NursingWhy Nursing Makes A Great Second Career

It’s only fairly recently that the idea of a second (or potentially third or more) career has become widespread. In the past (perhaps in our grandparents’ day or even our parents’) the job you chose when you graduated high school or college was the job you stuck to for life. It didn’t matter if you were unsatisfied or happy; it didn’t matter if you were good at what you did or there was something else you would be much better at. Once you had a job you kept it and pushed on regardless.

Written out like that, it might seem obvious that being able to change careers is a good idea. Of course, it was perfectly possible to start over in the past and find a new career, it’s just that it wasn’t the ‘done thing’. However, when you look at the reasons why changing, perhaps even after many decades of working in one sector, you can see why it might be a good idea. It might even be something you are considering for yourself.

Happiness is a crucial aspect of life, and it’s important to take steps to ensure you are happy. For many, this will mean having a job they can enjoy and that is rewarding. After all, we are at work so much of the time that not being happy is just a waste of time and something that will negatively affect every other element in our lives.

With that in mind, it is important to change careers if need be. Choosing that new career, however, might be difficult. There are so many options, and if you’re not sure what to do, you might find that you’re stuck.

Could nursing be the right option? Even if you’ve dismissed it in the past or perhaps never considered it before, there are positive reasons why nursing can make an excellent second career. Read on to find out more.

Age Doesn’t Matter

There are many reasons why starting a new career later in life can be daunting, but your age could be a factor that worries you. Perhaps you’ve investigated online a little and seen lots of young faces staring back at you when it comes to finding out more about the career you need to study to gain qualifications for. This can certainly be worrying, perhaps even entirely off-putting for some people. Perhaps you’re concerned that nursing, for example, is only for younger people as they have the energy to put in the hard work and the capacity to learn so much more.

The truth is that although many young people do go into nursing, older people are just as important and can add a lot of value to the role of a nurse. Not only are they able to learn just as well as anyone else, but because they have what might be termed life experience, they can actually bring a lot more to the role.

Unlike younger people, when you are older you will have been through many different things in your life. You will have experienced a great many triumphs and tragedies. These will have formed you and informed you, and you can bring that knowledge and experience to the role of nursing, using it all to help your patients in a truly empathetic way. In many cases, older nurses are highly valued, and there will always be a job for you if this is the route you choose to take later in life.

Do Research

If you’re concerned about whether nursing could be the ideal second career for you, it’s crucial you investigate the idea as much as you can. The good news is there are many resources online that will offer you all the information you could need to help you make the right decision for you. One of the best things you can do is to talk to a nurse – perhaps you know one or someone you know knows one. When you can do this, you can get a real insight into what the job is like. Make sure you ask about the negatives as well as the positives; it’s important to get a sense of all the different sides of nursing. Even if you don’t know a nurse and can’t speak to one directly, there are many blogs and forums online that will help you get a deeper understanding of what the day-to-day life of a nurse is really like.

Why is this a good thing when it comes to nursing being a second career? It’s about the time you have. When you aren’t in a rush to find a job or change careers because you are already working (even if you don’t enjoy that work), you can spend more time researching new avenues. You can really go in-depth when it comes to finding out more about being a nurse and understanding why it might work out well for you. You can look at what nurses do, how they study, what kind of work-life balance they have, and so much more. Nursing appeals to so many people that there are many resources available for research and most are happy to talk at a convenient time with you.

Having the luxury of time should be a positive thing. You’ll be anxious to get started on whatever new challenge you set yourself and this is entirely understandable, but there is no need to rush. If you’ve waited years already to do this, a few extra weeks or months determining the right course of action is perfectly acceptable. Having so much information around about nursing makes this research easier, but it’s still not worth rushing through at any point – you don’t want to make a mistake.

Various Ways To Study

Not all careers require additional qualifications. You might find that the degree you have used so far in life is enough to help you in whatever career you have chosen. Or perhaps you don’t need any qualifications to take the next step, particularly if you choose to start your own business.

Nursing is not one of these careers. Nursing requires very specific qualifications that you’ll need to achieve before you start applying for jobs. It begins with gaining a qualification as an RN (registered nurse). This can be what puts many people off the idea of becoming a nurse because they don’t have the time to dedicate to any kind of study, let alone how much work you would need to put into being a nursing student. They can’t stop working in order to learn how to be a nurse because they have financial responsibilities – that’s what happens as you get older, and it’s why it could be seen as easier to start your nursing career directly out of high school or college.

However, is this actually accurate? Is this really something potential nursing students who are older and have bills to pay need to be worried about? The answer is no, at least not necessarily. In the past this would have been a big issue, and only those who were able to live off savings or be supported by others could have given up their jobs to study nursing. This meant that the career was not an option for many older people who had initially chosen a different path.

Today things are very different and it’s thanks to technology that anyone can now study to be a nurse no matter what else they might be doing or what other responsibilities they might have. This is due to online learning and the many different courses that are available. Take a look at the various courses you can choose from and you’ll see that you can learn anything through online learning, and this is very positive when it comes to nursing.

By choosing an online course, you’ll no longer have to choose between your education and future career, and your current one. You can have both. It will be hard work, of course, and the learning aspect will certainly take longer if you aren’t able to work on it on a full-time basis, but you’ll still gain your vital qualification and you won’t have to compromise on your income to do it, opening up the field of nursing to many more people.

Even better if you already have a degree for the career you are currently in, you will be able to use it and take an ABSN online to gain your qualifications quickly. Once you qualify as a nurse and start working, you can also use online learning to further your career either through specialist courses or to increase your qualification.

Nursing Is Rewarding

Another reason why you should consider nursing as a second career is that it is highly rewarding. You will be able to help people every day and be paid for the privilege. Not many other careers offer this kind of opportunity, and it’s a wonderful thing to be able to spend your time making people’s lives better, especially when they are in pain or scared.

More than this, nursing is rewarding in more tangible ways too. You’ll have medical insurance, vacation days, a good salary, great job security, limitless possibilities for the future of your career, plenty of choice when it comes to jobs, and a flexible way of working. Add all of this together and you’ll see that nursing is as close to a perfect job as anyone might want.