Why nursing? Because no matter what the economy does in the coming years, it is virtually guaranteed that nurses will be in demand. Think about it, nursing shortages have been common for most of the last half a century. And today, with the baby boomers (America's largest demographic) just now entering retirement, the need for health care professionals is going to grow for at least the next 3-4 decades.
So if you are convinced that nursing is the career for you, the next step is to decide how best to enter the field. There are generally 3 ways to do it; as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), LPN (licensed practical nurse) and RN (Registered Nurse). All 3 have their pros and cons, so let's take a closer look at each.
Certified Nursing Assistant
A CNA is not a full-fledged nurse, but rather an assistant that helps the LPNs and RNs in performing their duties. It's a decent job that pays an average of around $15 an hour-depending on the part of the country you are in. The advantage is quick entry-training only take a few weeks. The disadvantage is not much career advancement. A CNA will not move higher unless he/she is trained for a new position. If you really need to earn money quickly, this may be a good route to go, but you should enter with the plan to get into an LPN program as soon as possible.
Licensed Practical Nurse
An LPN is the most popular field of study for nursing students. It's kind of the "happy medium", striking a nice balance between length of study, pay and advancement opportunity. A typical LPN program will take 1-2 years to complete depending on if the student is full or part time. Few other careers offer the opportunity to enter with less than 2 years training out of high school. On top of that, the average pay after LPN training starts at around $50k per year. Once you are an LPN, you are only a couple years training away from becoming an RN.
Registered Nurse
The RN is the top position in the nursing industry. It offers the highest pay, as well as the most responsibility and the opportunity to supervise the LPNs you work with. If you want to go straight toward being an RN, training will take about the same as any other undergraduate degree-about 4 years.
The path chosen to get into a nursing career depends largely on the individual circumstance. But whichever way you decide to go, a career in nursing will offer you greater opportunities for good pay and job stability, no matter what the shape of the economy.
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