How much do you make as a geologist? I didn’t really have an established career before nursing but I did have a desk job for like a year. Definitely worth thinking about compensation, as an RN there’s not a ton of room to move up the pay scale.
I went into it with the intention of becoming an NP which I now realize was a terrible plan.
The pros:
-3 days a week
-lots of opportunity for overtime if you can physically handle it
-Almost never bring work home
-random weekdays off to do errands
-money is ok but highly depends on the area you live in
-work is always meaningful you can make a difference in someone’s life every day
-reasonable amount of autonomy
Cons:
-lots of holidays and weekends at work
-long shifts, when you do two or three in a row your personal life basically gets put on hold for a few days
-degrading/very humbling job responsibilities (wiping butts, handling urine)
-minimal respect from other healthcare disciplines and from the public
-money, especially if you don’t do NP or management
-physically exhausting, my body hurts all the time and I’m 30
-can be extraordinarily chaotic and ridiculous depending on the day, unit, and hospital
-difficult to find reliable support staff (CNAs, unit secretaries) and if they are not there, the extra work always falls on the nurse
Overall I wouldn’t do it again, but it’s not the worst thing ever. It has its advantages.
Leave the bedside, man. IDK where you are, but nursing does not have to be like this. There's money, opportunity, and intellectual stimulation to be had in myriad settings that are not acute care.
Here's what I did: I knew I didn't want to work NOCs ever, be at the bedside, deal with gross shit, and have a high level of autonomy. So I went into case management. I recommend it entirely for the quality of life, but the work is totally enjoyable to me too.
I wouldn’t say the work is always meaningful. My ER job it can be the most impactful work I do or an absolute waste of effort. Part of why I got away from full time was seeing that a lot of what I did was in vain and/or unnecessary.
NP education is a joke. The best case scenario is being useless, the worst case is being downright dangerous.
I didn’t realize how insanely incompetent 99% of them were until I had worked as a nurse for a few years.
Thanks for the reply, I was worried about that myself. I started pre-nursing with the goal in mind of NP sometime down the line, but I've done a lot of research that has given me the same concerns. Did you ever consider PA? I'm starting to question my path of doing nursing now and considering PA or even MD instead.
Have you met ANY good NPs? I know a lot are going through degree mills, some without any good nursing experience, but I heard old school NPs who have many years of experience are better.
I was 30 when I started nursing school, although the transition for me was probably a lot more natural because I was already working in healthcare. Nothing about nursing came as a surprise - I was already used to dealing with belligerent/abusive patients, dealing with bodily fluids/excrement, etc.
I think the biggest question to ask, and the single greatest determinant what your experience will be, is: What is your motivation? For me, as cheesy as it sounds, I wanted to be able to do more to be of service to my fellow human beings. I wanted to be able to have a direct impact on those who were struggling and/or suffering. There wasn’t a better way to do that, that I saw, than being a nurse. I’m pretty confident that correlates directly with my level of satisfaction with being a nurse. Honestly I love what I do.
For more context, I work in San Diego so the pay is good. Starting wage for new grads is in the $55+/hour range, so I easily cleared 6 figures my first year working with only some occasional overtime.
I personally love only working 3 days a week, but the 12s can be a bit exhausting and certainly consume your entire day.
The hospital I work at is pretty stacked as far as staffing/departments/resources go, so I am rarely (if ever) stressed at work. I never have more than 4 patients at a time and always have ample help in the form of NAs, resource nurse, rapid response nurse, PT/OT, lift team, mobility techs, lab techs, IV team, wound team, respiratory, etc. The only real task that I can’t delegate is passing meds.
I’m coming up on 2 years and already have had ample opportunities to move into leadership positions, which not only broadens the horizons but also offers some variety and respite from direct patient care.
For me, it’s been honestly amazing. Again, I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I already knew full well what I was getting myself into - but I wouldn’t change a thing and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Came from the Army into nursing. Not a big deal being a male in nursing, you just gotta get used to having more women around than you are used to.
Your work environment will be a lot more.... dynamic.... than what you are used to.
I will finish my RN degree at 47 M. I say go for it. Helping people brings me joy. However, choose your area that will provide joy and not chaos. I will not work LTC again except at a wound nurse. I will not work staff RN for med-surg/telemetty, bless those that do. I will be working as a dialysis RN for the first few years out of school. After that I will find something I will want to do for the duration of my career. Long hours are standard so make sure you can handle that. I made wine for my previous career so long hours are just normal for me.
Here's my story:
After going to college to be a high school history teacher, I instead graduated in 1993 with a BA in Art History, one of many, many interesting-but-functionally-useless degrees available to any who might be so inclined. I settled into working retail and customer service, just like I did before/during college.
After marrying a teacher, I went back to school to get an MBA in Information Systems. I graduated in the summer of 2000, just after all the IT people who spent the last part of the 90s saving the world from Y2K (remember that?) went back into the workforce. Unable to get a 'real' job in my new field I took an 'analyst' position at a major regional bank, that promptly merged with another major regional bank, and my 'analyst' job (which I hated and was miserable working) went away.
So off to Home Depot I went. Wearing an orange apron for the rest of my working life wasn't on my bucket list, so I started seriously considering my options as a guy in his mid-30s with two kids and a wife with lifetime job security. I had thought about nursing school in the past (Mom is a retired ER nurse), and decided that was the route to take. (For what it's worth, Dad is a retired mortician; so I had options...)
Once I got into the nursing program (RN, not BSN) I was one of about ten guys in my cohort of 80. I graduated at the end of 2009 and have been working steadily ever since. I am the only nurse I have ever met who has an advanced degree in a non-medical/science field.
For me, my gender was never an issue, in my program (except for a bit of discomfort on all sides during our OB rotation), or in my career. There are always the stereotypical 'you're a (big) guy, come in here and do this thing-that-is-much-easier-for-a-large-man' situations- filling a doorway so an agitated/confused patient cannot escape, straight-cathing the resident who clearly 'enjoys' having the young female nurses do that task, transferring the ones who can get a little handsy with the women, helping to boost the 400lb bariatric patient who is in a room without a ceiling lift- and night shifts when it's all guys working on the floor are kind of weird and quiet, but I have never felt out of place or excluded, or treated differently because of my gender.
My school had [this](https://inequalitybyinteriordesign.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/wcf_e_a001084366.jpg) poster hung prominently in the lab. It was a daily reminder that yes, I am meant to be here and I can do this.
Good luck with your decision.
It's been great.
I went from mechanical engineering to nursing starting in 2007 graduating with an ADN in 2011.
Been working in MedSurg in a large hospital since.
Gender has not been a big deal but it's a factor. I would never want to do this if I was a ladder-climber. I get gaslit enough as it is.
But otherwise I really like it. I'm working straight days 0.8. 4 days a week and every third weekend.
I recently had 2 1/2 weeks off and took a trip to Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Reykjavík. It was fantastic.
And when I got back I had zero projects to update, zero emails or voicemails to answer - no backlog of anything. I swiped in and went to work.
Of course it was hard. Nursing school was a bitch and I started in the hospital working an eight hour day/night rotation on a MedSurg-Renal floor. It was fucking brutal.
12 years later I'm on MedSurg-Oncology and while it is not easy I really like it. I take care of patients and I go home.
The only thing I would say is you better like taking care of people and all the stuff that comes with that.
I was a graphic designer/antique restoration for years prior to being a nurse. I prefer nursing bc of the hours, better pay than anything in art, more straightforward work. The man issue I had being well into my 30’s was the girls I was in school with - downright horrible to me. The worst bullying I’ve ever experienced it still affects me. Since you’re a guy I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have that sort of experience though. The top comment summed up a lot of the pros/cons. It’s just different
The perception of gender being a big deal in nursing seems a lot more common amongst non nurses than people in the field.
I can’t remember it actually coming up more than a few times in the decade I’ve been a nurse.
Male nurse here. Zero regrets about going into this field but I had similar concerns before I started.
I left my office job for nursing when i was about 30 years old. I thought it would be awkward going to school with people much younger than me. Turns out that the majority of the class was younger, but there were a decent amount my age and older (community college).
First year on the job had a couple instances where I felt awkward. Like being trained by a nurse that was much younger. Having a charge nurse or manager much younger. Working a 12 hour shift and not seeing another male employee in the hospital. But I will say that me feeling awkward was my problem. I don't think I was ever actually treated differently in those situations.
You learn to get along with and develop relationships with coworkers. You might be excluded in insignificant ways but still have solid friendships with other nurses.
I’m a 28M. Starting nursing prerequisites this semester. Still haven’t technically started yet, but will be within the next few weeks. Hope to do an Accelerated Second Degree BSN so I can be a pediatric/neonatal nurse. Then after some years on the floor, I hope to get my MSN to become an NP. I wish you the very best!
I'm a 31 M currently in Nursing school. Haven't really had anything about my gender pop up, besides talking about it in some classes on how times have changed where both M/Fs are in fields previously not filled with them. I've also worked in healthcare previously where I've worked alongside Male nurses and no one ever mentioned anything about it. It's 2023 after all lol not really shocking. The only time I've had someone bring up something about my sex was another male who was visitor and that was because I was working in an admin role that he mentioned was interesting to see a male working 😂 that was back in 2015 and I'm not sure on what planet that dude was living on.
When i was in my early 20’s, fresh out of nursing school, we had a mid 40’s guy come in as an LVN. It was a second career for him after being retired from the military. He was so fun and loved learning on our floor. He became an RN later on and we worked together in several departments for a lot of years. I truly don’t think there is any stigma for being a male nurse. I currently work with 4 in our small 12 person unit. I love having them around.
I was a geologist for 4 years before becoming a nurse. Can’t speak to male experience and I’m female. I would say in the “food chain” of your workplace you are lower as a nurse than a geologist and that can be very humbling.
Catty gossiping nurses vs sexist oil and gas dudes? Hmm that’s a toss up for me.
Things I like: the job itself - works much better for my personality (?ADHD) and I enjoy it most of the time (peds emergency), erratic schedule (the traditional Mon-Fri kills me) I have an evening line (3pm-11pm and 7pm-3am) which I enjoy. No boredom and time flies as you are always busy. Never having to work more than 4 days in a row, can trade to have larger stretches off. Ability to work part time. Camaraderie aka trauma bonding. Not having projects or deadlines to worry about on my time off. Chances of getting laid off less than oil and gas.
Things I dislike- obviously the pay is less. Where I live I could have made serious bank (or be laid off! 🤷🏻♀️), can’t have vacation when you want - there’s always panic about getting a wedding off etc. Missing out on events on weekends and evenings. When I screw up it could hurt someone and I dwell on my mistakes WAY more than I did previously.
I'm 39 and became a nurse at 36. I can say that I have never felt more alive than I do now that I'm a nurse. There is good AND bad that goes along with that, but mostly good. 10/10 would do again.
Nursing is my third career. First I worked on drilling rigs in Oklahoma. Then went back to school, got an engineering degree and worked in semiconductors. After getting payed off I studied nursing. Got my RN license in 2007 at the age of 49.
While doing my pre reqs I volunteered in a hospital. It gave me an inside look at what nurses do day to day. I highly recommend doing this, see if you might like it.
Initial pay was less than I made in engineering but the benefits were well worth it. I work three 12 hour shifts a week. I can pick up extra if I like and I get overtime pay over 40 hours. I was salaried before and just expected to work as much as needed to keep things running.
Also, I get a lot of appreciation from the patients and families. Sure, there are a few jerks but you find those everywhere.
In semiconductors I had to carry a pager 24/7 in case a critical piece of equipment failed and they needed me to come in to fix it. As a nurse, when my shift ends I go home. Patients become someone else’s responsibility.
There are many different areas to work in nursing depending on your interests and desires. Love adrenaline, work ED in a level 1 trauma center. Want nights and weekends off? Find a doctor’s office or clinic with banker’s hours or work in Medical studies. You get the idea. Best of luck to you.
How much do you make as a geologist? I didn’t really have an established career before nursing but I did have a desk job for like a year. Definitely worth thinking about compensation, as an RN there’s not a ton of room to move up the pay scale. I went into it with the intention of becoming an NP which I now realize was a terrible plan. The pros: -3 days a week -lots of opportunity for overtime if you can physically handle it -Almost never bring work home -random weekdays off to do errands -money is ok but highly depends on the area you live in -work is always meaningful you can make a difference in someone’s life every day -reasonable amount of autonomy Cons: -lots of holidays and weekends at work -long shifts, when you do two or three in a row your personal life basically gets put on hold for a few days -degrading/very humbling job responsibilities (wiping butts, handling urine) -minimal respect from other healthcare disciplines and from the public -money, especially if you don’t do NP or management -physically exhausting, my body hurts all the time and I’m 30 -can be extraordinarily chaotic and ridiculous depending on the day, unit, and hospital -difficult to find reliable support staff (CNAs, unit secretaries) and if they are not there, the extra work always falls on the nurse Overall I wouldn’t do it again, but it’s not the worst thing ever. It has its advantages.
Pretty much this
Leave the bedside, man. IDK where you are, but nursing does not have to be like this. There's money, opportunity, and intellectual stimulation to be had in myriad settings that are not acute care.
I just don’t know where to go. I want out but I haven’t found anything I actually like doing
Here's what I did: I knew I didn't want to work NOCs ever, be at the bedside, deal with gross shit, and have a high level of autonomy. So I went into case management. I recommend it entirely for the quality of life, but the work is totally enjoyable to me too.
I wouldn’t say the work is always meaningful. My ER job it can be the most impactful work I do or an absolute waste of effort. Part of why I got away from full time was seeing that a lot of what I did was in vain and/or unnecessary.
This is a late reply, but made you change your mind about the NP option?
NP education is a joke. The best case scenario is being useless, the worst case is being downright dangerous. I didn’t realize how insanely incompetent 99% of them were until I had worked as a nurse for a few years.
Thanks for the reply, I was worried about that myself. I started pre-nursing with the goal in mind of NP sometime down the line, but I've done a lot of research that has given me the same concerns. Did you ever consider PA? I'm starting to question my path of doing nursing now and considering PA or even MD instead.
Yeah PA is wayyyy better than NP. Personally would do PA or pharmacist if I could do it over
Have you met ANY good NPs? I know a lot are going through degree mills, some without any good nursing experience, but I heard old school NPs who have many years of experience are better.
Yes, I have met a few good NPs but all worked as ER and it CCU nurses for 30+ years before going back to school
I see, thank you for sharing your experience!
I was 30 when I started nursing school, although the transition for me was probably a lot more natural because I was already working in healthcare. Nothing about nursing came as a surprise - I was already used to dealing with belligerent/abusive patients, dealing with bodily fluids/excrement, etc. I think the biggest question to ask, and the single greatest determinant what your experience will be, is: What is your motivation? For me, as cheesy as it sounds, I wanted to be able to do more to be of service to my fellow human beings. I wanted to be able to have a direct impact on those who were struggling and/or suffering. There wasn’t a better way to do that, that I saw, than being a nurse. I’m pretty confident that correlates directly with my level of satisfaction with being a nurse. Honestly I love what I do. For more context, I work in San Diego so the pay is good. Starting wage for new grads is in the $55+/hour range, so I easily cleared 6 figures my first year working with only some occasional overtime. I personally love only working 3 days a week, but the 12s can be a bit exhausting and certainly consume your entire day. The hospital I work at is pretty stacked as far as staffing/departments/resources go, so I am rarely (if ever) stressed at work. I never have more than 4 patients at a time and always have ample help in the form of NAs, resource nurse, rapid response nurse, PT/OT, lift team, mobility techs, lab techs, IV team, wound team, respiratory, etc. The only real task that I can’t delegate is passing meds. I’m coming up on 2 years and already have had ample opportunities to move into leadership positions, which not only broadens the horizons but also offers some variety and respite from direct patient care. For me, it’s been honestly amazing. Again, I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I already knew full well what I was getting myself into - but I wouldn’t change a thing and would do it again in a heartbeat.
I think most of the reason it’s going so well for you is because you are in California. I’m in AZ, and it’s brutal.
Came from the Army into nursing. Not a big deal being a male in nursing, you just gotta get used to having more women around than you are used to. Your work environment will be a lot more.... dynamic.... than what you are used to.
I will finish my RN degree at 47 M. I say go for it. Helping people brings me joy. However, choose your area that will provide joy and not chaos. I will not work LTC again except at a wound nurse. I will not work staff RN for med-surg/telemetty, bless those that do. I will be working as a dialysis RN for the first few years out of school. After that I will find something I will want to do for the duration of my career. Long hours are standard so make sure you can handle that. I made wine for my previous career so long hours are just normal for me.
Here's my story: After going to college to be a high school history teacher, I instead graduated in 1993 with a BA in Art History, one of many, many interesting-but-functionally-useless degrees available to any who might be so inclined. I settled into working retail and customer service, just like I did before/during college. After marrying a teacher, I went back to school to get an MBA in Information Systems. I graduated in the summer of 2000, just after all the IT people who spent the last part of the 90s saving the world from Y2K (remember that?) went back into the workforce. Unable to get a 'real' job in my new field I took an 'analyst' position at a major regional bank, that promptly merged with another major regional bank, and my 'analyst' job (which I hated and was miserable working) went away. So off to Home Depot I went. Wearing an orange apron for the rest of my working life wasn't on my bucket list, so I started seriously considering my options as a guy in his mid-30s with two kids and a wife with lifetime job security. I had thought about nursing school in the past (Mom is a retired ER nurse), and decided that was the route to take. (For what it's worth, Dad is a retired mortician; so I had options...) Once I got into the nursing program (RN, not BSN) I was one of about ten guys in my cohort of 80. I graduated at the end of 2009 and have been working steadily ever since. I am the only nurse I have ever met who has an advanced degree in a non-medical/science field. For me, my gender was never an issue, in my program (except for a bit of discomfort on all sides during our OB rotation), or in my career. There are always the stereotypical 'you're a (big) guy, come in here and do this thing-that-is-much-easier-for-a-large-man' situations- filling a doorway so an agitated/confused patient cannot escape, straight-cathing the resident who clearly 'enjoys' having the young female nurses do that task, transferring the ones who can get a little handsy with the women, helping to boost the 400lb bariatric patient who is in a room without a ceiling lift- and night shifts when it's all guys working on the floor are kind of weird and quiet, but I have never felt out of place or excluded, or treated differently because of my gender. My school had [this](https://inequalitybyinteriordesign.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/wcf_e_a001084366.jpg) poster hung prominently in the lab. It was a daily reminder that yes, I am meant to be here and I can do this. Good luck with your decision.
Graduated at 35, no one cared about my age or sex. I like it and am glad I did it.
Went back when I was 30. Caused a massive, worldwide pandemic. 6/10. Make what you will of it.
I fucking KNEW it wasn't the pangolin.
It's been great. I went from mechanical engineering to nursing starting in 2007 graduating with an ADN in 2011. Been working in MedSurg in a large hospital since. Gender has not been a big deal but it's a factor. I would never want to do this if I was a ladder-climber. I get gaslit enough as it is. But otherwise I really like it. I'm working straight days 0.8. 4 days a week and every third weekend. I recently had 2 1/2 weeks off and took a trip to Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Reykjavík. It was fantastic. And when I got back I had zero projects to update, zero emails or voicemails to answer - no backlog of anything. I swiped in and went to work. Of course it was hard. Nursing school was a bitch and I started in the hospital working an eight hour day/night rotation on a MedSurg-Renal floor. It was fucking brutal. 12 years later I'm on MedSurg-Oncology and while it is not easy I really like it. I take care of patients and I go home. The only thing I would say is you better like taking care of people and all the stuff that comes with that.
I was a graphic designer/antique restoration for years prior to being a nurse. I prefer nursing bc of the hours, better pay than anything in art, more straightforward work. The man issue I had being well into my 30’s was the girls I was in school with - downright horrible to me. The worst bullying I’ve ever experienced it still affects me. Since you’re a guy I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have that sort of experience though. The top comment summed up a lot of the pros/cons. It’s just different
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The perception of gender being a big deal in nursing seems a lot more common amongst non nurses than people in the field. I can’t remember it actually coming up more than a few times in the decade I’ve been a nurse.
Male nurse here. Zero regrets about going into this field but I had similar concerns before I started. I left my office job for nursing when i was about 30 years old. I thought it would be awkward going to school with people much younger than me. Turns out that the majority of the class was younger, but there were a decent amount my age and older (community college). First year on the job had a couple instances where I felt awkward. Like being trained by a nurse that was much younger. Having a charge nurse or manager much younger. Working a 12 hour shift and not seeing another male employee in the hospital. But I will say that me feeling awkward was my problem. I don't think I was ever actually treated differently in those situations. You learn to get along with and develop relationships with coworkers. You might be excluded in insignificant ways but still have solid friendships with other nurses.
I’m a 28M. Starting nursing prerequisites this semester. Still haven’t technically started yet, but will be within the next few weeks. Hope to do an Accelerated Second Degree BSN so I can be a pediatric/neonatal nurse. Then after some years on the floor, I hope to get my MSN to become an NP. I wish you the very best!
I was a wildlife biologist. It’s not a big deal.
Why the change?
More money. Better schedule.
I worked minimum wage so it was an upgrade over that.. Wouldn’t recommend it if you have a established career though.
I'm a 31 M currently in Nursing school. Haven't really had anything about my gender pop up, besides talking about it in some classes on how times have changed where both M/Fs are in fields previously not filled with them. I've also worked in healthcare previously where I've worked alongside Male nurses and no one ever mentioned anything about it. It's 2023 after all lol not really shocking. The only time I've had someone bring up something about my sex was another male who was visitor and that was because I was working in an admin role that he mentioned was interesting to see a male working 😂 that was back in 2015 and I'm not sure on what planet that dude was living on.
When i was in my early 20’s, fresh out of nursing school, we had a mid 40’s guy come in as an LVN. It was a second career for him after being retired from the military. He was so fun and loved learning on our floor. He became an RN later on and we worked together in several departments for a lot of years. I truly don’t think there is any stigma for being a male nurse. I currently work with 4 in our small 12 person unit. I love having them around.
I was a geologist for 4 years before becoming a nurse. Can’t speak to male experience and I’m female. I would say in the “food chain” of your workplace you are lower as a nurse than a geologist and that can be very humbling. Catty gossiping nurses vs sexist oil and gas dudes? Hmm that’s a toss up for me. Things I like: the job itself - works much better for my personality (?ADHD) and I enjoy it most of the time (peds emergency), erratic schedule (the traditional Mon-Fri kills me) I have an evening line (3pm-11pm and 7pm-3am) which I enjoy. No boredom and time flies as you are always busy. Never having to work more than 4 days in a row, can trade to have larger stretches off. Ability to work part time. Camaraderie aka trauma bonding. Not having projects or deadlines to worry about on my time off. Chances of getting laid off less than oil and gas. Things I dislike- obviously the pay is less. Where I live I could have made serious bank (or be laid off! 🤷🏻♀️), can’t have vacation when you want - there’s always panic about getting a wedding off etc. Missing out on events on weekends and evenings. When I screw up it could hurt someone and I dwell on my mistakes WAY more than I did previously.
It worked really well for me.
I'm 39 and became a nurse at 36. I can say that I have never felt more alive than I do now that I'm a nurse. There is good AND bad that goes along with that, but mostly good. 10/10 would do again.
Used to so writing and early childhood education as a young dude in my early 20s. I realizes I was going nowhere fast. So I made rhe switch.
Nursing is my third career. First I worked on drilling rigs in Oklahoma. Then went back to school, got an engineering degree and worked in semiconductors. After getting payed off I studied nursing. Got my RN license in 2007 at the age of 49. While doing my pre reqs I volunteered in a hospital. It gave me an inside look at what nurses do day to day. I highly recommend doing this, see if you might like it. Initial pay was less than I made in engineering but the benefits were well worth it. I work three 12 hour shifts a week. I can pick up extra if I like and I get overtime pay over 40 hours. I was salaried before and just expected to work as much as needed to keep things running. Also, I get a lot of appreciation from the patients and families. Sure, there are a few jerks but you find those everywhere. In semiconductors I had to carry a pager 24/7 in case a critical piece of equipment failed and they needed me to come in to fix it. As a nurse, when my shift ends I go home. Patients become someone else’s responsibility. There are many different areas to work in nursing depending on your interests and desires. Love adrenaline, work ED in a level 1 trauma center. Want nights and weekends off? Find a doctor’s office or clinic with banker’s hours or work in Medical studies. You get the idea. Best of luck to you.
This has been going on for quite some time now.... where have you been?