I feel like I am stuck in between a rock and a hard place and I am not really sure what to do.
I am a 28 year old male, a retail manager and I make about 80K a year. I am really big on Finance and the FIRE (Financial Independence retire early) Movement and I would describe myself as a super saver. I am on track that by the time I am 40 I will be financially secure and theoretically wouldn't have to work again. I have no intentions to stop working once I hit 40 but it's a goal of mine to have the option.
So here is the thing... I love the money I am making and I am comfortable in my position but I'm not happy in my job because I don't bring Value to the world in my position and I am not making a difference in anyone's life.
I have strongly considered going into Nursing for years, when I was younger I wanted to be a CRNA but also Emergency Room Nursing interests me a lot as well. I think I could find happiness, purpose and meaning in either of those different roles.
So I guess what I am asking is if you were in my shoes what would you do? Should I wait until I am 40 (12 years) to start nursing? or Should I start the Nursing journey now and start off with a pursuit of the ADN?
I don’t know about the part where the employees are worse than the customers. I’ve had guns pulled on me, people try to physically assault me, customers poop in the middle of the floor, and threaten to follow me to my car at night. The difference is I could call the police on the terrible customers, I can’t get away from the patients. I did have an assistant manager throw keys at my head one time when I had to fire them.
...at least they didn't threaten to poop on your car.
My personal experience, I was a general manager, making good money. My passion had always been nursing. I decided to save enough money to quit my job and start nursing school without working. I am a nurse today and I would not change it for anything. Money has never been a factor to do what is my passion.
With the way healthcare is going and how it's affecting nurses, I would advise you to stay where you are. Why not work as a part time nursing assistant? You'll still bring value to the world, as you put it, but without having to go back to school. You could also still maintain your current cushiony job.
Start the ADN. You might end up not liking nursing, because there are many other not so great aspects of nursing besides "making a difference in someone's life". If you can keep the current job and start ADN, do it soon.
I don’t know about the part where the employees are worse than the customers. I’ve had guns pulled on me, people try to physically assault me, customers poop in the middle of the floor, and threaten to follow me to my car at night. The difference is I could call the police on the terrible customers, I can’t get away from the patients. I did have an assistant manager throw keys at my head one time when I had to fire them.
Oh, well after about 20 years of retail mgmt, I'm glad I experienced almost NONE of that. Those situations certainly aren't everyday things. I will add that I didn't manage "Big Box". It was smaller commissioned sales, like wireless/telecom.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
I also switched careers from business to nursing in mid-life. I started an Accelerated BSN at age 53, then went straight into an MSN NP program, finishing up at age 56. And I was not the oldest student in the program. We had several students in their 40s. No regrets and I am making less money as an NP than as a business executive.
One way to make sure you can stomach what I called the blood and guts aspect of healthcare is to get some exposure. I took a Red Cross CNA course for about $300 that met only on weekends, because I was working. We spent time in a nursing home for hands on training. Very hard work, but also very rewarding. Getting through that solidified my plan to become an NP.
Depending on where you live and specialty, RNs can make excellent money. At least on the West Coast, RNs in the bigger cities make at least $100K a year with some experience; many make substantially more.
RNs also have a lot of advancement and career options: manager, instructor, case manager, becoming an Advanced Practice Nurse (APRN) like NP, CRNA, CNM, etc. Some become PAs or even go to med school.
There are plenty of ways to become an RN w/o spending a fortune. Community colleges are a great and affordable option. Then do a bridge program, which many employers will pay for, to earn a BSN. Public colleges and universities are generally reasonably priced. Many private schools offer good financial aid.
One of my NP colleagues is an immigrant, so he couldn't get any financial aid. He worked his way through his BSN and then worked full time as an RN while attending NP school part time. He graduated with no debt and is making $150K a year now. (He also changed careers from business into nursing).
There are also state and federal loan repayment programs for RNs and NPs. Many employers also offer this benefit.
You could "retire" at 40, then go to nursing school and have a second career.
Stay as far away from nursing as possible...at your age go get a PharmD degree and not only accelerate your ROI, but get to that FIRE.
I personally only started making “decent” money (100k+) as a nurse after I went to grad school and switched to management... I recently left the career and make what I did as senior leadership in nursing as a new business analyst:)
With nursing unemployment at less than 3%, colleges pumping out grads like PEZ, and every new RN is already either in grad school or angling to get away from bedside, you will undoubtably work for low pay in a terrible job for quite some time.
Keep making money and if you need to feel “good” about yourself volunteering is the key. If you go into nursing you will feel much different about altruism ....not a good different.
I want to really thank everyone who has contributed up to this point. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer some suggestions and your opinions, it mean a lot to me.
I appreciate the honesty in responses and am noticing a lot of them touch on the lack of Job Satisfaction for nurses.
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
10 minutes ago, Hunt er said:
I want to really thank everyone who has contributed up to this point. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer some suggestions and your opinions, it mean a lot to me.
I appreciate the honesty in responses and am noticing a lot of them touch on the lack of Job Satisfaction for nurses.
What is the primary cause of this?
94% of nurses are glad they are nurses. Many are unhappy with their current position.
I want to really thank everyone who has contributed up to this point. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer some suggestions and your opinions, it mean a lot to me.
I appreciate the honesty in responses and am noticing a lot of them touch on the lack of Job Satisfaction for nurses.
What is the primary cause of this?
One cause, is that many people jump in with unrealistic expectations. They were seeking "happiness, purpose and meaning" like you, but healthcare is BIG business and it's all about the bottom line.
You won't have time for "caring moments" like the nurses on television do. You'll be darting around the halls like a field mouse being chased by a hawk.
I like my job, but I was attracted to the field for practical reasons. The types who want to "change the world" seem to burn out much faster than the rest of us do.
I feel it isn't an isolated thing like wage, hours, customers/patients or any of the rest of that, etc., etc. I was raised below the poverty line (though never lacking for love and support) and worked plenty hard before I was even old enough to become a nurse so I feel I have at least some perspective to not complain about things like hard work or whether I should make as much as so-and-so. Rather, the overall problem with nursing is the ethical conflict; the idea of reconciling ethical practice (our Code of Ethics is a published multi-page document which declares our ethical responsibility for just about everything despite what others choose to do) + legalities + high individual responsibility + low individual autonomy, and currently we're riding a big business-driven train that has gone off the tracks. Practically every other major nursing problem someone might commonly bring up (wages, N:P ratios, toxic behaviors, workload, time constraints, resource constraints, customer service, poor treatment of nurses, significant problems with nursing education, etc.) has these underlying conflicts and/or issues as an underpinning.
For this reason I think anyone who can satisfy their desire to do genuine good separately from earning their paycheck should keep it that way and not primarily try to combine altruism with earning a paycheck (arguably that latter combo isn't even technically possible).
Nice to see I have at least a little company in the aforementioned survey results: I am glad I became a nurse but pretty sure I wouldn't do it again.
Jedrnurse, BSN, RN
2,776 Posts
...at least they didn't threaten to poop on your car.