Want a personally satisfying, secure career that pays well? Become

Want a personally satisfying, secure career that pays well? Become a nurse!

There are still a few bright spots in careers today. Jobs in the field of medicine are not only in demand, but give you personal satisfaction in helping others, while offering job security and good pay. It does take a certain type of personality to become a nurse. A successful nurse is one who is compassionate towards patients. As a nurse, you'll certainly encounter every type of personality, from sweet children to those who are grumpy, finding fault with everything pertaining to their care and beyond. If you are skilled in dealing with people and regard this aspect of the nursing field and are prepared for sometimes long shifts and hard work, you have the characteristics required to become a nurse.

To become a Registered Nurse (R.N.) requires a four year college degree. This may seem to be an impossible objective when you're already holding down a full time job. However, in fact it's not out of your reach and may even be accomplished in far less than four years. Here's a plan whereby you can become a nurse while still retaining an income to sustain you throughout your journey through college.

Begin with community college classes to complete your core requirements for your degree. Get a catalog for the upcoming quarter and make an appointment with the school counselor to formulate a plan. If you've already accumulated college credits, get a copy of your transcript and bring this with you to your meeting. Go through the catalog before your meeting and highlight those classes that are available online. Distance learning allows you to do your coursework on your schedule, so that proceeding towards your degree doesn't impact your work schedule.

Explain your goal to the school counselor. Counselors are trained to help students coordinate their coursework efficiently, such that you can complete as many core requirements at the junior college level and which are transferable to a four year college. This strategy saves you money, as these classes will cost more at a four year college. Most of your core requirement coursework is available in online classes, helping you to more easily juggle your current job with school. With good guidance from your counselor, you can obtain your A.S. in as little as one year to 18 months, depending upon your diligence and available time you can commit to your goal to become a nurse.

Ask your counselor about classes which will not only forward your ambitions to become a nurse, but gain you a certificate as an LVN, X-ray technician or pharmacy technician first, which you can use to get a better paying job while continuing to work towards your R.N. Knowing your ultimate goal, your counselor can advise you on the best strategy to employ to incrementally improve your skills and which classes are transferable to a four year college, once you've obtained your A.S., as well as the coursework which will be a plus on your resume when you finally do become a nurse.

Ask about grants and scholarships. Your counselor can offer leads on how to go about obtaining a grant and also see if there are scholarships available to you.

Once you've obtained your A.S., you'll move on to a four year college for your R.N. Four year colleges also offer distance learning classes, but you'll doubtless need to take some of your coursework on campus. Your community college counselor can advise you on these details.

A well formulated plan is your ticket to the most efficient path to achieve your goal to become a nurse. Good luck you can do it!