Every day, more and more people are deciding to make a profound change in their life, by changing careers and going into nursing. People are doing so from all walks of life-blue collar workers, attorneys, business owners, accountants, administrators, etc. And they’re doing it for lots of different reasons. Some feel called to be a caregiver. Others are simply burned out by what they’ve been doing, and see nursing as an attractive alternative. Some are making the change because nursing wages continue to climb, and there’s never a shortage of work. So if you’re considering switching careers and going to nursing school, you’ll have lots of company. And if you’re concerned about being “too old”, quit worrying, because you’re probably not. You’ll see a wide age range in nursing school, and the age of the average nursing school student is getting higher all the time. It’s over thirty right now, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll be surrounded by nothing but 19 and 20 year olds.

Do you already have a degree? If so, here’s some good news. Because a lot of the courses in a nursing degree program have nothing specifically to do with nursing, but are general college courses like English, many nursing schools have accelerated nursing degree programs for those who’ve already graduated from college. And at many colleges, you’ll be able to get a nursing degree by attending school part time, making it possible to keep your job while you make the transition to nursing. In addition, because of the severe nursing shortage, there is an abundance of financial aid available to nursing students, and by no means is this money restricted to people coming to nursing school straight out of high school. Many states and municipalities even have programs which will pay back your student loans if you agree to serve a certain number of years in an area that is critically short of nurses. There are many good reasons for becoming a nurse, and there are ways to help you pay for nursing school, and you probably won’t have to quit your job. So choosing nursing as a second career can be an excellent choice. Plus, once you’ve graduated and passed the nursing exam, you may well find that many prospective employers prefer hiring nurses who’ve come to the career later in life, for the maturity and wisdom they bring to the job.