Hellobee Boards

@sunny: I can only speak for myself, but the reasons I chose to go back for nursing were: the availability of part time work (I don't see myself working full time unless I absolutely have to); the variety of settings in which you can work; with baby boomers aging there will be an increase in need in the coming years; for most positions, the work stays at work and at the end of the day you're done; it's a decent paying profession that I don't need a masters for; I get to do something where I can care for ppl; really the flexibility is huge for me, you can even work from home answering nurse hotline calls! Many hospitals have great benefit pkgs, that was another draw and if I do end up taking out any loans, which I don't plan on, but never say never, there are student loan forgiveness programs for nurses.

@Mrs. High Heels: I flex my schedule and do a few hours here and there to shadow and my classes are online through community college and they are EASY, thankfully, heh. I probably spend an hour a week on class. Maybe. Maybe two....

I went to school for Creative Writing and got into teaching...there are many careers I am interested in but not sure there are any I would actually do instead. I love my hours, summers off, and laughing daily with my seventh grade kiddos.

@sunny: I am in school for nursing right now - it's my first bachelors degree (I have a two-year degree). There are many reasons I chose it. In high school I actually wanted to be a doctor, but I ended up choosing family over that. I would have had to do it before a child so that was out. But I've had a heart for healthcare for awhile. I enjoy learning/knowing medical terminology, procedures and how the body works - I find it fascinating. I have thoroughly enjoyed my classes thus far. As for the actual career, it's not boring - that is huge to me. There will be something/someone different every day, a new challenge, something new to learn. Healthcare is a dynamic and ever-changing field that requires you stay on your toes. In addition, I love the flexibility. I can work night hours and be home to send my child off to school, sleep for the morning and be there when he gets home from school and not leave for work again until it's his bedtime. With the frequency of 12-hour shifts, I could work three nights a week and that's it for the week. There is a huge deficit of nurses, so they're in demand - especially those with BSN's, so the job market is great - this means the salary is rewarding and allows for tremendous growth.
There are SO many fields of nursing too - and if I ever get burnt out in acute care, there are so many "hands-off" areas such as management/leadership, education/teaching, research, etc.

Sorry that was so long - you can tell I'm where I'm supposed to be and excited to start

I would pick marketing or corporate communications if I had it to do over again. My grad school program that I'm in now is pretty close to both of those. My undergrad degree is in English lit.

Had I known about Genetics Counseling as a career, I would have gotten my bachelor's in something like Biology then immediately pursued a Masters of Genetics Counseling. I looked into going for the degree a few years ago, but I don't have nearly enough science credits to get into the program, so I'd pretty much be starting from scratch. Not something I was interested in doing at 32, certainly not with a child now.

I would have STARTED in my ultimate (last) degree - Interior Design. Instead, I majored in Psychology for 2 years, then switched to Fine Arts. Got my BFA, then later went back to school for Interiors. Could have saved myself a good 4 years if I had just started there.

@littlebug: I've also thought this sounded super interesting!