Going Back to School

I think its a great idea. I did it. Started in august 2005 and will be getting my Degree on may 2,2008. Have been in the medical field forever as a medical assistant and needed a change but still wanted the medical field, so i am going for Health Information Management at CFCC. My kids love it because we can do homework together, think its fun. They do miss me always being there at night for them but somenights i am in a class room.It will be worth it to all of us in the end. Really hope you go for it, you definitely wont regret it.

GO For It!!! I say it is a great investment for yourself, the community and a great example for your children. It's not going to be all smooth sailing. There's the studying, dividing your time with your family(MOST IMPORTANT) and other responsibilities which only you know. Your FAMILY is #1. Life is short!! Live fully, Love EXTREMELY and Create Happy memories...Everything you need to Live is in your reach. Teach your children the same. Happy DAYS!!!!

Hi J.,

Good for you and your family. I wish you the best in your schooling venture.

I recently enrolled in an online course to get my Associate's Degree as a Paralegal. In my first class there were several people enrolled to become nurses. I am enrolled at South University Online. If you want to check it out go to www.southuniversity.edu and read about the different programs offered. If you are interesting in enrolling I can give you the name of the Assistant Director of Admissions. The gentleman was very helpful in helping me to get all the proper paperwork and advising me on how to get the student loans. I am just starting my second class and so far it has been an amazing experience. Good Luck to you!

My husband and I are enrolled at age 33 in classes at FMU which is now Everest University. Anyhow, he takes his classes on campus, I take mine online. FMU is nationwide so you can do it anywhere you live and are therefore not tied down if you find your dream job. Mention a students name and get both you and the student a free gift. When my husband enrolled I got a dvd player. Good stuff. Good luck.

I thik it is a great idea. I went back to school myself, and just graduated in May at 36. Now I'm an RN. It is a good oppurtunity. But I will say this, it is very helpful if you have a good support system. It is sometimes hard balancing your responsibilities to the kids and family and house along with studying and assigments. Also when you have to do clinicals and need to be at the hospitals, at 6:30- 7:00 am, you need the support system or schedule with someone to be there to get the kids off to school in the mornings. Tuthfully I'm also lucky cause I am one of those annoying people that don't have to study much and still does really well. But, it was tough, harder than I thought especially the 2nd and more particularly 3rd semesters of the nursing program. I was lucky that as a single parent my parents were around to help out and be supportive. Nursing is a great field, there is so many places and areas you can go with it. Right now I am going into regular bedside/staff position. But I plan to actually go back to school again and work on higher degrees. My eventual goal is to be a certified nurse anesthetist. I wish you good luck in whatever you choose to do!

As a mother of 2 girls ages 14 and 4, I know that it isn't easy juggling family life with school because I just started back to school this semester. I am going for Business Adminstration, but I do know that the nursing field is hurting really bad. Before choosing what you want to go into try doing a search online for a career analysis website to find out what career field best suits you. Good luck with your endeavor.

Hi J.,

As a nurse, I can say that for me, it has been a great career. I do not always like my job, but I love being a nurse, and am very glad that I went back to school to get a degree in it. Some things to think about if you are leaning towards this vs. Respiratory Therapist or Radiology/Ultrasound, etc.: Nursing will give you the biggest bang for your buck, as there is always going to be a shortage of nurses. Also, as a nurse, you can frequently change your practice area if you find you aren't thrilled with your current situation. For example, 12 years ago when I first started, I was in a trauma step down unit in a large inner city hospital in D.C. but I trained after 6 months to go to critical care, and found my passion. However, through the years, I have also done recovery room, out patient surgery, Informatics (Computer stuff) and management. I always seem to go back to the bedside, as again, this is my passion. The other medical fileds do not really offer this kind of flexibility. Anyway, good luck on returning to school. I hope that you find your passion as well!

J.

I am a doctor in Apollo Beach. There is a HUGE shortage of nurses, however, the quickest way to becoming a nurse is to become an LPN - they dont get paid a whole lot. If you really want to work in medicine you may want to try working for a physician where you can learn what you need to learn, get paid a little better, and not have to pay for school. Your background in CS will help you get the job. I bet you could make between $11-15 starting, depending on the specialty.

hey,if you can handle it.I say JUST DO IT!!! GOOD LUCK!! :) Nursing is a great field to go into!!!

Congrats on your decision to return to school! If you are interested in one of the health professions, I suggest you speak with a health professions advisor so that you can discuss what all it entails (coursework, length of the program, what to do to get accepted in to programs, etc)for the oodles of health professions that exist. I know that the USF college of nursing occasionally has info sessions for people who are considering nursing and that the USF college of arts and science has advisors for other health professions (physical therapy, physician assistant, physician, dentistry, podiatry, etc.)Also, HCC has several technical types of programs. If you want to email me, I'll be happy to to give you more information (specific names of who to contact, etc).