33 y.o. 3rd career about to grad w/ BSN

woknblues · Mar 20, 2008

So, as my title states, I am a 33 y.o. 3rd career about to grad w/ BSN.

I am looking for some guidance in regards to my current situation, my goals, past experience and ideas.

First off, my GF is also in the same program, and we will be graduating together. She plans at the moment to likely go into vet medicine, but I am pragmatic.

OK, so we plan to go back home to FL once we are finished. Perhaps stay w/ family for a year., save money, get some exp. Then, planning to relocate to Fort Collins CO, where she will (as of the plan at the moment) enroll into the vet medicine program at CSU in Ft. Collins.

So that is the background. Now the foreground. I would like to have children one day, but perhaps not right away.. (I AM 33 y.o., so I haven't really got off to a flying start so far, right?!) I have managerial experience in both fields that I had worked in before. (I start on the bottom, and quickly raise through the ranks to a middle manager position before I leave the industry). I have worked insanely hard and long at the two jobs before, and though I am generally willing to continue to do that, I am also at the point in my life where I may have to entertain a modicum of balance.

I am money oriented as a rule in my jobs, but chose nursing as a possible career that will allow me to help people, rather than what I have done in the past. To give an idea, during my exit interview with my last job, the boss offered me a 25% raise to stay, and I declined it. My pay was already decent, I might add.

So, I am coming into this with a BSN and real world experience.

I am finding bedside to be educative, but just a bit tedious in my clinical rotations, for the record. I can easily manage a few patients at a time, getting paperwork, Tx, Edx, Dx done in a timely fashion, care plans, etc. Not saying, " I have mastered it" or anything...... I am intrigued with my upcoming rotations in the ER, but would probably not want to be handing over instruments, or counting sponges as a job. (yes, I know it is way more than that, but that's my 1st ignorant impression)

If I had to guess what I want to do, I might be inclined to go this route based upon what I am reading and soaking up on this great forum:

1st year: Med/Surg--- busy, busy, busy, learn the ropes, find that niche that I love

2nd year: whatever niche that I found based upon the first year

3rd year: same as the 2nd

4th year: enrolling in a master's degree in whatever I found interesting in the previous 2nd and 3rd year

5th year: sharpening my skill set, my GF graduates w/ DVM and hopefully makes enough dough to support me!!!

6th year: further sharpening

7th year: holy crap, I am 40. I sure hope I graduated. CNS? NP? CRNA? which in what field, I can't say.

I am talking myself out of this. Anyone have ideas based upon my situation? HELP!!! :uhoh3:

Thanks for reading,

Wok