Having a hard time deciding: Nursing or Engineering

Hey guys I am very close to getting my associates degree but I am having a really hard time deciding between nursing or engineering. I have always had an interest in both because I love working on and designing stuff but at the same time I really enjoy helping people. I know a lot of people that said they wish they had chosen a different career and I really don't want to be one of those people. Also another factor that comes into play is being able to find a job once I graduate. Any advice would be great appreciated on my dilemma.

 

Nursing is a really good career to get into especially since you said that you like helping people. The medical field is doing really well right now but I don't know if that will be the case when Obamacare takes action. Also another thing to think about is that I have been hearing that it is really hard for new grads to get jobs because not many places want to train. Engineering is another good field though too but you probably won't make as much as a nurse when you get out of school even though that is the case with most professions. Just choose the career that you can see yourself doing 20 years from now and still enjoy it. Good luck with the decision!

 

I can tell ya from experience, nursing can be both fulfilling and lucrative. It was actually my second career (1st being the Military) and it has provided myself and my family a nice life style. I will say though, if you have the opportunity to get your BSN then do so. I am a nurse manager in a very busy OR and I am being told by my admin to focus on hiring Bachelor prepared RNs.

 

Both will be in demand for a long while. Engineers do a lot of paperwork, so be prepared if you go that way. Solving problems is a huge part of thier work too.

In any event, either one will be a good choice.

Good luck!

 

Nursing, some people want to live forever. The boomer generation has the savings and they will use this to achieve near immortality.

 

I work with many nurses everyday. With the population aging, the medical field thriving in general, and decent pay, it's a great field IF you truly like helping people. I'm sure you're aware of the many different fields within the occupation. Also, I've been told male nurses can often write their own ticket as the need for one with the ability to physically move patients, and equipment, is often needed. It is a big decision. go to a hospital and see what they do, keeping in mind the seeming majority of patients are simply elderly, which can be depressing. Either way, good luck.

 

Good advice. Gave me an idea for an overview.


Do you want to fix people or things?

 

I say engineering, I am in engineering at Virginia tech and it is a lot of fun, almost endless options for jobs for engineers, and they are still being hired at a pretty high rate. Some engineering degrees have ridiculously high rates for hire, for example, the mining engineering majors at VT last year had 98% higher rate

 

Choose a career that you will want to do for a long time. Nursing is more then a job. If your heart is not in it, it will be the toughest job you could imagine. I am doing it 30 years and except for a few crummy nights, never regretted it. Most times I actually look forward to going to work, it's incredibly rewarding.
The pay is good, work is pretty secure and the ability to advance or relocate is better then most other careers. You will however work every other weekend and most holidays. Prime vacation picks are unheard of the first few years.

 

Nursing= working all holidays, weekends and nights.

 

which engineering field? i would say go with engineering, much better pay and only up from there.

 

You're F'd either way you go. . .

 

OP, really hard decision here. I don't know much about engineering but I do know that certain areas can be potentially lucrative. Being that you're in Texas I know nursing is very good out there with plenty of jobs available. If you like people, nursing is the way to go. Understanding physiology and applying it to a profession is great. It's a challenging job and depending on where you work, either very boring (nursing home) or very stressful (ER, ICU). Nice thing about nursing is it's universal and the skill can be used in just about every country and state, not to mention a wide variety of specialties in the military. Believe it or not, but there are some RN's in the navy attached to the marine corps that carry a side arm when deployed. There's flight nurses, CCT (critical care transport) in the ambulance, operating rooms, trauma, radiology inserting complex lines, management, public health, the list goes on.

 

No it doesn't. I worked one holiday last year, and have the majority of my weekends off. I work 12hr days 3 days a week in an ICU. If I put three days in the beginning of the week and three at the end of the last week, I can get 6 days off.

 

I would say nursing for job security in the present economy and status of affairs in our nation.....I've been in nursing for over 30 years and know that there is the potential to make upwards of $100K in specialized nursing areas with experience and a degree.....

I have two nephews that finished their Bachelors in Engineering at U Conn in 2012, one is in Grad school, the other is not employed using his engineering degree....yet....

There used to be an inference that male nurses were "gay", but that stereotype has gotten better...not to say there are not some "gay" male nurses....

 

My wife is a nurse in the Navy - has been in for 20 years (seven of that was enlisted corpsman) and loves the nursing aspect. But, as with all jobs, the higher up the ladder you climb, the more paperwork you will be doing. She made Commander a year or so ago and with that comes a lot of admin work - something she really doesn't take a shine to... She will be retiring from the Navy in four years and quite honestly can run any civilian ER in the country due to the fact that she has done that in both VA and San Diego. But, she does not want the admin side of it - for the past two commands she has been a clinical leader instead of a true nurse, and is kind of tired of that part. She is going to transition back into a hospital setting to re-hone her nursing skills before entering the world...

 

engineering (...of course i'm a bit biased )

...this is something you'll have to decide for yourself, ...not rely on teh internets... i'd imagine both "fields" would be among the better for availability of jobs... but, i also imagine that the two fields you mention are very different from one another, so that dichotomy seem to accentuate your indecision...

...if you enjoy analytic thinking and problem solving, ...then you might lean engineering...

 

I've been a RN since 2001 and a CRNA since 2007. I can tell you that very few fields are as flexible as nursing and its only going to get better as the aging population....well.....continues to age. Most of my work as been ER and ICU with some EMS thrown in and was then off to CRNA school. Obviously I've been in the OR since then.

Back in 01 in graduating with my BSN, companies came to us looking for jobs at the university. Most of my friends with business and science based professions were beating the doors looking for jobs. Maybe this isn't the case anymore, but there was a stark contrast in job availability back then.

Nursing has to be one of the top 5 recession proof professions in the country.

Good luck with your choice. Let us know what you decide. You don't always have to be a bedside nurse if it isn't for you. Examine NP and CRNA fields as well.

 

Nice man, I've been thinking of going that route after getting a few yrs of ICU. Getting into the program is probably one of the hardest parts... competition always seems to increase.

 

engineer