getting out of aviation

[capt. megadeth]

I perfectly understand that I will NEVER, EVER be rich being a nurse, nor would I if I stayed in aviation, but I am a firm believer that I am getting into a profession that I am very interested in and is light years ahead of aviation in job stability. Oh, by the way MEGADEATH, you should explain why you don't need the ratings because your a "chick". That's what your avatar says anyway! Do you think that you should be given a job just because you're female and a more qualified pilot should be passed by?

Bell,
Good luck to you. I firmly believe that you should enjoy what you do for work because you will be doing it alot and for a long time. If nursing is that for you, go for it. It has certainly been a great supplemental income. That's where it stops for me. Working like a dog 40 hours a week and not being able to take care of my patients the way I would like to because there is no time, is not something I care to do for the rest of my life.

In response to your questions:
1. Went over your head.....I am being sarcastic.
2. No. I think that people should stop assuming that I got my job BECAUSE I am female.

 

[701EV]

Bell,

Let me give you my 2 cents. My wife has been a Nurse since 1982 and she hates it. It was great for about 5 years and while I was at Riddle and it put food on the table. My wife has worked in the emergency room, operating room, recovery room, labor and delivery, surgical floor, and the medical floor. Here is whats in store for you. You will be physically and verbally abused by doctors and patients. You may look down the barrel of a gun depending upon were you work. You will be spit on, puked on, pissed on, and sh!t on, You may catch HIV, Hepatitis A, B, C, Tuburculosis or God knows what else. You will develope veracose (sp) veins. Your back and feet will hurt like they have never hurt before after being on you feet for 8, 10, 12, or 16hrs, remember that OT at time and a half.

The pay is ok nothing great. You can make more if you want to work more than 8 hrs a day or 6 days a week but, there goes QOL issues. Certain parts of the country the pay is better. ATL it sucks. FLA was better. Go find the nurseinfo.com forum and talk to nurse's who have been in it for more than 5 years.

On the upside you can always find a job. If you have a chance to become a CRNA go for it. It is probably equal to being a 777 driver but, you will now be on call besides doing your normal shift work.

Just my 2 cents from spending the last 24 years married to a Nurse.

701EV

 

[AirCobra]

I just had a few more points but I could not finish my last post because I had to leave really quick. I know there is a lot of talk about travel nursing and how much you get paid but in reality not many nurses want to do it for the liability issues involved. Walking into an unfamiliar hospital and putting your license on the line when you can't even find the floor you are supposed to work on takes a special person. This is not a position for a new RN. Your orientation will be days instead of weeks and they expect you to hit the ground running.

I was just trying to give Bell47 a reality check. I don't think job stability is a good reason to be a nurse. You should want to be a nurse because that is your lifes ambition, because you get satisfaction caring for patients. There are other jobs with more stability and easier ways to make $15.00 an hour (new RN pay in the Southeast).

Most of the stuff about nursing posted on here is best case scenario. Like saying I am a CFI but one day I will be a Captain on a 747. Sure CRNA's make great money, but malpractice insurance can exceed $25,000 a year, you are on call all the time, school costs $50,000, takes two years, and has a waiting list.

Think hard about what you are doing. My constructive suggestion would be become a nurse in the Armed Forces. Join an ROTC program while you are in nursing school. A five year O-3 RN in the Air Force pulls in $80,000 a year. You will never see that kind of money from a hospital. They will even put you through CRNA school and pay you to go. Retire at 20 years with a pension, and then you will have some income if you decide to back back into aviation.

 

[30West]

I've got a good friend who has made some mega bucks doing contract nursing. He's got a RN and will do 4-6 week rotations at various places, often with reduced-cost housing offered to him and he's paid off a lot of debt this way. Go even further and become a CRNA and you're gold.

Hey that's a great avatar! When did that happen? Have a few hours in that FIT bird and don't remember hearing about that one!

 

[pgcfii2002]

Uh................

 

[RedPrairie]

Bell47,

From someone who once was in aviation and got out because of low pay only to return to flying professionally, I think you're going to miss it. Sure, Nursing is the "hot" ticket career RIGHT NOW but think about what CaptMegadeath and AirCobra posted. Both of those individuals offered wisdom that should be heeded.

Get into Nursing because it's been a long-term goal and ambition; not because it offers stability or an out to a bad situation right now. To be a nurse, and this is from a former EMT, takes a LOT of energy and compassion. Be a nurse because it's what YOU truly want to be. Anything else sells short your future patients.

From what you've posted, and this is from the outside looking in to your thoughts, I think you're making a decision to leave aviation based on emotion rather than logical, critical thinking. But you need to do what you feel is best.

Best of luck to you. Hope it works out as planned.

Red

 

[Alex429595]

So....your a male nurse Fokker?

 

[dskflyr]

Lvn > 80-100k???

I call BS!!! NO LVN (licensed vocational nurse) is making that kind of scratch legally!!! A RN working Nights and weekends in a CCU might make 80K with a lot of overtime. As far as "right at 100K" if they are Advanced Practice Nurses it's possible.

oh by the way as a RN or LVN you have a 100% chance of getting a job in any major city....and believe it or not you can make MORE money in a rural area if you are picked up by a staffing company who is contracted to fill the "underserved" rural areas

in addition, you get to hang out with hot chicks at the hospital all day long, and maybe save a life or two.

On your days off, if you work for the local EMT squad, or Care-Flight company, etc, you can pick up additional bucks.

I know for a confirmed fact of LVN's and RN's making high 80's to in some cases right at 100K

yeah, guaranteed employment, hot chicks, "make a difference",....pretty tough decision....

 

[Number$Cruncher]

Just my two cents...

Make sure you're running toward something you really want, not away from something you fear.

 

[MachPi]

Bell47, good luck. I'm in my 2nd semester at nursing school now; pm me if you have any questions.