I know, doesn't that sound awful? But really, back in the days when I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and I was pursuing a "dream job" in graphic that I didn't even really want, at least not enough to work hard for, and I wasn't even really good at, and the job market was terrible...I wish someone had forced me into nursing or some other career which had a short-term educational requirement but a high-yield pay reward.
Think about it. You can be twenty years old and a nicely-paid professional. And unlike most professions, you'd still have time to do whatever you want.
When my kids say they don't know what career they want to enter, they're definitely going to community college for the first two years of general education. I'm not paying $500 a credit hour for gen-ed's when they don't have a goal in mind, and I won't let them pay that much either.
But what's wrong with getting a job in nursing and then trying to pursue your dream career? Imagine living cheap and single and paying out the nose for university, but making a nurse's income instead of working at Starbucks. Imagine paying for school instead of racking up educational loans. Some of my coworkers are experienced nurses in their early 20's. They still live with their parents, so they're just bankin' the ca$h money. And some are pursuing higher educational degrees and are able to pay for it with minimal to no loans.
So what do you plan to do with your kids? Or what did you do? Did you encourage them to work and make money, or just focus on school? Did you push them toward something practical or let them take as long as they want to find their dream job?
I probably won't force the issue. Nursing school was two years of UTTER ANGUISH AND TORMENT. But what about mechanic school? Air conditioning and heating? There are plenty of trades with short educational requirements, say two years or under, which you could easily nab before you're 20 years old, and then work at while deciding what you "really" want to do. And if you decide you really want to do that trade, you're already set.
Disclaimer: I'm not slighting the idea that nursing is this divine calling. I love being a nurse. It's an art and a science. Everybody says you shouldn't go into nursing for the money. But face it: if you're a caring individual, you could be a nurse for five years and put yourself through, say, photography school. There is absolutely nothing wrong with changing careers or using helping other people and making decent money at it as a stepping-stone. I don't know any volunteer nurses, so we're all in it for the paycheck to some degree.
I for one went into nursing for the very reason you put forth. I was intending on going into it so I could do what I actually wanted to do - art....because I knew that I really couldn't make money doing what I wanted to do. I was too practical. Reality is: once you get out there making money it is difficult to give it up - whether due to obligations or whatever. Secondly - courses for other occupations generally aren't laid out to accommodate a nursing career unless you want to do a lot of juggling - which is exhausting. ( I guess you could say that about social life too) I never did go back to do what I really wanted to do....perhaps when I retire...but by then it will be a hobby, which is just as well. Now it is a little different in that you probably could make a good living when you go into the art field. My nephew works on well known movies as an animation artist and makes better money than me.
ReplyDeleteYou don't say how old your kids are, but I have a nephew who went into welding and is making six-figures two years after school. With the economy sucking many people are going into health care and nursing. Here in the bay area of California new grads cannot find jobs. Although nursing runs in cycles and in a few years there will be a shortage again.
ReplyDeleteThere was a woman in her 40s with a liberal arts degree in my nursing class--she couldn't find a job so she ended up in my community college to get a job. My husband changed majors from History to Comp Sci halfway through his University years because he knew he could get a job working with computers over history. I am a big fan of training in the trades industry. The world will always need someone to twist a wrench and really, plumbers make TONS of money and can work their own hours. If my kids ever decide they need their PhDs in 18th Century French Literature I will strongly encourage them to spend their RESP at a trade school or nursing school first.
ReplyDeleteForcing children, even adult children, to do things.. Oh cackle. It's a high paying, very sensible career, but it's not for everyone.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I've been a patient, I've been taken care of by nurses for whom nursing is a calling. I've been taken care of by nurses for whom nursing is "just a good paying job". There was almost universally a big difference in the quality of care provided. Sure, both could get an IV on the first stick or manage a code. But the "just a job" crew let the ball drop a lot more often.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm an RN, I see the difference in my collegues. I'm not dissing the skills of the "just a job" set. Some of them are technically sublime. And some of the "calling" crew really need to hone their skills, but they do have the motivation to do so.
At the end of the day, we all have to distance ourselves emotionally to some extent in order to keep on doing what we do, but...give me a nurse who is emotionally invested in a calling rather than someone who sees me as a nuisance while they are just doing a job.
Just thoughts.
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ReplyDeleteROSIE: I have NEVER done nursing because it was a "calling"... but I have had MANY patients tell me that I must love my job "because it really shows". I love people. I don't love my job although I am very good at it (peer and performance reviews). I think therein lies the difference.
ReplyDeleteThat's kinda what I was getting at. You can be a good nurse if you're smart, quick-witted, caring, and like working with people. That's all there is to it. Whether it's a "life calling" or a stepping-stone is up to you.
ReplyDeleteI don't think a lot of nurses like to admit this, but I don't see why not.
I plan on encouraging my kids to get their gen eds out of the way at community college or state college no matter what they're going into. I have WAY too many student loans and now I'm back in school (at another private school) for my nursing degree and eventually my CNM so I'm just adding more and more. I knew what I wanted to do when I started college, but changed my mind a few years in and am doing something completely different now.
ReplyDeleteHow funny I was having this conversation with my husband not too long ago. We both agree that if our son really wants to do something (physicist, MD, lawyer) that requires lots of school and that he's clearly cut out for, we'll try to make it work. Otherwise, yeah; pick a trade of some kind. He seems mechanically minded, and comes from a family full of homebuilders, auto mechanics, electricians and carpenters.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to limit him, but if he wants to pursue, say, an artistic calling, he doesn't need college for that either. Why put him through the debt hell I experienced? Screw that. Work food-buying jobs and do your art.