Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It depends on which specialty you choose ... and there are over 50 to choose from ... which is one of the great things about nursing. If you don't like one area, there's plenty more to choose from.
Just curious.........
When you enter Nursing School, do you have to declare which of the 50 you want to work in or can you delay that decision till after school? For folks who know little about the field, that would be a tough decision to make up front.
But I also think it depends on which state you're working. California is a great state for nurses, Texas not so much.
Why?
Does a nurse with a 2 year degree still have decent career opportunites???
Obviously a 4 year degree would provide more opportunites but some folks can't commit to additional schooling.
Does a nurse with a 2 year degree still have decent career opportunites???
Obviously a 4 year degree would provide more opportunites but some folks can't commit to additional schooling.
I think most places are so desperate for nurses, they don't really care.
I hardly see adds that say "BSN" only.
Nursing industry desperate to find new hires - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090105/ap_on_he_me/now_hiring_nurses;_ylt=AlyCoRLXUNstRLoXbE9VXdqs0NU E - broken link)
I wish I had the passion to be a nurse but it's just not in me.
I would strongly suggest you get the fastest, cheapest RN you can get (likely a two-year community college). Then you can get other degrees, like a BSN or an advanced practice credential if/when you find an area where you'd like to specialize.
Regarding career opportunities, it varies. I work near Boston, and there are tons of over-educated RNs here, so places can require master's for management, etc. Not so in places where there are fewer RNs and fewer schools.
You could easily get some tuition help from a job to get a BSN, etc. You should be able to transfer any college you have to a community college or four-year, depending on how old the courses are and what they are. (Chemistry?)
I have a two-year hospital diploma RN, plus along the way ended up with a master's in public health, which I'm not using. I shunted off to psych/detox quite early. I would say that if you want to be in administration/management, a clinical credential isn't that helpful, unless you want to be a nursing supervisor (and trust me, you don't). With a business background, I think that healthcare administration courses would make more sense for healthcare managment than a nursing degree.
But do NOT get any RN credential at a private college of any sort. There's just no excuse for paying that kind of money to take the same boards everyone else takes. Trust me on this one.
But do NOT get any RN credential at a private college of any sort. There's just no excuse for paying that kind of money to take the same boards everyone else takes. Trust me on this one.[/quote]
Here in NY, the competition is fierce to get into a state or community college for nursing....like 1200 applicants for 130 seats...sometimes private school is the only option and the competition is pretty fierce there too...apparently there's a shortage of nurse educators.
Does a nurse with a 2 year degree still have decent career opportunites???
Obviously a 4 year degree would provide more opportunites but some folks can't commit to additional schooling.
By the time you get done with the pre-requisite coures, the two year degree actually takes four years so ... you mostly have the same career opportunities unless you want to get into management, public health and other specialties where a BSN is required.
I made the switch. I worked in administration for 15 years and then decided to do something else. Best thing I ever did. Hospitals don't care that you were in the administrative field. They understand that nurses weren't born nurses from the womb. We all come from some where else.
My recommendation would be for you to volunteer at a local hospital and ask to be included in patient care or shadow a nurse so you can get a good idea of what you are in for. I volunteered while I was completing prerequisites and I fell in love with nursing and the hospital environment. Don't worry about your age either. The average age of nurses coming into the field are between 30-40 years of age.
Don't worry about the cost of school either. Most hospitals have scholarships and some states have programs like "work force" that will pay for books, tuition, scrubs and shoes. DM me if you have questions.
My wife is in her final year of nursing school. She quit her 100K+ sales job to go to school full time. She started from scratch-no degree and a few scattered college credits that didn't apply.
She (we) gave up income, bonus trips (including overseas), and a whole host of other perks. She was fed up with the corporate world, working 24/7, and traveling all the time. Her territory covered five states.
She has never been happier.
How did she get a 100k sales job in the first place with no degree?
Geeze what are the odds someone quotes a person in a thread that's 6 years old, and the person quoted actually responds, within a day haha..
That being said, with Sales you often don't even need a degree. I've got a buddy making over 200k doing sales with no degree. He got over a million when the company sold a few years back as well..
Sales is all about numbers. If you can make the company money and can prove it, do you REALLY need that degree? Who would you rather hire, a guy who can sell 500k worth of your product a year, or a guy with a degree who is only selling 300k?
Please don't fall into the hype that a nursing degree=a job. Yes, there is a nursing shortage, but hospitals and private facilities are NOT HIRING. It all comes down to the money. I tried nursing school as an adult student, and it wasn't for me. High school all over again. passive-aggressive students and teachers alike. Drama at clinicals from the nursing staff that are tired, worn out, and think they're too good to clean up patients. While it may not be like this everywhere, the competiton on the NYC area is cutthroat. It's definitely who you know. If you want to start out doing overnights in a nursing home or LTC, then you might have a chance. But, please, if you're prone to dramatic behavior, whining, or the "it's not my job to do so and so", then don't waste your time going to nursing school.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
