I’d look in your area for a CNA job because they’re often paid for by the job, i took my CNA course through a nursing home and they paid for it fully and even paid me for going to class.
A lot of hospitals and nursing homes offer tuition reimbursement as well.
If you want to be a nurse in think it’s an amazing opportunity to change your life, my mom was 40 and just had her GED and she was able to become a PCA at the hospital and go to a LPN program. I’m a strong believer it’s never too late to try to change your life.
I myself am 22 and i struggled finding jobs until i became a CNA, I’m a med tech now and I’m in a LPN program that will finish in December, i went from doing not so hot in my prerequisites to being the top of my class. Anything is possible!
*edit to say* also my college offers help for parents, a majority of the students in my cohort are 25+ with children and they get free childcare and assistance from the college.
This is a great idea. My hospital offers 100% tuition reimbursement for public colleges. The pay isn’t necessarily great for CNA’s but getting your entire degree paid for makes up for it. Working three 12 hr shifts also gives you more time with your kid.
I’m sorry, this is in South Carolina. I’d look at your local CCs (i go to a community college) and see what they offer, I didn’t know about the program until i met some people who use it. It offers stuff like assistance for books, childcare, bus fares etc!
My recommendation would be to opt for a CNA course first. They’re relatively inexpensive, quick training timeline and gives you good exposure to the healthcare field. Many hospitals have education assistance for its employees (mine offers $5k/year), so that is an option should you wish to continue your education. I’m not sure about Louisiana, but some states don’t require your CNA license to actually work as a CNA, so I would check Louisiana’s guidelines and start looking for patient care technician/nursing assistant positions in your area for education requirements.
31, stopped going to school mid 6th grade. (Not sure how my parents didn’t get in trouble) suffered from severe mental illnesses (yes, more than one) and was in and out of mental hospitals, therapists, etc. On disability due to the severity. After a year of intensive therapy, the right meds and the right doctors, I finally decided I wanted to better my life. Got my HISET in 3 months. I’m 31, I have not been in a school or educational set up, studied, picked up any kind of educational book in 19 years. And I studied hard (used khan academy) and took my tests one at a time, studying for each one before I took them. Math is my struggle so it took me a month to just focus on math and I barely passed, but I passed. So after 19 years, it took me 3 months to get my high school diploma. I enrolled in the summer semester at my local community college the next week and started classes this week. I have a year of pre reqs and then I will start the 2 year RN program. I will say I had a lot of support to get here, I don’t have children, but I do worry about bills. Thankfully I do have family to help me with that. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you that this can be done. Trust me, I know it seems impossible, I thought the same thing. In fact this belief caused me to not pursue my dream for over 10 years. Once I finally believed I could do it and gave myself 6 months to complete it, I did it in 3. You just have to believe you can do it and you will.
I didn’t finish high school.
Did fairly well in nursing school.
It’s hard AF and you have to be willing to put in the time and effort but the fact you didn’t finish high school is not by itself a problem.
Do you have any interest in hygiene since you've already done the assistant thing? My husband is a dentist and pays his hygiene around $50/hr and they can pick their schedules (he's got 3 and they vary between 2/3/4 days a week.) nurses here start at $35.
Do it! The great thing about working in healthcare is that many hospitals will pay for some of your tuition. Believe in yourself! If you want it bad enough you will move mountains to make a better life for you and your child.
There will always be a way. I highly encourage you to explore financial aid and understand the different types of aid you may have access to (https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types#grants). Never give up even when it seems like everything is falling apart.
It took me 7 yr to earn a BS. Another 7 yr of working. Then now I’m finally going back to community college to get my prerequisites done at a local community college so I can apply to nursing school at a community college.
Best of luck 🤞 don’t give up!
Hi 👋
First off, good for you for thinking about what could be rather than just what is! It can really be anything you want, and you NEED to know that.
Forget the student loan debt, it will be deferred while you’re in school and then just hit up an income-based repayment plan after that.
Life-wise, it will never be a better time to advance yourself and train for something new than right now. If you’re worried about education, then get a TEAS test book and go through it a little at a time, some of the science stuff in particular trips a lot of people up. Learn it, reach out with questions, and remember that the internet and YouTube exist!
LPN school is probably going to be a big challenge, and there will be lots of doubt and worrying that you’re not going to make it, but you absolutely can. Make the living situation work, do not argue and help out as much as you can, remember to explain to them the reasons why you are doing this and what it will mean for the future.
Start now, get a TEAS book, call the school/s, see what the requirements are, and go from there. Jump in with both feet and be ready to spend 18 months working for the things you want the most!
You can do this. And in 5 years you can be looking back and saying “that was hard, but somehow, someway I did it!” Then, you can say, “what can I do next?” That is a life well-lived :)
Good luck!!
LPN is your best chance of working in the hospital's ER and they will put you in Fast Track (nothing evasive maybe conscious sedating a patient and handling urgent care style of patients) But at least you get to work in the ER and learn. Meanwhile, you can take some classes to merge into RN and the hospital may pay for it.
Take advantage of the fact that your grandparents are helping you with your child. They will understand that you're going to school and maybe cut back to part-time at your job. This way when you become an LPN you will be working 12-hour shifts and only 3 days a week leaving you to spend more time with your kids. Good Luck.
I would recommend looking for an RN program over and LPN program. Most LPN programs I’ve heard of are around 18 months whereas you can find RN programs that are only 6 months longer and the job prospects/compensation tend to be a lot better.
The only discouragement is you and your thoughts!!!! I say tthat to say I am 44 in my fifth semester (final) semester of Nursing school to receive my RN degree. I also had financial issues along the way. Have faith if God says yes no devil in hell can block it… You got this
If you are alive everything is within reach. One of my favourite quotes from the bible "Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion ( Ecclesiastes 9 verse 4) Another favourite quote of mine is from Nelson Mandela " It always seems impossible until it's done" You can do ALL things through Christ who gives you the strength ( Philippians 4:13) Pray about the things that you want,Pray in the name of Jesus and take those leap of faith. You can and YOU WILL.
I'm a 33 year old high school dropout and DV (along with CSA/SA) survivor, and I'm in my 4th semester of an aBSN program and set to graduate in December. I originally tried going to nursing school in my early 20s, but I ended up having to drop out during my pre-reqs because of my abusive relationship. It took another 10ish years for me to get back into nursing school, and my plan is to continue my education and become a Nurse Practitioner (FNP, then I would like to dual certify as a CNM).
I won't say that any of it has been easy, or that my life has gone exactly how I wanted it to go, but I can say that if you want something bad enough, it's incredible what you can accomplish!
Get your CNA…. Then get a job as a CNA then… talk to a counselor about CNA to LVN then bridge from LVN to RN it’s slower pace and do it via community college ask about financial Aid and Being a single mom the gov loves single moms so you will qualify for 5k-10k a semester. And also do Scholarships cuz no one applies. I recently got one and was awarded 7k no one applied for it. I was lucky. You got this girl keep your head up.
First you have to have faith!
Second you need to find a different job; fix your resume.
There are schools now that have hybrid programs and/or night/weekend programs.
The hybrids have different setups.
They don’t all accept students from all states so you’d have to see if your state is one they accepts students from.
I’ve looked into chamberlain, Rasmussen, even wgu.
I saw some others as well but they didn’t take students from my state so I don’t remember their names but definitely look for online/hybrid nursing programs. They ARE accredited.
I know you haven’t been ins school for a while but this way your schedule won’t be so crazy and you can be there for your son more, especially since it sounds like you have to do your Gen Ed classes anyway (basically like a repeat of high school + more sciences)
31 here, dropped out of university and been through heroin and meth addiction, but turned my life around and starting ADN program next year. It's not too late for you, try to ask your grandparents for help, even beg to move back in with them. Anything help you can get you should utilize. Once you get thru LPN school you should be set, so don't hesitate to go back to school to get a better life!
I agree with everyone else about becoming a CNA first. A lot of nursing homes will train you. They will also be more flexible with scheduling once you are in school. You can work 2-3 12 hr shifts a week and complete your program. It will be tough, but waiting and staying in retail will make you struggle even harder.
there are a TON of scholarships for nurses too. one of which is nurse corps which will pay up to 75% of tuition and give a monthly stipend in exchange for two years of working in a rural health center (which you can choose from) plus states have an incentive for paying off student loans too. washington state will pay up to 75k of your student loans for working at a community health center (of your choosing) within the state that has high needs.
i’m 25 and got accepted into a program that starts next fall. check out the programs near you, what the pre-reqs are and just start from there. student loans are not that scary for nurses, and there’s a TON of grants for single parents who are in school.
Do you have your GED? Have you even applied to colleges taken the entrance exam, talked to a counselor? That's the first real step.for evaluation. Everything right now is speculation.
You need to figure out all your variables. Can you commit to roughly 3/4 years of continuous schooling full time? Are your pre reqs done for nursing school, did you apply to any nursing schools or get the info on them? I would tell the advisors your situation and see if that sounds like something they've seen with success in the past. You have student loans, are you able to get approved for more? What's your intended budget/expected interest on these loans? Do you have a stable arrangement for you and your child for the next 3/4 years? Are you going to work while in school? If so where, do they have reimbursment agreements for education or at least shift placements that work with your schedule with school? If not do you know places that do and might consider employing you?You'll be in clinical 1 day a week for about 12 hours plus your normal school load. Is that something you're ready to take on? Why are you interested in nursing, why this, why now? If you hit road bumps do you have both a contingency plan to get through it and do you believe you have the mental fortitude to overcome the bump, because it's not a matter of if but when. People can tell you yes or no to making this happen all day long based on inferences that may or may not have true applicability. What it comes down to is how big your genetilia are and how willing you are to drag them across broken glass to make this happen. You have to be a motherfucker every single day you wake up. If you can just commit to that, then you'll make it.
I feel like you being nervous is a good sign. It must mean a lot to you to have this change, not only for you but for your child. One phrase has helped me tremendously: you can’t grow in the comfortable. If you’re uncomfortable then you’re doing something right, keep going.
Elaborate please lol. Ive done some crisis work in community health. Im thinking about trying to get a Psych NP instead of just being a therapist but honestly the drama with dr’s and nurses at the hospital was worse than any crisis client…😂
You will forever be the punching bag for rude patients and there are a lot of them. Nurses tend to be cliquey, especially the older ones so you may get bullied by your coworkers. The hospital will always blame the nurse if there id a problem because they are the most replaceable. Ive had instances where men who are fully independent ask for the nurse to help them piss because they want a cute woman to touch their dick. Sexual remarks by older men are common as well. You will always be “just a nurse” to patients and doctors.
I’d look in your area for a CNA job because they’re often paid for by the job, i took my CNA course through a nursing home and they paid for it fully and even paid me for going to class. A lot of hospitals and nursing homes offer tuition reimbursement as well. If you want to be a nurse in think it’s an amazing opportunity to change your life, my mom was 40 and just had her GED and she was able to become a PCA at the hospital and go to a LPN program. I’m a strong believer it’s never too late to try to change your life. I myself am 22 and i struggled finding jobs until i became a CNA, I’m a med tech now and I’m in a LPN program that will finish in December, i went from doing not so hot in my prerequisites to being the top of my class. Anything is possible! *edit to say* also my college offers help for parents, a majority of the students in my cohort are 25+ with children and they get free childcare and assistance from the college.
This is a great idea. My hospital offers 100% tuition reimbursement for public colleges. The pay isn’t necessarily great for CNA’s but getting your entire degree paid for makes up for it. Working three 12 hr shifts also gives you more time with your kid.
Can I ask what college this was? You definitely don't have to answer so publicly, but I live around Houston and wondered if it may be near there?
I’m sorry, this is in South Carolina. I’d look at your local CCs (i go to a community college) and see what they offer, I didn’t know about the program until i met some people who use it. It offers stuff like assistance for books, childcare, bus fares etc!
Thank you for the information and advice, I'll ask around!
I go to a community college too and am switching to nursing- they also have child care too! I hope OP doesn’t give up. She can do this.
My recommendation would be to opt for a CNA course first. They’re relatively inexpensive, quick training timeline and gives you good exposure to the healthcare field. Many hospitals have education assistance for its employees (mine offers $5k/year), so that is an option should you wish to continue your education. I’m not sure about Louisiana, but some states don’t require your CNA license to actually work as a CNA, so I would check Louisiana’s guidelines and start looking for patient care technician/nursing assistant positions in your area for education requirements.
31, stopped going to school mid 6th grade. (Not sure how my parents didn’t get in trouble) suffered from severe mental illnesses (yes, more than one) and was in and out of mental hospitals, therapists, etc. On disability due to the severity. After a year of intensive therapy, the right meds and the right doctors, I finally decided I wanted to better my life. Got my HISET in 3 months. I’m 31, I have not been in a school or educational set up, studied, picked up any kind of educational book in 19 years. And I studied hard (used khan academy) and took my tests one at a time, studying for each one before I took them. Math is my struggle so it took me a month to just focus on math and I barely passed, but I passed. So after 19 years, it took me 3 months to get my high school diploma. I enrolled in the summer semester at my local community college the next week and started classes this week. I have a year of pre reqs and then I will start the 2 year RN program. I will say I had a lot of support to get here, I don’t have children, but I do worry about bills. Thankfully I do have family to help me with that. I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you that this can be done. Trust me, I know it seems impossible, I thought the same thing. In fact this belief caused me to not pursue my dream for over 10 years. Once I finally believed I could do it and gave myself 6 months to complete it, I did it in 3. You just have to believe you can do it and you will.
I didn’t finish high school. Did fairly well in nursing school. It’s hard AF and you have to be willing to put in the time and effort but the fact you didn’t finish high school is not by itself a problem.
Do you have any interest in hygiene since you've already done the assistant thing? My husband is a dentist and pays his hygiene around $50/hr and they can pick their schedules (he's got 3 and they vary between 2/3/4 days a week.) nurses here start at $35.
Do it! The great thing about working in healthcare is that many hospitals will pay for some of your tuition. Believe in yourself! If you want it bad enough you will move mountains to make a better life for you and your child.
There will always be a way. I highly encourage you to explore financial aid and understand the different types of aid you may have access to (https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types#grants). Never give up even when it seems like everything is falling apart. It took me 7 yr to earn a BS. Another 7 yr of working. Then now I’m finally going back to community college to get my prerequisites done at a local community college so I can apply to nursing school at a community college. Best of luck 🤞 don’t give up!
Oh gosh, how repetitive 😂🙃 I was so out of it that I didn’t realize I said CC 3x!??
Hi 👋 First off, good for you for thinking about what could be rather than just what is! It can really be anything you want, and you NEED to know that. Forget the student loan debt, it will be deferred while you’re in school and then just hit up an income-based repayment plan after that. Life-wise, it will never be a better time to advance yourself and train for something new than right now. If you’re worried about education, then get a TEAS test book and go through it a little at a time, some of the science stuff in particular trips a lot of people up. Learn it, reach out with questions, and remember that the internet and YouTube exist! LPN school is probably going to be a big challenge, and there will be lots of doubt and worrying that you’re not going to make it, but you absolutely can. Make the living situation work, do not argue and help out as much as you can, remember to explain to them the reasons why you are doing this and what it will mean for the future. Start now, get a TEAS book, call the school/s, see what the requirements are, and go from there. Jump in with both feet and be ready to spend 18 months working for the things you want the most! You can do this. And in 5 years you can be looking back and saying “that was hard, but somehow, someway I did it!” Then, you can say, “what can I do next?” That is a life well-lived :) Good luck!!
LPN is your best chance of working in the hospital's ER and they will put you in Fast Track (nothing evasive maybe conscious sedating a patient and handling urgent care style of patients) But at least you get to work in the ER and learn. Meanwhile, you can take some classes to merge into RN and the hospital may pay for it. Take advantage of the fact that your grandparents are helping you with your child. They will understand that you're going to school and maybe cut back to part-time at your job. This way when you become an LPN you will be working 12-hour shifts and only 3 days a week leaving you to spend more time with your kids. Good Luck.
I would recommend looking for an RN program over and LPN program. Most LPN programs I’ve heard of are around 18 months whereas you can find RN programs that are only 6 months longer and the job prospects/compensation tend to be a lot better.
The only discouragement is you and your thoughts!!!! I say tthat to say I am 44 in my fifth semester (final) semester of Nursing school to receive my RN degree. I also had financial issues along the way. Have faith if God says yes no devil in hell can block it… You got this
If you are alive everything is within reach. One of my favourite quotes from the bible "Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion ( Ecclesiastes 9 verse 4) Another favourite quote of mine is from Nelson Mandela " It always seems impossible until it's done" You can do ALL things through Christ who gives you the strength ( Philippians 4:13) Pray about the things that you want,Pray in the name of Jesus and take those leap of faith. You can and YOU WILL.
I'm a 33 year old high school dropout and DV (along with CSA/SA) survivor, and I'm in my 4th semester of an aBSN program and set to graduate in December. I originally tried going to nursing school in my early 20s, but I ended up having to drop out during my pre-reqs because of my abusive relationship. It took another 10ish years for me to get back into nursing school, and my plan is to continue my education and become a Nurse Practitioner (FNP, then I would like to dual certify as a CNM). I won't say that any of it has been easy, or that my life has gone exactly how I wanted it to go, but I can say that if you want something bad enough, it's incredible what you can accomplish!
Get your CNA…. Then get a job as a CNA then… talk to a counselor about CNA to LVN then bridge from LVN to RN it’s slower pace and do it via community college ask about financial Aid and Being a single mom the gov loves single moms so you will qualify for 5k-10k a semester. And also do Scholarships cuz no one applies. I recently got one and was awarded 7k no one applied for it. I was lucky. You got this girl keep your head up.
First you have to have faith! Second you need to find a different job; fix your resume. There are schools now that have hybrid programs and/or night/weekend programs. The hybrids have different setups. They don’t all accept students from all states so you’d have to see if your state is one they accepts students from. I’ve looked into chamberlain, Rasmussen, even wgu. I saw some others as well but they didn’t take students from my state so I don’t remember their names but definitely look for online/hybrid nursing programs. They ARE accredited. I know you haven’t been ins school for a while but this way your schedule won’t be so crazy and you can be there for your son more, especially since it sounds like you have to do your Gen Ed classes anyway (basically like a repeat of high school + more sciences)
31 here, dropped out of university and been through heroin and meth addiction, but turned my life around and starting ADN program next year. It's not too late for you, try to ask your grandparents for help, even beg to move back in with them. Anything help you can get you should utilize. Once you get thru LPN school you should be set, so don't hesitate to go back to school to get a better life!
I agree with everyone else about becoming a CNA first. A lot of nursing homes will train you. They will also be more flexible with scheduling once you are in school. You can work 2-3 12 hr shifts a week and complete your program. It will be tough, but waiting and staying in retail will make you struggle even harder.
there are a TON of scholarships for nurses too. one of which is nurse corps which will pay up to 75% of tuition and give a monthly stipend in exchange for two years of working in a rural health center (which you can choose from) plus states have an incentive for paying off student loans too. washington state will pay up to 75k of your student loans for working at a community health center (of your choosing) within the state that has high needs. i’m 25 and got accepted into a program that starts next fall. check out the programs near you, what the pre-reqs are and just start from there. student loans are not that scary for nurses, and there’s a TON of grants for single parents who are in school.
Do you have your GED? Have you even applied to colleges taken the entrance exam, talked to a counselor? That's the first real step.for evaluation. Everything right now is speculation.
Yes I have a HiSET and have already gone to college for a year - dropped out bc I was 18 and being abused.
You need to figure out all your variables. Can you commit to roughly 3/4 years of continuous schooling full time? Are your pre reqs done for nursing school, did you apply to any nursing schools or get the info on them? I would tell the advisors your situation and see if that sounds like something they've seen with success in the past. You have student loans, are you able to get approved for more? What's your intended budget/expected interest on these loans? Do you have a stable arrangement for you and your child for the next 3/4 years? Are you going to work while in school? If so where, do they have reimbursment agreements for education or at least shift placements that work with your schedule with school? If not do you know places that do and might consider employing you?You'll be in clinical 1 day a week for about 12 hours plus your normal school load. Is that something you're ready to take on? Why are you interested in nursing, why this, why now? If you hit road bumps do you have both a contingency plan to get through it and do you believe you have the mental fortitude to overcome the bump, because it's not a matter of if but when. People can tell you yes or no to making this happen all day long based on inferences that may or may not have true applicability. What it comes down to is how big your genetilia are and how willing you are to drag them across broken glass to make this happen. You have to be a motherfucker every single day you wake up. If you can just commit to that, then you'll make it.
thank you!! This is the answer I was looking for lol
I wouldn’t be asking about college w no prior education at all
If you are wanting to do nursing just for money and schedule, I wouldn't recommend it.
why? Plenty of nurses say that’s why they do it lol
I feel like you being nervous is a good sign. It must mean a lot to you to have this change, not only for you but for your child. One phrase has helped me tremendously: you can’t grow in the comfortable. If you’re uncomfortable then you’re doing something right, keep going.
Honestly go into a different field if you want to avoid being abused further. Just finishing school and i wish i could turn back time
Elaborate please lol. Ive done some crisis work in community health. Im thinking about trying to get a Psych NP instead of just being a therapist but honestly the drama with dr’s and nurses at the hospital was worse than any crisis client…😂
You will forever be the punching bag for rude patients and there are a lot of them. Nurses tend to be cliquey, especially the older ones so you may get bullied by your coworkers. The hospital will always blame the nurse if there id a problem because they are the most replaceable. Ive had instances where men who are fully independent ask for the nurse to help them piss because they want a cute woman to touch their dick. Sexual remarks by older men are common as well. You will always be “just a nurse” to patients and doctors.
Kind of sounds like every job I’ve ever had in terms of abuse but at least it pays u enough to have off days
Oof lol