Bye to a possible nursing career

After much dilemma, I have decided against a second career in nursing. Although I do not doubt I could have excelled in the field both academically and professionally (actually received an A in my first pre-requisite class), I do not believe, at least not at this time, that nursing would be a good career for me. Nursing is a great field and perhaps if my circumstances were different I would have still went along with my plans but they are not and that is OK. Although I am still relatively young, I am not in my 20s and I have a lot of responsibilities at this time that would make pursuing a career like nursing not very practical. A great deal of sacrifice would be needed for me to pursue a nursing career at this point in my life and although the salary potential would have been good, I could possible lose others benefits that are not based on salary, including stable childcare, predictable work schedule, and a pension. These are not things that I can take likely and being home with my children every weekend and on every major holiday is something no money can replace. The job market right now is tough and the nursing field is extremely competitive right now. I like the idea of being a nurse but I cannot say for sure if I have a passion for it (and passion is needed to get through nursing school!).

My plans now are to go back to my original career goal of getting my MSW (Masters of Social Work) degree and possible work in the areas of health and mental health. Despite the relative low salary of a LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) initially, my salary should increase after a few years. I may even pair my MSW with an MPA (Masters of Public Administration) degree but that may be a bit ambitious at this time. Regardless of what I decide to do, I have to do what is comfortable for me and my family and not just something that everyone else is doing or for the sake of money. I already made that mistake with my first degree so now its time to try something different.

No nights or weekends please

It may be premature but I began looking at job postings for registered nurses. Would you believe that roughly 50% of the jobs on Indeed and on various hospital websites show job openings for evening and/or night shifts? There are also quite a view openings with variable shifts. Almost all hospital jobs or staff nurses requires some working on the weekends. This would be problematic. My husband already works a variable shift in his line of work and could either work day or night at any given moment (not to mention he usually works on Saturdays and does the occasional double shift). How does that work with 3 young children? Working full-time with children is never easy for a mother but at least its helpful when there is relatively stable childcare in place. My husband tells me not to worry about it but I feel he is being unrealistic about our future childcare issues and is only thinking about the potential income I could make as an RN (registered nurse). More money is good and all but what good is it if my children rarely sees either of their parents because they are always working crazy schedules? I looked into nannies but I am not comfortable with the idea of someone sleeping in my home overnight that I am not familiar with. No one can "force" me to work nights or weekends but pursuing a 24 hour occupation and not being flexible with the shifts could make the job searching process extremely difficult once the time comes. There are definitely nurse positions which do not require nights or weekends but many require a certain amount of experience, in addition to a BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) degree and certifications. The job market for nurses, like most occupations, is very difficult and although my goal is to be as flexible as I can, I know that my limitations may be a hindrance to finding employment. Whatever happens I need to make sure I am able to maintain the work and life balance I so desperately need.

BSN or MSW?

For the past year or so I have contemplated whether or not I should get an MSW (Masters of Social Work) degree or a BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) degree. You would think that a Masters degree in anything would be better than a Bachelors in anything but unfortunately that is not the case. Here's why in my situation:

1. Getting a Masters degree in Social Work may not allow me to have a significant increase in my salary unless I work in the areas of administration, which I am not sure I want to do.
2. I will probably have more job opportunities and greater job flexibility with a Nursing degree, particularly if I work in a healthcare and/or public health setting, which is what I have a current interest in.
3. The average RN (registered nurse) makes at least $10,000 more per year than my current job as well as more than many LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) positions in my area. This does not include overtime and/or differential. Many private hospitals pay more.
4. The amount of loans I would have to incur in a MSW program would be significantly higher than if I were to get a BSN, even if I went to a public university or college. This is hard to swallow when I realize that my salary, at least initially, would not change a great deal at all.
5. There are more nursing jobs available than there are social work jobs and social work jobs are generally budget dependent regardless of how essential social work jobs are. In the medical/health setting many "social work" functions are performed by experienced RN (registered nurses) with case management experience.  
6. I like the idea of counseling others and helping them to access resources or dealing with social problems but I wonder how long I could do a job like that without getting burned out from frustrations related to limited resources, excessive paperwork, non-compliance, etc.

All of that being said, an MSW would still allow for greater career flexibility than I have now (I would be able to work for different agencies and/or in a different setting) and I would be able to pursue my degree on a part-time basis without having to quit my job since its occupational related. LMSW (Licensed Masters Social Workers) generally have better work schedules than RNs and even though social work can be stressful, nursing has many of same issues as well so I would not necessarily have an easier time in the field. And even though the initial salary for a LMSW is a bit dismal, with significant experience and/or administrative skills, the salary would be almost comparable to that of an RN without all the "dirty work" (although social work has its own set of stresses especially in the areas of management). I had hope to resolve the "MSW vs. RN" internal debate at this point but I think I am more confused than ever! In a few weeks I take my second prerequisite class for nursing school and I hope I do not waste a lot of time, energy, and money on something that I should not be doing.

3 years

At the rate of three courses per year, I estimate it will take me roughly 3 years before I complete all the pre-requsities necessary to qualify for nursing school. Below are a list f the courses I have to take:
Intro to Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Anatomy & Physiology 1
Anatomy & Physiology 2
Microbiology
Chemistry 1
Organic Chemistry 1 (depends on school)
Sociology 1 (depends on school)

A few schools wanted even more courses prior to admission; needless to say I am no longer interested in applying to this schools. Initially I wanted to do 4 courses per year to speed up the process but that would mean 2 courses during the summer and since the majority of the courses I need are science courses I think that would be a bit of an overkill for me (especially since I am taking the vast majority of my pre-requisites online). I also would like to take a CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant) course at some point so that I could eventually gain entry-level experience in a health care setting, either before I start nursing school or concurrently with school. In addition to the above estimated timeline, I figure depending on which route I take to my second bachelor's in nursing, it could take me an addition 1 to 4 years to get my BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing), 1 year being the minimum time in an accelerated BSN program, 2 years in a traditional BSN program, and 4 years in an associates RN program (in which I would eventually go into an RN to BSN program). Regardless of the route I take, keeping my current position does not look like it would be an option for me. Assuming I get into some type of nursing program the first or second time applying, I will become an RN in my late 30's or early 40's which isn't that bad I guess but I definitely wouldn't be a spring chicken either. It's a little discouraging, especially since I am doing all this for a second bachelor's as opposed to a masters degree. Switching careers is certainly not easy, especially when you are somewhat already established in another field and can't go a long period of time without some sort of income coming in. I swear I would hate to go through all this and realize I don't even like nursing. I would be truly be pissed at that point.

Is it nursing school or medical school?

I have always know that nursing school was competitive but from what I have read from allnurses.com, the competition is down right fierce! Most schools I have reviewed request a minimum GPA of 3.0 in addition to high TEAS V or NLN scores but it seems like the minimum GPA for most accepted students is 3.5 and higher (and this includes 2 year programs). My overall GPA of 3.2 was not an issue in getting accepted into a Masters of Social Work program but it may not be enough for an Associates or Bachelors of Nursing program? I guess its because everybody and their 3rd cousin wants to be a nurse now. To make it worst, I am primarily interested in programs from public universities just like the rest of the world. I just can't justify racking up 60-80 K in debt to be a registered nurse, I don't care how bad I want it! School loans I can do but I am not interested in paying off loans for the next 50 years. If I must go private, a huge (and I do mean HUGE) portion of my tuition would have to be paid by some other means like scholarships or something similar. Its times like these I wish I had majored in nursing the first time around, or at least chose a major that I had more interest in so that I would have done better. Oh well. All I can do is just try get A's in my pre-requisites so that I can at least be a contender. If that doesn't work, maybe I could just apply to Harvard Med School just for the hell of it.