around $1250 but with the amount of effort I would want to put into the program, I probably wouldn’t be able to work more hours to put some savings aside. And if I decide to get a place with my partner, most of the financial burden would be on him - something I would not be comfortable with.

However if I embark on the RPN bridging path, I’d probably do the bridging through Nippissing since you can do it online if you work for one of their partners, but that would take an additional 5 years.

Am I just being a brat for not wanting to give up my financial comforts and saving opportunities? Should I just bite the bullet and tackle the 4 year program or sacrifice additional years to stay comfortable?

All advice is much appreciated. Thanks everyone!

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In the short term you will make less money, even if that short term is five years. An RN working full-time at the cap makes about $88,000 per year. It's going to be lean in the lead up but once you finish and find an RN job you'll more than make up for your lost wages.

You may feel like you're not pulling your weight in your relationship when it comes to money but I think it's important to consider it an investment in your both your futures.

And the sooner you get started the more money you'll be able to earn as a nurse. If you put it off for five or ten years you'll have more responsibilities and likely higher expenses.

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Is there a reason why you do not want to do a 3 year bridging program locally? I think if you did the bridging program locally, you would be able to maintain your currently lifestyle and reach your goal.

If you are able to continue the RPN program from where you left off then you will become a RN the same time as the 4 year program. You can prob work part time as a RPN while doing the 3 year bridge too.

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23 is still sooo young!! if you gonna take the 4 year nursing program do it now. You will be making alot more and most importantly building a career for yourself. I'm turning 30 this year and will be taking pre-health next month to get my pre-requites. I regret everyday that I didn't take this path earlier on in my life. All my friends have stable career and a family at this age while I'm just starting pre-requites lol.

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Specializes in Public Health.
On 8/17/2019 at 10:15 PM, GBC_Student said:

In the short term you will make less money, even if that short term is five years. An RN working full-time at the cap makes about $88,000 per year. It's going to be lean in the lead up but once you finish and find an RN job you'll more than make up for your lost wages.

You may feel like you're not pulling your weight in your relationship when it comes to money but I think it's important to consider it an investment in your both your futures.

And the sooner you get started the more money you'll be able to earn as a nurse. If you put it off for five or ten years you'll have more responsibilities and likely higher expenses.

The cap is definitely higher than that in some areas!

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14 hours ago, xokw said:

The cap is definitely higher than that in some areas!

Sure, if you hit the 25 year cap in Ontario , work over time, or work in northern Ontario you can make more than $88,000 per year.

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Specializes in Public Health.

My cap surpasses that number in 6 years (I’m on a 6 year wage grid). There are many positions that make more than that as a base salary in far less than 25 years, you just have to know where to look :)!

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On 8/21/2019 at 10:30 AM, GBC_Student said:

Sure, if you hit the 25 year cap in Ontario , work over time, or work in northern Ontario you can make more than $88,000 per year.

I make that as an LPN with little to no OT.

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17 hours ago, Fiona59 said:

I make that as an LPN with little to no OT.

Right, but my post is about what the Ontario Nurses Association pay rate is like. As you're using the professional designation LPN instead of RPN I'm going to assume you're not working in Ontario.

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On 8/19/2019 at 12:09 AM, scuffed said:

23 is still sooo young!! if you gonna take the 4 year nursing program do it now. You will be making alot more and most importantly building a career for yourself. I'm turning 30 this year and will be taking pre-health next month to get my pre-requites. I regret everyday that I didn't take this path earlier on in my life. All my friends have stable career and a family at this age while I'm just starting pre-requites lol.

I'm 33 and I just started my BScN as a second career.

I hope that makes you feel better.?

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On 8/26/2019 at 11:19 AM, GBC_Student said:

Right, but my post is about what the Ontario Nurses Association pay rate is like. As you're using the professional designation LPN instead of RPN I'm going to assume you're not working in Ontario.

I’ve made more than 88 000 as an RPN in Ontario

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41 minutes ago, Lucydog14 said:

I’ve made more than 88 000 as an RPN in Ontario

Really? I thought pay was unionized?

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