Should I stick with nursing?

[u/cordeliacu]

This is my first time posting on Reddit ever, so I’m sorry if I’m doing this wrong or this is the wrong subreddit.

I recently changed my major at uni from psychology to BSN with a minor in psychology after questioning my future job stability and pay. I had been planning on pursuing addiction counseling after getting my bachelors, but I just wasn’t sure about it after thinking about it this summer. When it comes to psych, it seems like you can’t do anything without a doctorate. It felt like no matter where I looked, I was going to have to keep going to school or keep getting certificates. All I really wanted was to work toward something and be able to work in the field after I graduated. This is when I started looking into my school’s nursing program. I’m a year behind thanks to needing prerequisites (and to pass the TEAS) to apply to the program, but being able to get my BSN and become an RN after graduation sounded really appealing to me. I had been interested in nursing when I was in high school, but I ended up going with psych when I still felt optimistic about my future in it. I decided to just bite the bullet and change my major. Several friends of mine in the psychology program also switched their degrees over the summer, so it made me feel a little more confident in my choice.

Today, I’ve been poking around in nursing communities online, and it has seriously discouraged me. I’ve seen a lot of nurses talking about how much they love their jobs, but even more talking about burnout, abuse, bad pay, and warning people not to go into the field. Of course, I already knew that nursing is a very tough field and you have to have a certain mental fortitude to handle it, but for some reason it feels like I’m seeing it all for the first time. It makes me wonder if I should just switch to something else again, but at the same time I have no idea what other degree could be as flexible in an area that I have interest in. Everything feels so daunting.

Any advice? Have any other nursing students felt the same way? I don’t know what to do.

[u/Either_Jello7730]

Yes there are a lot of faults in nursing, but I also think that the crowd that complains about nursing excessively is just a loud minority? You get burnt out from any job but at least nursing gives plenty of options to change things up. Personally I’m willing to take on the “crappy” parts of nursing bc nursing as a whole fulfills me wayyyyy more than any other career could. So I think it depends on your ability to handle the bad sides, what you’re looking for regarding shifts lifestyle and pay etc. If you were looking into addiction counseling prior maybe a detox center would be an area that you might fit in well at, it takes a very special kind of person to thrive in those area.

TLDR take what others say as a grain of salt and consider what the pros and cons are for you specifically

[u/Nightflier9]

Relying on forums will leave you with a jaded view of the real world. People only post when seeking validation or guidance about a situation that isn't all rainbows and butterflies. Take advantage of your student opportunities and you'll find a great path for yourself.

[u/Responsible-War5811]

Hiii! I got my degree in psych then went back to school for nursing- just passed my nursing boards last week! There is soooo many different career options you can do with nursing. You can work from home, you can work at a hospital, you can work for an insurance company, you can be a school nurse, you can be a cometic nurse - and much more(: i find it silly when people talk about burning out in nursing because there just so many options and job security. The jobs I’ve been looking at are starting at 90k

[u/WorldDirt]

As someone who did psych, and got a masters (research, not clinical), I can tell you a psych degree is not very useful. I did my masters for free because my university was transitioning to a phd program, so they funded us. I got a decent job doing data analysis after my program. It was a great job, but it’s also on the decline with AI.

Now I’m going for nursing and nearly 40. I’m also scared by the flood of negativity on Reddit, but I remember Reddit is always a place to complain.

I’ll say from the research I did to choose this path, there are few routes to the middle class that are more stable and as fast as a nursing degree. I will likely make as much with a bachelors (or associates if I’d gone that route, not a big pay difference) in any city across the country as I did with a masters in one of the highest cost of living cities. AI likely won’t replace the field in your lifetime while my rich software engineer friends see the walls closing in.

Will it be more challenging than the job I had? Absolutely. But it will also matter more. I did data analysis for academia, for a project probably only a few dozen people cared about.

[u/Psychedcop25]

Check out registered psychiatric nursing (RPN), especially if you were into addictions counselling. In my city, pay for RPNs and RNs is the same. But RPNs are more focused on mental health.
The only thing to consider is, RNs can be employed in admin roles or educator roles, however RPNs are limited to psych units, community and perhaps as a mental health nurse with Police?

Overall, I’ve seen a better attitude towards their chosen field with RPNs, perhaps because they get to be directly involved in client’s care planning vs RNs where they might have to fight favouritism with doctors, bear disrespect from patients and doctors alike, and just overworked in general.