21:39 here. I have a BSN and a "decent" job so shut up.

Anonymous wrote:Pros

She can work anywhere
She can continually advance her career
She can arrange her schedule around her life

Cons

She'll need a master's to get a decent job
Nursing is nasty work

Con is needing a masters?

PP, you dont know what you are talking about. RN here, I make 200K/yr.

With all the pros and cons discussed, I wonder how many can say that if it were your daughter, who wanted to be a nurse, you'd be very happy and support and encourage her 100%. Can you?

I respect nurses and appreciate them very much and do think they are the angels. However, with all the hard work, long hours, and relatively low pay (as compare to their hard work), I wouldn't be thrilled if my daughter wants to be a nurse while she can be a doctor.

I don't have any inside knowledge of nursing but just wanted to say your daughter is right that nurses are the ones who help the patients through.

My only hospitalization so far has been for c-section. That evening, I was able to make it to the bathroom and was absolutely disgusted by the bloody pad but was really struggling to change it by myself. The nurse who was standing right outside the bathroom door kindly asked if I want her to change my pad. I was stunned. May be she thinks it is just part of her job but honestly I would have kissed her ass for offering me that help.

Good luck to your daughter.

Anonymous wrote:Nursing is a stepping stone to many other careers if you get burned out, or just want a change after a few years.

It's funny. I find many more people find nursing as their second career. For many, they like the job flexibility. for others, it's because they saw first hand a family member get sick and thought the profession might be for them. Many of my second career nurse colleagues are some of the best nurses I know! I love being a nurse and am constantly amazed by all the opportunities for nurses. I would be proud if my DD said she wanted to follow in my footsteps (my son, too, for that matter).

Greatest benefit that people forget about--nurses are not exempt employees under FLSA.

If you're a nurse and you're required to work more than 40 hours per week, you'll get paid overtime.

Same can't be said for teachers, other white collar jobs.

A friend who is a nurse (Master's level) in the area told me that it is difficult for newly qualified nurses to find jobs at the moment. Experienced nurses who left the profession to have children are now re-entering the profession, and employers prefer to hire experienced nurses. Just make sure your DD gets into a great school that has a good record of placing newly qualified nurses.

My MIL is a nurse practitioner. She worked as a "traditional" hospital nurse at first, became a school nurse when her kids were young, and now teaches nursing at college. Nursing is hard, unglamorous work, but there are a lot of different kids of nursing and options for nursing work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"People tend to see nursing as a "blue collar" job. My former law boss was very distressed when a couple moved into the neighborhood and the wife was an RN/BSN. He thought it was too blue collar for his street"

Yeah, nurses, firefighters, teachers and police officers all put downward pressure on your property values!

I think it depends on where you live. Where I grew up in the mid-west, people considered nurses as part of the educated class. In this DC area, people jumble all the allied medical staffers together and put nurses in that group -- as something less impressive than the lawyers/lobbyists/gov. admin. class. I think other areas of the country have more respect for nurses as admirable profession.

OMG I have infinitely more respect for a nurse than a lawyer or lawyer/lobbyist.

I wanted to be a nurse for years and years as a young girl. I even wanted to go to nursing school and not a 4 year college. My guidance counselor in high school persuaded me to go to a 4 year college and be open minded. Now, I am a tax accountant and really like what I do. Maybe I would have liked being a nurse, I'm not sure. At one point, I was very nervous about having people's lives as my responsibility. I am happier just working on people's and Company's taxes. And I make over $100k, and I'm able to support our family. So anyway, just because your dd wants to be a nurse now doesn't mean that is what she will ultimately decide to do.

Nursing is a stepping stone to many other careers if you get burned out, or just want a change after a few years.

Maybe you secretly want her to go on to be a doctor OP...nothing wrong with that. Just support her whatever she decides. It's a nice traditional career and one that women with kids can do and work weird hours if they want to avoid having to pay babysitters.

Anonymous wrote:Still, OP hasn't answered why she has a hang-up on her DD's professional choice.

Not hung up on it, just wondering what other think. Especially since I know that nurses often get treated crappy.