Having a hard time deciding: Nursing or Engineering

Hey guys I need a little advice. My local community college has an ADN program that I can apply for after the fall semester but lately I have been hearing that they are not really hiring nurses with associates. Should I apply for the ADN program or just keep going and apply for the BSN program at a university? If I did do the ADN program I plan on continuing to get my BSN once I get my ADN.

 

One word: outsourcing.


Nursing will never be sent off shore.


Oh, and I'm an engineer. You spend most of your time writing emails and doing paperwork. The fixing/inventing part is maybe 20% at most.

 

One consideration for engineering. You may or may not use a lot of it on the job (that depends) but to make it through the degree you are going to have get through some pretty advanced calculus and other specialized math subjects at the junior/senior level. So if you did very well in the freshman/soph math classes that is a good sign.

But the reward is there at the end with available job security and pay.

 

If you mean the two year nursing programs that leads to passing the RN exam, the same exam as the BSN graduates take, they are hiring those in GA. My daughter just did it and now works at a hospital. Her's was really more like a 3 year program, with 2 years actually in the nursing program and the first year taking core pre-requisites to qualify for admission to the nursing program.

 

OP, I'd consider which would pay more, ease of finding a job in both fields, and the shift work that you'll encounter as a nurse. Good luck!

 

I retired as an electrical engineer about 13 years ago. I really enjoy designing, building and troubleshooting things. The biggest problem I found with engineering as a career is that I was expected to get into management within about 12 years or so. I successfully avoided it, but was forced to quit the company after about 19 years. I became a contract engineer, doing the same work (mostly for the same company) at a significantly higher salary, but without any job security. Another problem was that the technology changed so much and so fast it was impossible to stay on top of it and have any kind of private life.

 

I'm an engineer. Been doing this for quite a while now. There are things I love, and things I loath - just like most of my nurse friends

I easily work way more hours than my nurse friends. When they go home, they leave their job behind. I'm expected to take my work home with me --- and keep producing.

I work in a constantly changing environment (a plus), and I have way more autonomy than nurses (at leave while I'm "on the clock").

At the end of they day, I feel like I contributed to the bottom line of my company. My nurse friends each tell me that they touched someones life.

 

Nursing...is the way to go,,, there 95 % chance of getting a job then Engineering....

 

I am an Electrical Engineer and I love it. Endless possibilities and job opportunities. I have a lot of friends, and my brother, that do nursing. They are new so they hate the work hours. Every time my family tries to get together for a holiday or birthday on the weekend, my brother is working. Its a pain.

 

Nurses are always needed, and you can really do a lot. that being said, a BSN goes a lot farther than an RN. One of my friends makes > 100K/year going around and trouble shooting ER's. Granted, you have to have the experience and admin background, but there are career paths most people don't think of outside of patient care. Flight nurses, nurse managers, the hospital admin side, advanced-practice nurses (Ie, CRNA's, NP's), teachers (who do you think teaches nursing students?), etc.

Second, lots of foolin' around in health care. Got a buddy that was one of 3 male nurses in his program. Lucky SOB, that's all I have to say.

What type of engineering? Do you even know your interest? Lots of overlap there too - one of my college GF's was a civil engineer and she ended up in aerospace. Another thought, medical prosthetics. Engineering AND helping people.

 

ha..ha....somebody gotta do it...

 

Here's my 2 cents on this. I am an engineering technician, I work five days a week 8 hours a day. I have every weekend and holiday off no matter what. Overtime almost doesn't exist at my office. I can take time off or go on vacation whenever I want. My wife is an respiratory therapist and works at a hospital. She has to work every other weekend, has to find someone to work for her if she wants an unscheduled day off, has to schedule her vacation in January, she either works 8 or 12 hour shifts. Every evening I ask my wife "Do you work tomorrow"? Her schedule jumps around so much I can't remember. My wife and I almost make the same exact money but my work is way less stressful than hers.

 

Let me tell y'all why I'm stickin' with Nursing, Economy is no where it use to be, and people are getting sick all the time. Medical professionals are in demand. Engineer if you have the market for it, big city, more job..But in a small,poverty, city like mind...Nursing seem more a good choice...But either or it's your future, pick it wisely grasshopper...

 

I have a cousin who got his degree in engineering and after a couple years he went to medical school and is now an orthopedic surgeon.

I would say get the engineering degree and see how you like it. If it is not for you then check out the medical field.

 

I was struggling with the decision for a while myself. Growing up a lot of people told me that I should really look into engineering because I am really good at math and science. After doing some research and talking to some people that are going to school for engineering I decided that nursing is more for me. I know a couple guys who graduated from Texas A&M which is suppose to have on of the best engineering programs in the country and they are having trouble finding a job. For me I love helping people any chance I get. This past summer I had to go take care of my grandmother who had to have 3 open heart surgeries and after that thats when I realized that nursing is the career for me. Like people have said patient care isn't the only thing in nursing you can do. My plan is to once I get my BSN is work for a couple years and then go back to school to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesist. The whole idea that you have the power to help someone go through a major surgery and not feel an ounce of pain during the procedure is just awesome. I have quite a few procedures done to where if I had to have been awake during it I would have been miserable. Thank god for anesthesia! Plus the added bonus is that CRNA's making 150k+ a year and there is still room for advancement. Someone in my family has to make good money cause my fiance went to school for fashion design lol. So unless she makes it big I would much rather have a career that is recession proof. Good luck on your decision

 

That's a good point others brought up. There will most likely always be plenty of jobs for engineering graduates, either private companies or govt agencies. But you may have to relocate to where the jobs are.

Probably many good nursing jobs some reasonable distance from most anywhere nowadays.

 

I have an Master in Industrial Engineering and I know many nurses, both male and female socially. While the engineers my age are planning retirements and second careers consulting or teaching, most of my friends in nursing are trying to get out to do ANYTHING else that will pay the bills.

Howard

 

My mother has been a nurse for the past 25 years, I'm finishing up my degree in Chemcial Engineering at a UC graduating in June.

I would say engineering all the way. You'll work 9-5, M-F and depending on the project, you'll occasionally work overtime and weekends. As a nurse, you can set your schedule, if you want to work 4 days on (12 hr shift) you can set Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, or you can do Tues-Fri.

The hardest about nursing (right now) is that hospitals are asking for nurses with experience which is really difficult to get right now. A lot of hospitals are not offering entry level nursing positions.

Engineering, you gain engineering experience through your internships during school over the summer, or during the year. I have 5 years engineering experience, field experience, OSHA certs, before graduating since industry loves interns (cheap labor, grunt work that required a technical mindset) that way you can be ahead of the game, be more competitive.

Both ways, there is a demand, but the jobs don't exist.

 

My advice
Go for jobs in SIEM and data forensics.

 

you'll meet more women in nursing.

you'll meet more men in engineering (esp Civil Eng)

you choose