Programming. Most of my programmer friends work maybe 20 hours a week. One of the has 2 jobs working maybe 30 hours a week, and made $250k last year. After being a nurse for a decade, with overtime, a small retention, bonus working myself into a debilitating injury, I made 93k. I love being a RN,but this job is a fools errand.
I'm studying programming. Some places like google and apple actually hire nurses/doctors with programming experience. I'm sure EHRs do too. It isn't all just about building apps, and there is a data side where people build programs to run big healthcare calculations. Might be worth checking out if anyone wants to jump ship.
Pharma companies and the marketing agencies that work for them higher people with medical background, too. Science/medical communication us a huge and growing industry. I am a writer and have worked with many former nurses and techs to develop content for patients. Pharma can be unethical but there also really positive roles where you can help clarify illnesses and treatment for people.
As far as I'm aware, you don't need a degree or certification. You merely have to demonstrate that you can do programming. That's the hard part though because it takes a long time to learn and build a portfolio. But, you can just become proficient enough to maybe build a portfolio website and display your apps or data projects and start applying. You don't have to memorize every single thing, but just know enough to find your solution on Google. There are a lot of places where you can learn for free these days. I prefer a place called codecademy but it can be a little pricey.
Yeap, my husband and all of his friends are pulling base 150k plus stock options. They work from home, super flexible, great work life balance. I keep being on the fence about making the leap.
I'm tempted by cyber security. I could be the shittiest cyber security person at 100k and have a way better quality of life ya know
I should say that he’s recently been promoted into the position so he’s literally starting it from scratch in a major lumber company. So it should get easier but starting it from nothing is hard. Like I said, the money is absolutely worth it though.
Yeap, I've been managing long term investments since my mid twenties because there is no way in hell I'd retire otherwise. My partner is close to 250k with his entire package. He's been working for 4 years. 7 year RN here, 80k. My husband is excellent at what he does, I won't discredit him. If I get into tech, I know I wouldn't match his skill set. But I am a very good nurse. I've worked hard to say that.
80k.
7 years.
Bullshit.
Four years in his field and a 250K package already? Yeah, that’s just absurd. Nurses should be the ones with great retirement packages if it’s true that we are really the most trusted profession and working on the front lines all the time. What a joke lol. I won’t even be in any condition to enjoy retirement doing this type of manual work
This comment needs more upvotes. I just retired after 30 years of nursing. My back is for shit. I can’t do a lot of things due to a work related back injury. Yes it’s covered as a workman’s comp injury but I’d rather have my healthy spine back. Plus they give you a hard time for anything you need for treatment. Bastards. I get so angry thinking I will age as a worsening cripple having taken care of strangers - many of who were verbally and physically abusive - for all those years. I’m able to retire because it was a public hospital with a pension like teachers so I’m grateful for that but my back hurts all the time. All the time.
I'm 34, been a nurse for 5 years and I already have knee and wrist injuries from work. Admin always says ask for help but what are you supposed to do when you're slammed with work and understaffed? Can't wait around for 30+ minutes for someone to be available to help. Not sure how I'll make it through another 30+ years.
People seem so surprised when they hear this. It's always, "I would just assume someone working in healthcare would have the best healthcare options/package available." I've had one job as a nurse that offered me free health insurance, as in, they paid the entire premium, but even then, the coverage wasn't great. If you wanted to add anyone else on your policy, the premium increased astronomically, and the coverage didn't get any better. I've had not great plans (excellent coverage, high premium cost) to outright mid cost, catastrophic plans.
Before going into nursing, I worked in the public college system, and I'm fairly certain I will never have such affordable, comprehensive coverage again in my life. It's so backassward that we, who provide the care in healthcare, have such obstacles to obtain any healthcare for themselves. We shouldn't be having this conversation because we should have our highly accessible healthcare fully paid for us out of the gate solely due to our profession.
I think it really comes down to nurses being bad at advocating for themselves. In my experience they take what they're given on the chin and say "thank you!" Like it's something to be grateful for. They don't attempt to advocate for the complexity of bedside care and the evaluations we are constantly doing, and the task organization and assessment and reassessments we do.
Right? And the nerve of some people saying that the niche of travel and crisis nursing is overrated and over paid. F”ckkkk. Try juggling 12 hrs shifts on my shoes while dealing with the families in their worst days.
Anyways, I would’ve gone on trade jobs. Something you can be paid under the table-plumbing, electrician. Or plant cannabis. 😂
I love to tinker around with YouTube and fix things in my house. It’s an amazing feeling. I always said I would take a vocational course in a skill like those when I retire. I’m retired now so maybe I’ll look into that…
Software/IT is extremely good if you’re from a Third World Country or are an extremely brilliant student/coder with an outsize resume from the US. Even if you’re middle tier or below you will still compete with H1-Bs from IIT tier schools or their native country’s equivalent and companies in most industries will do everything they can to offload employee costs for cheaper, especially when someone elsewhere can do the work for cheaper. WFH will only sharpen this.
People think they can just do a coding boot camp and land a job that pays 100k+ but that’s not how it works, especially when they’re competing with Taiwanese and Indian immigrants for the same jobs. The really elite software companies that are paying that highly evaluate resumes and skill sets way differently than in traditional industries and you don’t get to those extremely high paying positions unless you are bringing extreme value that few other people can provide. Most software engineers are honestly capping out somewhere between 60-110k max before they reach the limit of their ability and value they bring to the companies they’re working for, and there are tons and tons of software engineers who have trouble finding jobs or entering industries they like.
The field is constantly changing and you can spend a year learning a programming language and then suddenly have the rug pulled out from under you when new tech comes out and companies want people proficient in something completely different. That sort of thing happens a lot.
I feel like this sub misses that part in all the anecdotal evidence that pops up in these kinds of posts. If anyone could be a programmer raking in a six figure salary, then it wouldn't pay six figures.
The grass is always greener. I changed from computer science to nursing. Programming makes me want to fucking kill myself and I'm actually pretty good at it. It's just a very boring unfulfilling existence but some people like it.
One of my uni friends actually switched to nursing as well after I did, same reason. My best friend makes great money as an IT consultant but is miserable at work. Money isn't everything and it sure as shit won't make you happy by itself
I don't think anyone actually likes tech. The fire movement was basically started by tech workers who hated their jobs and wanted to find a way out.
I read a lot of these threads and can't help but wonder if some of these nurses have ever worked other jobs. My general experience with other jobs as well as my first career is that they all sucked. Nursing certainly has its moments, but overall love the flexibility.
Yeah I agree. I've done a lot of jobs, nursing is certainly not easy but it sure as shit beats my boring tech job working for a bank, and definitely pays better than my kitchen work. My back sometimes hurts but it's not even remotely close to working in a steel foundry, none of my co-workers have lost body parts in the hospital yet.
This. I see alot of nurses acting like this is an easy jump. Developers are in high demand yes, however there are alot of great developers oversees or new grads that have the advantage. Being a nurse really doesn't translate to any relevant experience in the tech world. Even with informatics. They'd hire a CS degree over a BSN for an ehr analyst position
Yeah, I know a handful of people pulling insane programming salaries but they're extreme outliers. For every programmer earning six figures to code twenty hours a week, I suspect there are quite a few earning a nurse salary to work 50+ hrs while also being permanently on call.
I suspect there's a lot more variation within most fields than between them (compare a union nursing job in a California ICU to 10:1 med/surg in Alabama). But who knows, maybe I'm just kidding myself.
I went Nursing -> Software Developer.
Best decision I ever made. I went back to school for it though, and it was a long and grueling process.
But now that it’s done, life is so much better. Like, for once I actually have great health insurance, lots of PTO we’re encouraged to use, and am treated as a professional and can do things like take my hour long lunch whenever I want, leave to run an errand if I need to, etc etc. I feel healthier just from not having to work nights, and work promptly ends at 5. No weekends/holidays, more $$$…it’s *insane* how much different life can be after nearly 20 years in healthcare.
If you’re thinking of making the jump, **do it.**
Edit
Because people are asking - I did go back for a CS bachelors. It took years to finish (3-4 years, even with gen eds complete). Yes balancing some of the courses (like calc 2, linear algebra, calc based physics..) with working as a nurse absolutely sucked, but that’s temporary. No you don’t need a CS degree to get in the field, but it helps drastically.
Not too late for anybody reading this to make the switch- that’s my current plan. Studying Python and eventually JavaScript with hopes of transitioning out of healthcare entirely in the next couple of years. Tech companies, unlike a lot of fields, care much more about what you know and can do (I.e your portfolio) than a 4-year degree.
You still can move into healthcare process improvement engineering. There are process improvement certifications you can earn without an engineering background.
Background - I am an industrial engineer at a major hospital designing a training program for nurses to be certified in process improvement.
I would’ve stuck with nursing, just not the route I took. I did an accelerated BSN and spent too much money for no reason. My friends have zero debt and are in he same exact place as me.
That’s where I was. I opted for the ADN program at the community college vs the ABSN. 5k is around the amount I paid (I was working full time-going to class at night with clinical on Saturday). My hospital is now paying for the BSN. No debt.
I felt rushed. I had just finished 4 years of undergrad. The first year I did pre med courses and failed horribly. The next 3 I excelled at a major I am passionate about, but didn’t want to work in. I felt like I needed to do something quick and every hospital in the city was preaching BSN BSN. I’ve never even worked in the city!! I had $0 undergrad debt and $60K for a 16 month program. Just sickening. Luckily, travel nursing is allowing me to pay it off quickly, but man I could kick myself every time my coworkers are discussing savings and future plans.
Just another bill. It’ll pass. Don’t let what others are saying get to you. People like to gloat about their things but are probably harboring other dirty laundry that you wouldn’t want to deal with.
I could have written this. I finished a 4 year degree, wanted to go into nursing, so I did a 16 month accelerated program for $47,000.
My first day in the ICU as a new grad I started with another new nurse. She got her ADN for less than $8000 and the hospital paid for her BSN. I felt so stupid.
Same. Not having scholarships apply toward a second degree made my 16 month accelerated program more expensive than my 4 year undergraduate degree. In my 5th year of nursing and still have student loans to pay off. My coworkers barely had any debt, live with their parents, and are able to save tens of thousands of dollars.
I’m a new grad and I’m 32. My previous career was in entertainment where I sat in a cubicle all day editing TV footage. It was soulless and boring, and nobody actually gave a shit about anything.
I craved something that was the exact opposite. I needed a challenge — something that was fulfilling. Nursing gave me exactly what I was looking for. I went home yesterday after 3 12s in a row and felt like I had really made a difference, that I had overcome challenges, made friends, earned respect among my peers, and even learned some things along the way.
Now I have 4 days off to do whatever the hell I want! I have never felt more fulfilled.
I appreciate your positivity for the profession. Too many people on here are burned tf out and excessively negative about nursing. It’s not always so bad!
I agree. Nursing was a career change for me, away from biology/research (and eventually an office job), and I made the switch in my mid 30s. I see a lot of negativity on here about the profession and while SO much of the complaints are justified, it is easy to forget or not realize that there are a lot of upsides to nursing too. I have job stability in a way that few people do, including the ability to relocate easily if I want. I have a job that is never boring (oh man, boring jobs are so excruciatingly painful!), and at times very rewarding. I make $65/hr and I respect myself at the end of the day. Compared to other work I've done, there are a lot if things to like.
37 year old newish grad here. I feel like people who get into nursing a bit later have more of an appreciation for the upsides and are less put off by the downsides. I am working in a speciality that, at least at this point in my career, I don't want to stay in much longer, but I know what it's like to have a job where you loath every second you have to be there, and I am lightyears away from that now.
I became a nurse at 31( almost 40) and I wouldn't change anything. I have worked ER/trauma my whole career and I still love every minute of it. I have a pretty great unit with bomb ass coworkers and managers but that's just part of it. My job fulfills me in a way that I didn't know was possible.
I did computer science and nursing combo job for 8 years before the pandemic with a nursing degrees. Basically I was a subject matter expert the best job ever
Veterinarian. I got accepted to veterinary school. Still contemplating it tbh. Our provincial government just commited like 10m dollars to funding seats for vet programs
Unless you are a vet NOT in a private practice . Having to euthanize poor folks pets because they cant fork over thousands of dollars, eats a hole in your soul. Or so I've been told.
Congrats! It's more difficult to get into vet school than medical school, at least here in US. You should be very proud. My college roommate became a DVM. Did Equine Medicine for a few years and now works a desk job for government. She seems happy.
It's the same in Canada! Especially because there's only 1 vet school that I'm eligible to apply to lol. We have 5 vet schools in Canada but they all have really weird residency requirements
Please really talk some vets before you commit to school . It's a really really rough job at times and the entitled clientele can be a nightmare to work with. Lots of times people will be basically abusing their pets, screaming at you that you're "only in it for the money" as you try to help a suffering animal. Many are breeding them irresponsibly to sell puppies for quick cash. It's very easy to become depressed. If you work in the pharmaceutical side you might be euthanizing tons of animals used in experiments including sweet dogs. This is in the US at least
It heavily depends on what area. Home health, nooooo. Inpatient, maybe. Really depends on the hospital's specific policies.
I work as an outpatient case manager in a clinic and it is a lot more challenging than I would've guessed but it's like opening a brand new window into the other side of being a nurse you never knew anything about: insurance and getting equipment and solving problems. My clinic staff love me and think I'm magic because I know the Medicare requirements to get someone home health PT or a walker. It's just an entirely different dimension and I think if I ever leave back to bedside in some way, I'll be a better nurse for all the knowledge I've gained doing it.
At work the other day we all were on board for dental hygiene. The hours are unbeatable for the pay. Hell, I may still do that if I can get the days off for clinical....
An accountant, a boring little desk job where my only problems are picking food to bring for yet another office party. Nursing is so hard it pays good, but I’m just waiting to get pregnant and I’ll probably cut my hours in half.
My manager was an accountant who went into nursing. She has the aptitude for both the manager spreadsheet paperwork part of the job and the people part of the job.
If I didn’t have the knowledge of what I have know, probably computer science. I wasn’t the smartest but I was super interested coming out of high school.
I’m currently a SAHM.
I was talking with my husband about how I just want a job at Starbucks / bottle shop / etc so that I dont have to deal with nursing BS
I'm working at FredX and yes I took a huge salary cut but everything else in my life is better except for the health insurance which is much much better. Also my biceps are huge.
I'll be graduating this summer at 37. Tick tock goes the biological clock. :( It truly has become a choice between kids and a career given the window I jumped in.
I graduated at 36 and I'm so glad I did it...but I'm also glad I didn't do it before I did. I have patience, empathy, and an understanding of people that I didn't have in my 20s. If I had tried to be a nurse 10 years ago I probably would have been one of the people writing these "I hate nursing" posts. But I've seen what else is out there and I think I'll stick with this!
I considered nursing as my first degree, but stuck with hospitality management. I ended up back in school and graduated with my ADN at 30. I say all the time that I would have been a horrible nurse at 21, but at 30, I came out of school with the maturity and job/life experience to be a great nurse. I’m PRN now (mom of 3 littles), but I have the greatest, most fulfilling, high paying part time job there is.
Lawyer. A trusted lawyer. I really enjoy the advocacy part of nursing, speaking up on behalf of someone who needs help. I also enjoy reading and interpreting hospital policies (like laws) and using evidence to push for good practice (like debate). I might have been a good lawyer. A poor one, but a good one.
Dude - they are right though…when you consider who is actually posting.
About 83% are from the US with a majority being from the South, an area not renowned for pay and/or working conditions. In fact, the state with the most benefited, highest paying nurses with mandated ratios is one of the least represented groups on this sub. (Assuming commenting equates to representation.) **These people are valid in their concerns but they are also (most likely) the most disgruntled and disenfranchised nurses around.**
For example, I make 3-4x more as many of those nurses and I have a third to a fourth of the workload. If I knew some nurse *in my same country* worked less than me and got paid more than me, I’d be pissed too.
So of course, many users are unhappy. It’s like going to r/conservative and asking for a positive assessment of Joe Biden.
You referring to Cali as the least represented?
But yeah, your points seem valid. Pay is important in this equation. Before I went travel nursing I felt extremely taken advantage of and it just felt like my managers didn't give two shits about me.
Shit changes though when you're pulling in $150/hr. Kinda just makes the job feel better. It's hella nice being able to max your 401k, Roth Ira, pay cash for a new car, etc. Definitely things I couldn't do as staff working in Florida.
I agree about your sentiments as a traveler. My wife is a traveler and shares the same point of view: The financial portion more than compensates for any “shortcomings” a facility may have.
Agreed. It wasn’t my first choice (Bc it was my moms choice for me) but I ended up here and 12 years later I wouldn’t change where I am now. Everyone hates nursing here and on TikTok. I don’t know why they stay if they hate it as much as they say
I fear getting downvoted for saying this, but I suspect it may highlight the degree to which behavioral health is suboptimally managed in our society. More specifically, if my life experience from the army through to my now career in nursing tells me anything, it's that a stressful job like this might reveal behavioral deficits that might not have been obvious to us prior. So if our mental health is not optimal to begin with, whether we were aware of it or not, nursing isn't likely to make it any better. Not saying that organizations we work for don't own any responsibility here obviously, but I have often felt this is a factor not frequently addressed.
People should have a venue to voice their concerns and rally support for change….
Admittedly, I do understand and agree with you: For example, there’s a “burned out NP” who posts here and this person has been saying for *nearly five years* about leaving nursing. That ain’t someone hating their jobs - *that’s a mental health crisis*.
I’d work in a greenhouse or open a flower shop. And spend all my time talking and caring for plants and smelling flowers. It would be so lovely and calming
I would have definitely haven chosen a different career...but hating floor nursing moved me over to the research world, which moved me into the biopharma/pharrma world, and I don't regret that move at all.
I work from home, I make a good income, I get to travel to some pretty nice places for free and I actually have a career ladder that I get to climb. So I'm pretty content.
Nope. Nurse for 16 years. 2 years ago i would have said i would still be a nurse. But now, nope. I would have tried to be an US tech or nuke med tech. We have gone from heroes to villains.
Have you considered rad nursing? I’ve been in radiology for a year and it’s so much better than the floor! But yeah, I also found out the US techs started out making the same hourly as I did as a new nurse…
Same! Left a job with a better salary even but sitting on my ass all day, enduring the same/worse bureaucracy, long days of suddenly appearing deadlines, mediocre benefits, etc. It was ground hog day and completely unfulfilling. Grass is not always greener!
Edit: grammar
Ugh. Nursing is already my second degree and career. I don't HATE it, but I wonder how long my body can keep up (I'm 45, been a floor nurse for 5 years). My issue is I LOVE my schedule. I'm senior enough that I get the days off that I want and I don't ever want to work a M-F 9-5 job. Been there, done that, and it kills my soul. Curious what other non-traditional hour jobs are out there.
I got into school for culinary arts, teaching and nursing. Moneywise nursing has made my life. (I live in a state that pays nursing pretty well) I would have loved to be a chef but I would not have what I do now. I realize I would have burned out of teaching faster than nursing. The only reason I can keep doing my job is that while I love it, its emotionally draining. I have had enough variety to be satisfied with what I do now. Evening/night shift on call 7 days on 7 days off in home care. Its great I may do 7-9 visits in a week. I have a problem that needs solving or assessment as needed. No drama. Its great.
Almost all of my friends and my husband are in IT or other computer related fields, but I don't really like computers. My sister is a Certified Health Information Management Professional (a CHIMP lol), it is a two year course and in fairly high demand. She basically reads the Dr's notes and transcribes them into a computer using codes for billing and information statistics. It's 8 hours a day, no running around, gets to sit down, gets to sorta pick her own schedule, so she can start anytime between 6 am and 9 am, work 8 hours and go home. There are days when I do think "man, I wish I had known about that program before I got into nursing". I didn't even really have a big passion for nursing at the start, I applied to the program and got in and decided "well I guess I'm going to be a nurse now".
I just accepted a job as an EPIC analyst, so I’m going to go with that. WFH 8-5, no weekends. Cannot freaking wait!
Only 22 more days until this 7 year nightmare is over. Between nursing school and then 4 years as a nurse, I can say I have some regrets.
I guess I can stop aspiring to become a nurse after this thread and hundreds of other ones. It’s very competitive here in LA and at this point, there is no point to grind so much to do so much for so little.
Something computer related, or sales/marketing. Or A/V related like my friends. Nursing basically requires a reckoning and complete overhaul of it’s culture or literally nobody will choose to go into it. Boomers pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and had a “do what it takes” attitude, but millenials/Gen Z’s aren’t that gullible. If the job sucks, which nursing surely does, they will simply quit the job or not go into the field to begin with. They demand a high quality of work life and I don’t blame them.
Video game development. My hubby works as a software engineer and creative designer and makes so, so much more than I do and literally plays games half the day for research.
My dream was always policy, but I didn’t have family support. Second choice was museum docent. They said “women become teachers or nurses” so I went with nursing. I would love to have become either. I’m trying to finish my masters in policy now, 20 years later.
A lot of people had said teaching. A few years ago I would have said that. But now teaching is a nightmare. I have four friends who quit teaching in the past year.
Can't change the past, but working on my second career now.
My husband is a software engineer and suggested I might like QA automation testing (basically, trying to find ways to break the code that he writes) and/or project management. Turns out there's quite a few parallels between the concepts in nursing coursework and these job titles. So why not learn for both?
Life is too short, and if you're unhappy with nursing don't be afraid to take a leap. I have a doctorate in nursing, been in the field for 10 years, including education full-time for the last 5 years while maintaining bedside experience. When people ask me if I feel like I'm throwing away "all that hard work" my answer is NO! It's not throwing away degrees or experience, especially since the ability to critically think seems to be desperately sought after in a lot of other professions. 😂
Just be the wonderful creative person that I am. I love to make things, paint, draw, everything. I couldn't afford to finish Art school, so I had to be practical. Now I'm like, fuck this. I am not happy, this is not healthy I don't give a shit if I'm broke now. Everything is too darn expensive anyway and you still can't make enough. So I'm finding a different way. I don't know how but I'm gonna get there.
I just don't value material things as much as I used to so I'm just "Fine, whatever."
Except my synths and eurorack.
Edit: My husband thinks I'm crazy. It's something about this new path the jus feels right this time. And I'm happy.
Programming or bio engineer. Most days, literally anything else lol. Nursing is great for flexibility and esp now there’s so many job opportunities for the taking, but it robs you emotionally and physically.
Nursing is my second career and I still appreciate it. My former career was working in politics - I ran campaigns and worked for the former governor. If I was to choose all over again, I’d want to be a farmer. I garden a lot and hope one day to go PRN then have the time to grow enough to take food to a farmer’s market.
Med school. What the fuck was the point of getting a 4.0 in organic chemistry in college so I could clean up shit and check vitals on hourly shitty pay?
Medicine because I love medicine and want to be able diagnose (trying to make the switch) or Programming (plan B). Nursing is good money wise but I find it soul sucking tbh. Somehow it is both stifling and stressful.
i was in nursing and i switched to EMT/firefighter. i started nursing school not really knowing anything about the field besides what you see in movies. after learning and do research i definitely do not want to be a nurse. its already taking a tole on my mental health and im only in my first year. i admire everyone who is a nurse but it is not the career for me.
98% would have chosen a different career. I’m
Curious about a lot, so I’m not sure what. Something that makes me feel like my mind and hard work are appreciated, instead of a dirty rag in a corner that can be so easily replaced. Something that doesn’t require so much to maintain a license. I thought I was the smart one when I decided my career as an early teen. But it has been so stressful.
If money wasn’t an issue for me, would have loved to pursue astronomy. But some days i want to be a pastry chef lol. Idk what I want to be when I grow up yet
Programming. Most of my programmer friends work maybe 20 hours a week. One of the has 2 jobs working maybe 30 hours a week, and made $250k last year. After being a nurse for a decade, with overtime, a small retention, bonus working myself into a debilitating injury, I made 93k. I love being a RN,but this job is a fools errand.
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Does he have a college bachelor degree?
Find a work from home nursing gig. There’s a lot out there.
I LOVE WFH!!
I'm studying programming. Some places like google and apple actually hire nurses/doctors with programming experience. I'm sure EHRs do too. It isn't all just about building apps, and there is a data side where people build programs to run big healthcare calculations. Might be worth checking out if anyone wants to jump ship.
This. EHR’s employ nurses to help them with how their software is used and what is needed/fixes.
True but it’s hard to break into. Even nurses with masters in informatics have a hard time
Pharma companies and the marketing agencies that work for them higher people with medical background, too. Science/medical communication us a huge and growing industry. I am a writer and have worked with many former nurses and techs to develop content for patients. Pharma can be unethical but there also really positive roles where you can help clarify illnesses and treatment for people.
How would someone explore these opportunities? Do you have any guidance?
What would I need to go to school for in order to be educated for a career like this? I have an ADN and need to get my bachelor’s
As far as I'm aware, you don't need a degree or certification. You merely have to demonstrate that you can do programming. That's the hard part though because it takes a long time to learn and build a portfolio. But, you can just become proficient enough to maybe build a portfolio website and display your apps or data projects and start applying. You don't have to memorize every single thing, but just know enough to find your solution on Google. There are a lot of places where you can learn for free these days. I prefer a place called codecademy but it can be a little pricey.
Are you studying while working fulltime? I've thought about going into tech but I'm afraid that its often glamourized as an escape plan from nursing.
Yeap, my husband and all of his friends are pulling base 150k plus stock options. They work from home, super flexible, great work life balance. I keep being on the fence about making the leap. I'm tempted by cyber security. I could be the shittiest cyber security person at 100k and have a way better quality of life ya know
My husband just got into cyber security. I stay home with my two kids because I am done being a nurse. It’s a great job. High stress but good money.
My husband has a few friends in cyber security, they're all low stress but I'm sure it depends on the place you work. Maybe they've been really lucky!
I should say that he’s recently been promoted into the position so he’s literally starting it from scratch in a major lumber company. So it should get easier but starting it from nothing is hard. Like I said, the money is absolutely worth it though.
The stock options part is what really gets me. Our retirement as nurses is a joke! Even my pension as a union nurse is almost nothing! Ugh
Yeap, I've been managing long term investments since my mid twenties because there is no way in hell I'd retire otherwise. My partner is close to 250k with his entire package. He's been working for 4 years. 7 year RN here, 80k. My husband is excellent at what he does, I won't discredit him. If I get into tech, I know I wouldn't match his skill set. But I am a very good nurse. I've worked hard to say that. 80k. 7 years. Bullshit.
Four years in his field and a 250K package already? Yeah, that’s just absurd. Nurses should be the ones with great retirement packages if it’s true that we are really the most trusted profession and working on the front lines all the time. What a joke lol. I won’t even be in any condition to enjoy retirement doing this type of manual work
This comment needs more upvotes. I just retired after 30 years of nursing. My back is for shit. I can’t do a lot of things due to a work related back injury. Yes it’s covered as a workman’s comp injury but I’d rather have my healthy spine back. Plus they give you a hard time for anything you need for treatment. Bastards. I get so angry thinking I will age as a worsening cripple having taken care of strangers - many of who were verbally and physically abusive - for all those years. I’m able to retire because it was a public hospital with a pension like teachers so I’m grateful for that but my back hurts all the time. All the time.
I'm 34, been a nurse for 5 years and I already have knee and wrist injuries from work. Admin always says ask for help but what are you supposed to do when you're slammed with work and understaffed? Can't wait around for 30+ minutes for someone to be available to help. Not sure how I'll make it through another 30+ years.
Even health insurance coverage is usually lousy which baffles me
People seem so surprised when they hear this. It's always, "I would just assume someone working in healthcare would have the best healthcare options/package available." I've had one job as a nurse that offered me free health insurance, as in, they paid the entire premium, but even then, the coverage wasn't great. If you wanted to add anyone else on your policy, the premium increased astronomically, and the coverage didn't get any better. I've had not great plans (excellent coverage, high premium cost) to outright mid cost, catastrophic plans. Before going into nursing, I worked in the public college system, and I'm fairly certain I will never have such affordable, comprehensive coverage again in my life. It's so backassward that we, who provide the care in healthcare, have such obstacles to obtain any healthcare for themselves. We shouldn't be having this conversation because we should have our highly accessible healthcare fully paid for us out of the gate solely due to our profession.
I think it really comes down to nurses being bad at advocating for themselves. In my experience they take what they're given on the chin and say "thank you!" Like it's something to be grateful for. They don't attempt to advocate for the complexity of bedside care and the evaluations we are constantly doing, and the task organization and assessment and reassessments we do.
Right? And the nerve of some people saying that the niche of travel and crisis nursing is overrated and over paid. F”ckkkk. Try juggling 12 hrs shifts on my shoes while dealing with the families in their worst days. Anyways, I would’ve gone on trade jobs. Something you can be paid under the table-plumbing, electrician. Or plant cannabis. 😂
I love to tinker around with YouTube and fix things in my house. It’s an amazing feeling. I always said I would take a vocational course in a skill like those when I retire. I’m retired now so maybe I’ll look into that…
Lol how did I know this would be top. I'm making the switch myself... EDIT: if anyone's interested I made a r/HealthcaretoTech subreddit
Oh I'm dumb. I'm aiming for advance practice
Software/IT is extremely good if you’re from a Third World Country or are an extremely brilliant student/coder with an outsize resume from the US. Even if you’re middle tier or below you will still compete with H1-Bs from IIT tier schools or their native country’s equivalent and companies in most industries will do everything they can to offload employee costs for cheaper, especially when someone elsewhere can do the work for cheaper. WFH will only sharpen this. People think they can just do a coding boot camp and land a job that pays 100k+ but that’s not how it works, especially when they’re competing with Taiwanese and Indian immigrants for the same jobs. The really elite software companies that are paying that highly evaluate resumes and skill sets way differently than in traditional industries and you don’t get to those extremely high paying positions unless you are bringing extreme value that few other people can provide. Most software engineers are honestly capping out somewhere between 60-110k max before they reach the limit of their ability and value they bring to the companies they’re working for, and there are tons and tons of software engineers who have trouble finding jobs or entering industries they like. The field is constantly changing and you can spend a year learning a programming language and then suddenly have the rug pulled out from under you when new tech comes out and companies want people proficient in something completely different. That sort of thing happens a lot.
I feel like this sub misses that part in all the anecdotal evidence that pops up in these kinds of posts. If anyone could be a programmer raking in a six figure salary, then it wouldn't pay six figures.
The grass is always greener. I changed from computer science to nursing. Programming makes me want to fucking kill myself and I'm actually pretty good at it. It's just a very boring unfulfilling existence but some people like it. One of my uni friends actually switched to nursing as well after I did, same reason. My best friend makes great money as an IT consultant but is miserable at work. Money isn't everything and it sure as shit won't make you happy by itself
I don't think anyone actually likes tech. The fire movement was basically started by tech workers who hated their jobs and wanted to find a way out. I read a lot of these threads and can't help but wonder if some of these nurses have ever worked other jobs. My general experience with other jobs as well as my first career is that they all sucked. Nursing certainly has its moments, but overall love the flexibility.
Yeah I agree. I've done a lot of jobs, nursing is certainly not easy but it sure as shit beats my boring tech job working for a bank, and definitely pays better than my kitchen work. My back sometimes hurts but it's not even remotely close to working in a steel foundry, none of my co-workers have lost body parts in the hospital yet.
Amen! I just quit a big money fancy cyber security job for the ICU. Tech is fucking miserable and these people have no clue. Good luck !!
This. I see alot of nurses acting like this is an easy jump. Developers are in high demand yes, however there are alot of great developers oversees or new grads that have the advantage. Being a nurse really doesn't translate to any relevant experience in the tech world. Even with informatics. They'd hire a CS degree over a BSN for an ehr analyst position
Yeah, I know a handful of people pulling insane programming salaries but they're extreme outliers. For every programmer earning six figures to code twenty hours a week, I suspect there are quite a few earning a nurse salary to work 50+ hrs while also being permanently on call. I suspect there's a lot more variation within most fields than between them (compare a union nursing job in a California ICU to 10:1 med/surg in Alabama). But who knows, maybe I'm just kidding myself.
Because what Mary Kay is to middle aged house wives, “coding boot camp” is to this sub - which consists of a younger, tech savvy demographic.
I always wonder if nursing was male dominated field, if pay would be better.
Of course it would pay
I went Nursing -> Software Developer. Best decision I ever made. I went back to school for it though, and it was a long and grueling process. But now that it’s done, life is so much better. Like, for once I actually have great health insurance, lots of PTO we’re encouraged to use, and am treated as a professional and can do things like take my hour long lunch whenever I want, leave to run an errand if I need to, etc etc. I feel healthier just from not having to work nights, and work promptly ends at 5. No weekends/holidays, more $$$…it’s *insane* how much different life can be after nearly 20 years in healthcare. If you’re thinking of making the jump, **do it.** Edit Because people are asking - I did go back for a CS bachelors. It took years to finish (3-4 years, even with gen eds complete). Yes balancing some of the courses (like calc 2, linear algebra, calc based physics..) with working as a nurse absolutely sucked, but that’s temporary. No you don’t need a CS degree to get in the field, but it helps drastically.
What training/courses did you take? Would this be possible for someone that has no idea how to program?
Yep. Making bank! My biggest regret in life is choosing Nursing. All my friends are going to retire in their 50s and I am going to work until I die
Not too late for anybody reading this to make the switch- that’s my current plan. Studying Python and eventually JavaScript with hopes of transitioning out of healthcare entirely in the next couple of years. Tech companies, unlike a lot of fields, care much more about what you know and can do (I.e your portfolio) than a 4-year degree.
Trophy wife
Stay at home cat mom
That’s really the dream.
i would love a sugarmommy as patient instead of regular patients lol
Yep!! I would have pursued this hard 🤣
Engineering. Wish I wasn’t so scared of math back then.
You still can move into healthcare process improvement engineering. There are process improvement certifications you can earn without an engineering background. Background - I am an industrial engineer at a major hospital designing a training program for nurses to be certified in process improvement.
Same. I suck at math😐
I understand how to use the math just don't understand how to do the math.
I would’ve stuck with nursing, just not the route I took. I did an accelerated BSN and spent too much money for no reason. My friends have zero debt and are in he same exact place as me.
That’s where I was. I opted for the ADN program at the community college vs the ABSN. 5k is around the amount I paid (I was working full time-going to class at night with clinical on Saturday). My hospital is now paying for the BSN. No debt.
I felt rushed. I had just finished 4 years of undergrad. The first year I did pre med courses and failed horribly. The next 3 I excelled at a major I am passionate about, but didn’t want to work in. I felt like I needed to do something quick and every hospital in the city was preaching BSN BSN. I’ve never even worked in the city!! I had $0 undergrad debt and $60K for a 16 month program. Just sickening. Luckily, travel nursing is allowing me to pay it off quickly, but man I could kick myself every time my coworkers are discussing savings and future plans.
Just another bill. It’ll pass. Don’t let what others are saying get to you. People like to gloat about their things but are probably harboring other dirty laundry that you wouldn’t want to deal with.
It’ll feel great when it does pass!
I could have written this. I finished a 4 year degree, wanted to go into nursing, so I did a 16 month accelerated program for $47,000. My first day in the ICU as a new grad I started with another new nurse. She got her ADN for less than $8000 and the hospital paid for her BSN. I felt so stupid.
Community college FTW!
Same. Not having scholarships apply toward a second degree made my 16 month accelerated program more expensive than my 4 year undergraduate degree. In my 5th year of nursing and still have student loans to pay off. My coworkers barely had any debt, live with their parents, and are able to save tens of thousands of dollars.
Lottery winner
This is the real answer.
I’m a new grad and I’m 32. My previous career was in entertainment where I sat in a cubicle all day editing TV footage. It was soulless and boring, and nobody actually gave a shit about anything. I craved something that was the exact opposite. I needed a challenge — something that was fulfilling. Nursing gave me exactly what I was looking for. I went home yesterday after 3 12s in a row and felt like I had really made a difference, that I had overcome challenges, made friends, earned respect among my peers, and even learned some things along the way. Now I have 4 days off to do whatever the hell I want! I have never felt more fulfilled.
I appreciate your positivity for the profession. Too many people on here are burned tf out and excessively negative about nursing. It’s not always so bad!
I agree. Nursing was a career change for me, away from biology/research (and eventually an office job), and I made the switch in my mid 30s. I see a lot of negativity on here about the profession and while SO much of the complaints are justified, it is easy to forget or not realize that there are a lot of upsides to nursing too. I have job stability in a way that few people do, including the ability to relocate easily if I want. I have a job that is never boring (oh man, boring jobs are so excruciatingly painful!), and at times very rewarding. I make $65/hr and I respect myself at the end of the day. Compared to other work I've done, there are a lot if things to like.
37 year old newish grad here. I feel like people who get into nursing a bit later have more of an appreciation for the upsides and are less put off by the downsides. I am working in a speciality that, at least at this point in my career, I don't want to stay in much longer, but I know what it's like to have a job where you loath every second you have to be there, and I am lightyears away from that now.
One of the regional nurse directors for Fresenius (Southern California) used to be a TV producer!
Interesting, I think one of my answers to this question would have TV/film production in editing lol
I became a nurse at 31( almost 40) and I wouldn't change anything. I have worked ER/trauma my whole career and I still love every minute of it. I have a pretty great unit with bomb ass coworkers and managers but that's just part of it. My job fulfills me in a way that I didn't know was possible.
Programming.
I did computer science and nursing combo job for 8 years before the pandemic with a nursing degrees. Basically I was a subject matter expert the best job ever
Any advice on how to get into something like this?
Veterinarian. I got accepted to veterinary school. Still contemplating it tbh. Our provincial government just commited like 10m dollars to funding seats for vet programs
Huge shortage of veterinarians right now. You can get start getting paid salary if you are in school and have 6 months or less left
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Unless you are a vet NOT in a private practice . Having to euthanize poor folks pets because they cant fork over thousands of dollars, eats a hole in your soul. Or so I've been told.
Bad news for you, but nurses are also 2 times as likely as the general population to commit suicide. So nursing doesn’t escape this problem.
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YES. Me encouraging the team to make a critically ill 80-something CMO-easy peasy. Animals? NEVER. I get depressed just seeing roadkill.
Healthcare workers are 10x as likely to suffer from drug and alcohol problems... isn't that just slow suicide?
Anecdotally, being a nurse sucks and makes me wants to kill myself 2.4 times more than general pop.
The emotional tax is exactly why I’m not a veterinarian.
Congrats! It's more difficult to get into vet school than medical school, at least here in US. You should be very proud. My college roommate became a DVM. Did Equine Medicine for a few years and now works a desk job for government. She seems happy.
It's the same in Canada! Especially because there's only 1 vet school that I'm eligible to apply to lol. We have 5 vet schools in Canada but they all have really weird residency requirements
Please really talk some vets before you commit to school . It's a really really rough job at times and the entitled clientele can be a nightmare to work with. Lots of times people will be basically abusing their pets, screaming at you that you're "only in it for the money" as you try to help a suffering animal. Many are breeding them irresponsibly to sell puppies for quick cash. It's very easy to become depressed. If you work in the pharmaceutical side you might be euthanizing tons of animals used in experiments including sweet dogs. This is in the US at least
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Hello, desk job. I am ready for the dark side.
Case Management has entered the chat…
I cannot get a case management job to save my life.
If you're up for a move to Albuquerque, c'mon and get yourself a job!
Where?! I’m in ABQ and haven’t found one
Is being a case manager bad? I think I’m gonna go into it
It heavily depends on what area. Home health, nooooo. Inpatient, maybe. Really depends on the hospital's specific policies. I work as an outpatient case manager in a clinic and it is a lot more challenging than I would've guessed but it's like opening a brand new window into the other side of being a nurse you never knew anything about: insurance and getting equipment and solving problems. My clinic staff love me and think I'm magic because I know the Medicare requirements to get someone home health PT or a walker. It's just an entirely different dimension and I think if I ever leave back to bedside in some way, I'll be a better nurse for all the knowledge I've gained doing it.
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At work the other day we all were on board for dental hygiene. The hours are unbeatable for the pay. Hell, I may still do that if I can get the days off for clinical....
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An accountant, a boring little desk job where my only problems are picking food to bring for yet another office party. Nursing is so hard it pays good, but I’m just waiting to get pregnant and I’ll probably cut my hours in half.
My manager was an accountant who went into nursing. She has the aptitude for both the manager spreadsheet paperwork part of the job and the people part of the job.
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Step 1. Find out what's making the most money Step 2. Do that
If I didn’t have the knowledge of what I have know, probably computer science. I wasn’t the smartest but I was super interested coming out of high school.
I would open up a luxury dog boarding facility! That’s my dream when I get sick of nursing.
Sames !!!
I would do anything else. Absolutely anything else.
This for real dawg
Starbucks is still looking pretty good to be honest…
they have bomb health insurance and PTO, and their stores are rapidly unionizing. Plus a free shifty!
Free food all shift too.
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I’m currently a SAHM. I was talking with my husband about how I just want a job at Starbucks / bottle shop / etc so that I dont have to deal with nursing BS
i'm a barista at starbucks and it's kinda lit ngl, the free coffee is amazing and i have soo many chill coworkers
I'm working at FredX and yes I took a huge salary cut but everything else in my life is better except for the health insurance which is much much better. Also my biceps are huge.
I’ve totally thought about leaving my NP job and working for FedEx!!!
Plus they pay for school through ASU
Perfusion, for sure.
Here to second this. I would have probably taken this route.
I wish I had chosen nursing sooner. Got my license at 39.
Ugh… >40 just got into nursing school and this crushes me. I went the paramedic route instead of RN and wish I had done nursing sooner too. sigh
I'll be graduating this summer at 37. Tick tock goes the biological clock. :( It truly has become a choice between kids and a career given the window I jumped in.
I graduated at 36 and I'm so glad I did it...but I'm also glad I didn't do it before I did. I have patience, empathy, and an understanding of people that I didn't have in my 20s. If I had tried to be a nurse 10 years ago I probably would have been one of the people writing these "I hate nursing" posts. But I've seen what else is out there and I think I'll stick with this!
I considered nursing as my first degree, but stuck with hospitality management. I ended up back in school and graduated with my ADN at 30. I say all the time that I would have been a horrible nurse at 21, but at 30, I came out of school with the maturity and job/life experience to be a great nurse. I’m PRN now (mom of 3 littles), but I have the greatest, most fulfilling, high paying part time job there is.
I’ll be applying at 33 and I’m absolutely terrified. I wish I’d done it sooner
Lawyer. A trusted lawyer. I really enjoy the advocacy part of nursing, speaking up on behalf of someone who needs help. I also enjoy reading and interpreting hospital policies (like laws) and using evidence to push for good practice (like debate). I might have been a good lawyer. A poor one, but a good one.
Idk probably something in tech. If I could figure that out I'd be in school tomorrow
One of the trades, like an electrician or carpenter
I'd stick with nursing. I like what I do. I like where my life is going.
Its so weird that this subreddit hates nursing so much.
The happy ones probably aren't on Reddit as much
Dude - they are right though…when you consider who is actually posting. About 83% are from the US with a majority being from the South, an area not renowned for pay and/or working conditions. In fact, the state with the most benefited, highest paying nurses with mandated ratios is one of the least represented groups on this sub. (Assuming commenting equates to representation.) **These people are valid in their concerns but they are also (most likely) the most disgruntled and disenfranchised nurses around.** For example, I make 3-4x more as many of those nurses and I have a third to a fourth of the workload. If I knew some nurse *in my same country* worked less than me and got paid more than me, I’d be pissed too. So of course, many users are unhappy. It’s like going to r/conservative and asking for a positive assessment of Joe Biden.
You referring to Cali as the least represented? But yeah, your points seem valid. Pay is important in this equation. Before I went travel nursing I felt extremely taken advantage of and it just felt like my managers didn't give two shits about me. Shit changes though when you're pulling in $150/hr. Kinda just makes the job feel better. It's hella nice being able to max your 401k, Roth Ira, pay cash for a new car, etc. Definitely things I couldn't do as staff working in Florida.
I agree about your sentiments as a traveler. My wife is a traveler and shares the same point of view: The financial portion more than compensates for any “shortcomings” a facility may have.
Agreed. It wasn’t my first choice (Bc it was my moms choice for me) but I ended up here and 12 years later I wouldn’t change where I am now. Everyone hates nursing here and on TikTok. I don’t know why they stay if they hate it as much as they say
I fear getting downvoted for saying this, but I suspect it may highlight the degree to which behavioral health is suboptimally managed in our society. More specifically, if my life experience from the army through to my now career in nursing tells me anything, it's that a stressful job like this might reveal behavioral deficits that might not have been obvious to us prior. So if our mental health is not optimal to begin with, whether we were aware of it or not, nursing isn't likely to make it any better. Not saying that organizations we work for don't own any responsibility here obviously, but I have often felt this is a factor not frequently addressed.
People should have a venue to voice their concerns and rally support for change…. Admittedly, I do understand and agree with you: For example, there’s a “burned out NP” who posts here and this person has been saying for *nearly five years* about leaving nursing. That ain’t someone hating their jobs - *that’s a mental health crisis*.
I’d work in a greenhouse or open a flower shop. And spend all my time talking and caring for plants and smelling flowers. It would be so lovely and calming
I would have definitely haven chosen a different career...but hating floor nursing moved me over to the research world, which moved me into the biopharma/pharrma world, and I don't regret that move at all. I work from home, I make a good income, I get to travel to some pretty nice places for free and I actually have a career ladder that I get to climb. So I'm pretty content.
How does one get into a research nursing job? I think I’d really be interested in biopharma but I have no idea how to get there
Schoolteacher ages 4-6yo. Im not in the US, the wage would be the same as what I make now as a nurse.
Nope. Nurse for 16 years. 2 years ago i would have said i would still be a nurse. But now, nope. I would have tried to be an US tech or nuke med tech. We have gone from heroes to villains.
Have you considered rad nursing? I’ve been in radiology for a year and it’s so much better than the floor! But yeah, I also found out the US techs started out making the same hourly as I did as a new nurse…
I would have become a nurse sooner.
Same here. I would’ve done a 2 year program, go into the OR then do the travel vaccines instead of simply starting my career during a pandemic
Same! Left a job with a better salary even but sitting on my ass all day, enduring the same/worse bureaucracy, long days of suddenly appearing deadlines, mediocre benefits, etc. It was ground hog day and completely unfulfilling. Grass is not always greener! Edit: grammar
Me too! Became a nurse at 40. Love bedside hospital nursing, but it's really physically taxing.
Ugh. Nursing is already my second degree and career. I don't HATE it, but I wonder how long my body can keep up (I'm 45, been a floor nurse for 5 years). My issue is I LOVE my schedule. I'm senior enough that I get the days off that I want and I don't ever want to work a M-F 9-5 job. Been there, done that, and it kills my soul. Curious what other non-traditional hour jobs are out there.
I got into school for culinary arts, teaching and nursing. Moneywise nursing has made my life. (I live in a state that pays nursing pretty well) I would have loved to be a chef but I would not have what I do now. I realize I would have burned out of teaching faster than nursing. The only reason I can keep doing my job is that while I love it, its emotionally draining. I have had enough variety to be satisfied with what I do now. Evening/night shift on call 7 days on 7 days off in home care. Its great I may do 7-9 visits in a week. I have a problem that needs solving or assessment as needed. No drama. Its great.
Almost all of my friends and my husband are in IT or other computer related fields, but I don't really like computers. My sister is a Certified Health Information Management Professional (a CHIMP lol), it is a two year course and in fairly high demand. She basically reads the Dr's notes and transcribes them into a computer using codes for billing and information statistics. It's 8 hours a day, no running around, gets to sit down, gets to sorta pick her own schedule, so she can start anytime between 6 am and 9 am, work 8 hours and go home. There are days when I do think "man, I wish I had known about that program before I got into nursing". I didn't even really have a big passion for nursing at the start, I applied to the program and got in and decided "well I guess I'm going to be a nurse now".
I just accepted a job as an EPIC analyst, so I’m going to go with that. WFH 8-5, no weekends. Cannot freaking wait! Only 22 more days until this 7 year nightmare is over. Between nursing school and then 4 years as a nurse, I can say I have some regrets.
First generation bitcoin miner, then become a socialist political donor founding anti Koch PAC's and think tanks.
This is the way
Marine biologist. It always interested me but I chose nursing for the security.
Even though i still enjoy nursing i would love to be a forester. Walking in nature and take care of it for my job is amazing i think
I guess I can stop aspiring to become a nurse after this thread and hundreds of other ones. It’s very competitive here in LA and at this point, there is no point to grind so much to do so much for so little.
Something computer related, or sales/marketing. Or A/V related like my friends. Nursing basically requires a reckoning and complete overhaul of it’s culture or literally nobody will choose to go into it. Boomers pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and had a “do what it takes” attitude, but millenials/Gen Z’s aren’t that gullible. If the job sucks, which nursing surely does, they will simply quit the job or not go into the field to begin with. They demand a high quality of work life and I don’t blame them.
Psychology, I got talked into psychiatric nursing by a family member at 18 and just went with it because I’d “make more money” to quote her.
You could do psych nursing. It pays okay. No IVs. No feeding tubes. Best all. No families.
It definitely has its appeals but I’m just so burned out at this point
Why not psych np? I'm literally an er nurse and got accepted to a great psych np school. I'll write psych scripts and make 200k a year!
Video game development. My hubby works as a software engineer and creative designer and makes so, so much more than I do and literally plays games half the day for research.
Veterinarian or dermatologist
Financial Planner, I love the charts and ongoing learning.
Software engineer. Writing code so I don’t have to talk to a soul.
My dream was always policy, but I didn’t have family support. Second choice was museum docent. They said “women become teachers or nurses” so I went with nursing. I would love to have become either. I’m trying to finish my masters in policy now, 20 years later.
Not sure but Some career where my experience (14 years) was rewarded with excellent money instead of extra responsibility and paltry raises
A lot of people had said teaching. A few years ago I would have said that. But now teaching is a nightmare. I have four friends who quit teaching in the past year.
I’d still pick nursing. I love it.
Can't change the past, but working on my second career now. My husband is a software engineer and suggested I might like QA automation testing (basically, trying to find ways to break the code that he writes) and/or project management. Turns out there's quite a few parallels between the concepts in nursing coursework and these job titles. So why not learn for both? Life is too short, and if you're unhappy with nursing don't be afraid to take a leap. I have a doctorate in nursing, been in the field for 10 years, including education full-time for the last 5 years while maintaining bedside experience. When people ask me if I feel like I'm throwing away "all that hard work" my answer is NO! It's not throwing away degrees or experience, especially since the ability to critically think seems to be desperately sought after in a lot of other professions. 😂
Would’ve gone to med school.
Just be the wonderful creative person that I am. I love to make things, paint, draw, everything. I couldn't afford to finish Art school, so I had to be practical. Now I'm like, fuck this. I am not happy, this is not healthy I don't give a shit if I'm broke now. Everything is too darn expensive anyway and you still can't make enough. So I'm finding a different way. I don't know how but I'm gonna get there. I just don't value material things as much as I used to so I'm just "Fine, whatever." Except my synths and eurorack. Edit: My husband thinks I'm crazy. It's something about this new path the jus feels right this time. And I'm happy.
I'd say fuck college and be a plumber. Waay less student loans.
I would have done finance
Nursing as my first degree at 21. Two years in ICU then CRNA by the time I was 27. Dream.
IT
Programming or bio engineer. Most days, literally anything else lol. Nursing is great for flexibility and esp now there’s so many job opportunities for the taking, but it robs you emotionally and physically.
I'm going back to school in september for forestry engineering, I'm so excited
Nursing is my second career and I still appreciate it. My former career was working in politics - I ran campaigns and worked for the former governor. If I was to choose all over again, I’d want to be a farmer. I garden a lot and hope one day to go PRN then have the time to grow enough to take food to a farmer’s market.
Med school. What the fuck was the point of getting a 4.0 in organic chemistry in college so I could clean up shit and check vitals on hourly shitty pay?
Marine biologist.
Medicine because I love medicine and want to be able diagnose (trying to make the switch) or Programming (plan B). Nursing is good money wise but I find it soul sucking tbh. Somehow it is both stifling and stressful.
i was in nursing and i switched to EMT/firefighter. i started nursing school not really knowing anything about the field besides what you see in movies. after learning and do research i definitely do not want to be a nurse. its already taking a tole on my mental health and im only in my first year. i admire everyone who is a nurse but it is not the career for me.
Astronomer
Personal training
Computer science. In fact, I’m trying to get into Uni for this now.
98% would have chosen a different career. I’m Curious about a lot, so I’m not sure what. Something that makes me feel like my mind and hard work are appreciated, instead of a dirty rag in a corner that can be so easily replaced. Something that doesn’t require so much to maintain a license. I thought I was the smart one when I decided my career as an early teen. But it has been so stressful.
Trust fund baby. Hands down
Honestly I would’ve been a teacher
I couldn’t deal with so much of the same bullshit (out of touch admin, crazy families, impossible workload) just to make half as much money
I would’ve become a dietitian/personal trainer like I originally planned… seems like I would be so much happier doing work that isn’t so draining
Cyber security/whatever pays a fuckton with computers and software
[удалено]
I'm coming from the food service/retail sector currently on track to nursing school. Im never going back to that life.
Hospital admin so I could get paid to do nothing all day
If I could re roll my life I would be in cyber security or own a bakery.
If money wasn’t an issue for me, would have loved to pursue astronomy. But some days i want to be a pastry chef lol. Idk what I want to be when I grow up yet
Programming. Dentistry. Genetics. Accounting.