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Fenella~
Hi there,
You responded to my post awhile back re becoming an RN. Now it's finally time for me to get in gear and get started. My boys are almost four months old. I still need to take all the prereqs as my degree is in business I don't have any of the science stuff done. Now I am kinda confused, it looks like some community college have RN programs so why spend the money at a four year? I have a feeling that it's not the same thing your getting as if I were to complete one of the accelerated programs at a four year right? My sister says I will be able to make more money starting if I complete the program at a university. Is this true? What are you going to do? I know once I am in a program I won't be able to work at my job anymore so the thought of quitting my job to complete a program scares me. Now with the boys here, I would have to pay someone to watch them while I am in school. DH works long hours. I don't see it in the budget. Am I mistaken, could I possibly work part time? I heard the programs are intense. Any adivce or suggestions are appreciated.
Sorry so long, hope I don't sound too confusing.
Thanks
Stacey
Re: Fenella~
If you get your nursing degree from a community college, then you will have an AA in nursing. If you go to a 4 year school, then you will have a BA. But I've been told that once you get your AA and then start working, you can do a 1 year online program and get your BA in nursing. The reason I am going for my AA, is that there are less pre-reqs, which would mean I could start working sooner, so I'll just finish my BA later. I think you do make more money with a BA. But someone told me you make more money just having a BA regardless of what field it is, not sure if this is true, but I certainly hope so!
I think you might be able to work part time, but it would have to be a job that is flexible. I'm not in the nursing program yet, still working on my pre-reqs, but my friend told me the AA classes are 4 days a week and was 8am-1pm. But then I think in the 2nd year, you have to work in a hospital, and then would be doing an 8 or 12 hour shift.
Have you thought about getting a student loan to pay for daycare? We might be doing that next semester since I am not sure if my mum is going to be watching them. I hate to take a loan for daycare, but I am just thinking about it as part of the cost of going to college and know that I should be able to find a good job once I am done. Also the cost for a community college is low, so at least I am saving money there. Have you already looked into your pre-reqs? I know my school, college of the canyons, offers all the science classes in the evening, and even has some hybrid classes where the lecture is online, and you just go in once a week for lab. Which area do you live and what schools are you looking at?
I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions. Are you planning to start next semester? Funny, we are in the exact position. I started when my boys were 4 months old too. I'm hoping to be done with my pre-reqs by may, and then I can apply for the nursing program in Aug, and hopefully be able to start in Jan 2010!
Good luck
I never thought about being an RN either. A friend of mine is a L&D nurse and she has 2 kids, and after I had my boys I knew I didn't want to go back to my old job (working in the office at DH family biz) and I have a degree in film studies, and tried working in the industry, but didn't see me doing it long term because of the long hours. Nursing seems a great fit it you want to make decent money and have flexiblity. my boys were in the nicu for 11 days, so I spent a lot of time with the nurses and talking to them. Most of them had families and it seemed like a good career to have and still be able to spend a lot of time at home. Also with the high demand for nurses right now, I know I won't have to struggle to get a job once I am finished. I always thought I would want to become a teacher when I had a family, but then I found out how tough it is for teachers and decided I didn't want to spend the time and money on college and then not be able to find work. I'm still not 100% sure what type of nursing I want to do, but there are so many areas that I am sure I will find a field I love. I'm taking microbiology right now, and the whole class want to be nurses, so my teacher gears it towards nursing, and is always talking about the jobs in nursing that people don't think about, like going into the study of dieases and working for a lab etc. I'm hoping once I start the shifts in the hospital I can narrow the area I want to work in. I have been thinking about OR or ER, but ask me again once I've actually be there