Ok, I have 3 small children (4 years, 22 months & 7 months). My kids are great but they are sick often. Probably due to the fact that 1 goes to daycare 2 days per week and the others go to the babysitters. So I do understand they will be sick. I cannot avoid it. I am currently enrolled in nursing school, but I have not paid for anything besides a $25 application fee. I would love to become a nurse practitioner honestly, but I just do not see anyway for this to happen. I am 27 years old and I know that I am still young, but I would also like to spend time with my kids while they are young. Like be able to go on vacations and to the zoo's. Have fun with them. I would also like some sort of degree though too. My question is should I just leave the nursing on hold for now and attend once all the kids are in school? Or, should I get something like a Master's in Health Care Administration? I am currently an account specialist for physical, occupational and speech therapy office. I love the medical field but I'm unsure if it should be more office oriented or nursing oriented. I can get my Bachelor's in Health Care Admin all online and I can work at my own pace. The college is Columbia Southern University and it is accredited.
So, here is the BIG question. Is it worth spending the money for a Bachelor's and eventually a master's in Health care admin? Or should I just wait and spend the time with my family for the nursing and eventually the NP? Let me know your thoughts and what you would do if you were in this situation.
And by the way, how do you know if you want nursing or a desk job in management? I'm having a hard time deciding. And if I do decide to go back now, should maybe I just take one class and see how it goes?
Thanks!!!!
My local university told me I can not take 1 class at a time because I only have 6 years to finish a degree.
Personally, I would wait until they are in school. This time will fly and you need to get top grades if you want to be accepted and then hired later.
If you can afford to stay home while your kids are young, I say do it!! School will be there in a few years, take advantage of their time being so small right now. My hubby actually just sent me these articles today on how important it is to be present in your childrens lives, maybe it will help you...
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/child-rearing-and-develo...
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1009&sid=19426845&title=p...
I would stay home w/my kids now & go back to school later.
You'll never get this time back w/your kids.
It's priceless.
My mom stayed home with us. Now, looking back, I am grateful.
I hope to be able to provide that for my own kids.
You can always go back to school and do it online even when they are in school.
Plus no one will ever be able to love & soothe your kids like you do.
Go to school. Don't let your nerves talk you out of it. There is no right time, just like there is no right time to have kids. It's a sacrifice, but everything worth having is. Once your kids are all in school, it wont be less hectic, it will be more hectic and then you'll have a teenager and all the drama that entails. Get it done and out of the way now, so you can enjoy vacations and trips to the zoo and actually have $$$$$ to spend on it!
When you do go back to school, pick the occupation you will LOVE.
If you can afford to stay home, do it. You are young, and your kids won't want to have much to do with you once they are teens, so maybe you can go then. Your kids will only be little once.
I worked as a professional before having kids, then did an additional masters degree when my first was little. I did it on "my" time (ie when he napped or after he fell asleep at night) and while it was a big commitment (I would have liked to watch silly t.v. or movies with my hubby after a long day with a teething baby), I am so happy that I did it. I like the idea of the part-time approach. Slow and steady. You get to spend time with your kids and do all the kid things you want to do, plus you're moving forward on your career (and ability to provide for those kids, when they're in school). Alternatively, is there a part-time nursing program? I would say go with what interests you the most and then find a program that offers what you want to learn. You rock for getting starting!
What is it YOU really want? Think about it, and then go for it! If you just don't know, then put a toe in the water and see if you want to take the plunge.. Do research and take a class.
Your kids do not have to be sick all the time. Get them on good vitamins to build their immunities. I firmly believe in nutrition and have become much healthier since starting a good vitamin regiment.
you have to think about what you want in regards to nursing or desk job. if the thing you like best about medical field is the fact that you get to interact with your patients then i would say nursing. but if you like a more behind the scenes type of job, then its desk job.
once you decide that, you need to look at your resources - time and money. do you have time to go to school and spend time with your kids? do you have enough money so that you dont HAVE to go to school right now? cna you just got in a few years when your kids are a little more independent?
good luck!
I agree. You need to decide, from a new-career standpoint, whether you want a people job or a desk job. You would need to find out what your best fit is.
You'll get a lot of opinions whether to seek this education now or whether to wait and see what you can do in this field after your children grow up. A stranger's opinion may not count for much; however, my take is that, all other things being equal, the time you have with your children is priceless. No matter what else you do, once your children grow up, you never get that time back. Don't undervalue it.
Your kids are little only for a short time and then they will want to do their own things. They need bonding from you right now to help them become the people you hope they will be some day. Most of the kids that are unhappy and in trouble had parents that were not around. You will have plenty of time for your self once your kids are in school.
Yes, start, but only take one class at a time while your kids are so young. There's no rush. Just get started. Take as much as you can online.
I have an educational doctorate and the money is good, enough to pay student loans. I started going to school at 25, divorced with young children, but I went back and forth from full time to part time as needed. I'm now in my 50s. I took a year off during my undergrad because of my kids. I also did everything online after the bachelor's.
Anything in the health field is going to be good, but a nurse practitioner will give you a lot of options for working part time or full time and which shifts you want. Administration would pay more after you get up there with experience, but it's probably going to demand longer hours with little or no flexibility.
Nursing is needed in so many areas, from visiting nurses in homes, to hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, peds, sports medicine, therapy, to nursing homes. The pay would vary greatlly, but you have a lot of options to choose from that would work best for your family.
Just start and keep plugging away at it. You don't need to do it fast and burn yourself out and miss out on your kids and family life. 7 or 8 years will come anyway, so you might as well be working on a nursing degree or whatever you want to do.
You need to decide if you want more administrative work or Nursing work.
Meanwhile you already applied for nursing school.
Meanwhile, you can do an online degree for Health Care Admin.
Either way, it is a long haul and lots of hours spent studying and it will affect your time, with your children. Whether or not they are in school.
Studying, takes doing it day and night and 7 days a week. Aside from attending classes. Whether or not it is online or not.
You need to decide, if you want to go the Admin route, or nursing.
These are 2 very different jobs.
A degree, will get you better pay.
Either way, attending school... takes time. And lots of hours. No matter when you do it.
I know... my Husband was in school and working full time. I was like a SINGLE parent, while he was going to school. For a few years.
So, your Husband has to understand, what it will mean, upon him... once you do attend school. It is demanding. My Husband did not have a lot of time to spend with our kids.
Once he got his degree... he got a better job and opportunities and better pay.
Have you ever taken a career interest survey? Pretty much it tells you what you'd be good at doing. Sometimes they are right on target-sometimes not so much but it can still help you to decide what you would like to do.
Another thing you can try is maybe set up a job shadowing experience. Spend the day with a nurse practioner and then spend the day with someone in admin and see what you think and what you like better and talk to the people in the field and find out why they went into that area.
Sites to look at: http://www.humanmetrics.com/ This is a meyers brigg's test-it tells you what you are like introvert/extrovert, thinking/feeling etc. It's really cool but then once it explains your personality it also gives areas that are a good match for you. I've used this site for years (I work with high school kids in transition to the real world).
Another thought-I can understand wanting to be at home with your kids. I have a 10 week old at home and I miss him like crazy when I'm at work. If there was a way for me to stay home I would, but it's not possible at the moment. So enjoy the time you have with your kids.
Growing up my mother went to night school. She did daycare in our home and then school at night and side jobs when possible. I don't remember when she graduated with her bachelor's, I vaguely remember watching her walk for her Master's and I was a junior in high school when she graduated with her Ph.D. So sometimes your dream might take you a few years or more to accomplish, but choose what is right for you and what you can do.
If you want to spend time with your kids then look at taking a class or two or doing it on line.
Other thoughts: Nurses are in a great demand. No question about that BUT there tends to be a wait list to actually get into a nursing program. Check into that. The ones in Ohio (where I live) are at least 2-3 years. So a lot of people get their basic classes out of the way and wait until they can get into the class or they go into something else.
I wanted to get my Master's I knew it would get me more money for the same job but I kept procrastinating, waiting for the right time in my life. Finally I realized I was pushing 50 and the perfect time was never going to come!
