Better 2nd career: Accountant or Registered Nurse?

[Rage for Order]

A little background. I'm currently in the mortgage industry...well, by currently I mean I just started drawing unemployment again after my most recent layoff (3rd time since Summer of 2009). This got me thinking; it looks like the mortgage industry is going to be rather unstable for some time to come, and I'm considering a career change. The tricky part is, I'm already 40 years old, so I'm at the point where people should already be well-established in their careers and I'm considering breaking into a field brand new in about a year.

I could become a CPA rather quickly since I have so many credit hours in business college; all I would need is 30 hours (10 classes) of accounting - 15 hours/5 classes in the fall, and 15 hours/5 classes in the spring, and I could sit for the CPA exam when I feel ready. I've already worked in the business world so it's not a foreign environment, and my wife is a CPA so it would give us something else in common. Of course, it would probably also lead to us talking about work at home a LOT.

Nursing may take longer since I only have the very basics - Biology I & II, Chemistry I, Nutrition. There would be a bit more back work to obtaining a nursing degree. And I would want to be a RN at the very least, not nursing assistant or nurse's aide. Can anyone tell me how long it would take to earn a RN degree from (basically) scratch? Also, I've never worked in the health care field so I would not know what to expect. One of my sisters is an emergency room doctor so I can ask her, but she's all I have.

Nurses in particular, what are some of the pros and cons of nursing school, nursing work, nursing specialties, etc? What are pros and cons of my entire situation? I feel like I'm at a crossroads right now and I'm not sure which way to go because I truly believe that this will be my last opportunity to change course. if I screw this one up, I'm stuck.

What say you, DU?

[dkf]

1. Personally I am hoping they simplify the tax code.

Not sure how realistic that is but it wouldn't be good for CPAs.

[Angleae]

28. Probably not.

If the tax code was simplified, people could figure it out for themselves.

[ingac70]

2. Most nursing programs....

will want science credits to be less than 5 years old. You could take an Associate of Applied Science to get your RN in 2 and a half years.

[Rage for Order]

4. My science creds are dated

And not too impressive either

[ingac70]

6. I voted accounting. Good thing I did. ;)

[Rage for Order]

8. LOL Well, I'm actually good at science when I put my mind to it

The problem was, back when I took those science classes the only things I put my mind to were cutting class, smoking pot, and chasing girls.

How long if I started from square one and didn't claim any of my old science classes?

[ingac70]

9. 2.5 years ASN, 4-5 years BSN.....

Seriously.

[Rage for Order]

12. Do both of those get you an RN?

If so, what's the difference? Surely there's an advantage to going the BSN route over the ASN?

[ingac70]

13. Yeah, those are two routes to an RN....

Both ADNs and BSNs sit the for same NCLEX-RN, The base salary is close to the same. At most of the hospitals in the US there is a differential paid to RNs with a BSN degree, usually not by a whole lot. A BSN would open more doors for management.

[cmd]

3. Feet wear out before butts

Accountant.

[ingac70]

7. +1

[Snoutport]

5. I was doing PT with a student this morning

Not a big guy but...JEEEEEZ...as I was swinging him from his wheelchair onto the mat table man-oh-man did I feel it in my back. Nurses have to move some pretty big people. Pencils are nice and light.

[eridani]

10. Nursing is far more physically demanding. Rule it out if you are over 50. n/t

[pa28]

11. With a CPA it seems like you might be able to team up with your wife in private practice.

Just a personal anecdote about nursing. My mom is a career nurse close to retirement and she is always complaining about the private hospital company she works for. This particular company has been on a long campaign to grind down wages and benefits and I'm afraid her retirement might be next in line for a haircut.

I work for myself and I can't image life any other way. A CPA might give you that kind of avenue.

Anyway, just my 2 cents and good luck. :)

[trackfan]

14. Buy some professional quality drain rooters.

Maybe 1 heavy duty one, and a couple for smaller jobs. You'll never lack for work, and the total investment will be less than $5,000, with unlimited potential for return.

[udbcrzy2]

15. At our community college it's offered as a 2-year degree

Since you already have biology and chemistry you could get right into the program. They offer an LPN bridge to RN the next year. They are in demand and there is a variety of workplace environments to choose from (dr's office, schools, hospitals, long term health care, insurance company) and the pay is really good.

CPA is good work too and especially since you only need 30 more credit hours. If there are some real opportunities as a CPA, that is probably your best bet, otherwise maybe nursing.

[pnwmom]

16. Nursing jobs can't be shipped to India. Accounting jobs can. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

18. but indian nurses can be shipped here. and are being. the medical gravy train

isn't going to last under "health care reform".

yeah, it's coming.

personally, if i had it to do all over again, i would go for "plumber".

or making high-end spectacular baubles to sell to the rich.

[peabody]

17. I was faced with a similar situation

years ago. I was an electrical engineer who got laid off during the dot com bust. Instead of looking for an engineering job when engineering jobs were scarce, I decided to go through LVN (licensed vocational nurse) school. It took two years (part-time) and I ended up working in a hospital that let LVNs work on the medical and surgical units as nurses. The RNs gave the IV drugs but I did just about everything else. After doing it for 3 years, I realized that it was a pace that I could not keep up with in the long run. I was about 45 years old then and in pretty good shape (I'm 49 now so it really wasn't that long ago) but even so I didn't think that it wasn't something I can do when I started getting to my mid or upper 50s. The pace and the work was hard and stressful. Patients, doctors, and administrators were demanding. I looked around and saw a lot of other stressed out nursed too. I decided instead of going for an RN, I wanted to return to engineering. I started taking up engineering classes again at night to brush up on my skills; and luckily, a company decided to give me a chance and hired me back into to the engineering field. I told my boss then it doesn't matter how difficult the work gets, it'll never be as stressful as the time I had when I worked in the hospital. And, I was right. To this day (I'm at a startup now), even though the deadlines are tight, my stress level has not really exceeded a typical day on the nursing floor.

Don't get me wrong, nursing is not a bad career. It's very rewarding and I have done things I never thought I would. I've helped a lot of patients (I'm grateful for all the cards and gifts the patients have tried to give me over the years) and I feel really good about that. But at some point, I have to think about what's best for me in the long run. Nursing is brutal in so many ways. That's why to this day, I have such admiration for those who can stay in, especially the older nurses. I've meet several (RNs) in their 50's and 60's and they're still humping up and down the floor taking care of 5 patients--and sometime one or two would be total care (no aid assign to those patients). I just don't know how they can do it but they do. It's amazing.

Maybe if I was working in a doctor's office, or a clinic, or just not in an acute unit, then maybe I would have a different view of nursing; but for now a desk job is probably the most "healthy" career for me in the long run. Still, I've kept my license up to date in case I have to go back.

[Sanity Claws]

19. Personality makes a difference

How do you feel about interacting with numbers continually and having little contact with people? That would drive some people into a deep depression. Unless you really prefer working with numbers, don't choose accounting.


If you need interaction with people, nursing is far better. There are different types of nurses -- some who work in ERs, ORss, etc. You may want to check out the different types of nursing practice to see what fits you best.

Someone noted that nursing is hard on the feet. I have known several RNs and they end up with bad backs, not feet. Patients will often lean on nurses when moving or getting up, and unintentionally hurt the nurse.

Good luck!!

[Ilsa]

20. As proud as I am of being a nurse, I wouldn't choose it for a career

Beyond age 45. It's very physically demanding. I wish I had followed my original interest in speech therapy.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. Nurse. My ex is a tax acct and had been out of a job for close to a year until yesterday

when he got a per diem job. Nursing can't be outsourced.

[MattBaggins]

26. It will be H1Bed though

It will come to a point that declare that Americans are "two stewpid" to become nurses and we must import them from India.

[Vinca]

22. Having recently been hospitalized for a hip replacement, I vote nurse.

It was the first time I've ever had to stay for any period of time in a hospital and the nurses - particularly the RNs - really impressed me with their level of knowledge and ease at making my transition from surgical patient to walking a lap around the floor within 3 days. There was one nurse in particular, a woman who worked part time over the weekends and was nearly 70 years old, who really inspired me to just "get on with it." I remember thinking she must really love her profession because from what she told me, she was financially comfortable and didn't have to be there. I think I'll always remember that nurse, but I never think of my accountant.

[no_hypocrisy]

23. CPA needs to carry malpractice insurance and an RN faces employment

competition with overseas nurses. Hospitals are going to Manilla and the Phillipines for nurses to hire as they don't join the unions. Those nurses with union benefits are fighting to keep benefits like health insurance. (Yeah, ironic . . . . )

[Rage for Order]

24. Thanks for the input thus far everyone

:hi:

[ChoppinBroccoli]

25. I'm Thinking Of Becoming One Of Those Guys Who Gets Paid To Spread RW Nonsense On The Internets

It's gotta be easy and OBVIOUSLY requires very little thought. Plus, I would be siphoning money away from right-wingers. And I bet I could make comments that were so stupid that it make the right-wing look bad AND they'd never notice. Because let's face it, if you actually believe that right-wing line of crap, you have to have disabled your bullshit detector long ago.

[TwilightGardener]

27. Accountant. Speaking as a former RN.

If you do choose nursing, you might want to try being a part-time nursing assistant (Red Cross course only takes a few weeks) to see if you really like cleaning up shit, sputum, and moving people who weigh 400 lbs.