I'm in my 30s, live in Southern California, and have worked in healthcare for about 10 years. I currently work at a unionized hospital and have been trying to get into nursing school. I'm at a point where I need to decide whether to move forward with nursing or pursue a completely different career (court reporting). There are absolutely no other careers I'm interested. I'd really appreciate honest perspectives from nurses working in California about the realities of the profession and whether you would make the same decision again. A little background: It took me several years to complete my nursing prerequisites while working, and I've been rejected from nursing programs because my GPA isn't competitive. I also can't quit my job to attend a traditional nursing program, which means private nursing school is realistically my only option. I know the usual advice will be to go to community college or find a cheaper program, but those options aren't viable for me. I've been accepted into a program that starts in January. It's ~2 years long, and I would graduate with around $85k in student loans. My estimated monthly loan payment would be around $1,000. My current hospital's nursing pay scale is approximately $52–$93/hour, with a per diem rate of around $81/hour. Seeing the earning potential and benefits available to nurses at my hospital has been a big reason I've continued pursuing this path. My biggest concerns are: Finding a job after graduation. California new grads are struggling to find their first RN positions, with some taking 5–12 months to get hired. How realistic is it to find a hospital job in Southern California as a new grad? Having to relocate. I'm really not interested in relocating, especially if it means taking a significant pay cut since I will have a lot of debt. I will do it if I absolutely have to. Getting out of bedside nursing. I'm not particularly interested in bedside nursing long-term. My goal would be to transition into outpatient nursing, case management, or another non-bedside position as soon as reasonably possible. How realistic is this? Are there opportunities to move into outpatient nursing relatively quickly like within 2-3 years? The alternative I'm considering is court reporting. I've been accepted into a program starting in February, could pay for it without student loans, and could continue working my current job while training. I'm genuinely interested in both careers, but I'm struggling with the idea of taking on $85k in debt when I'm uncertain about the job market and whether I'll be able to get into the type of nursing role I actually want. For those of you working in California, especially Southern California, would you still choose nursing knowing what you know now? Am I overestimating how difficult it is for new grads to find jobs and transition out of bedside?   submitted by   /u/OdessaSays [link]   [comments]