Back in the early part of this century, women could aspire to get married, become a secretary or become a nurse. Because of that limited way of thinking, in the 60s and 70s nursing fell out of favor among young people deciding what career they would like to pursue once out of college or high school.
As the “boomer” generation in the US continues to grow older, there is more of a demand for nurses than ever before and nursing once again offers a good career choice for people – both men and women — looking for a satisfying job that can also make a difference.
Studies show that 1.7 million registered nurses will be needed in the US by 2020 — and nowhere near that many people are currently choosing nursing as a career. Which means if you have a four year college degree in nursing, you can expect to be employed in a field with one of the highest paid starting salaries available — and if you choose to further your education by specializing in one of the many nursing fields, you can expect to earn much more.
You can custom design your nursing career around your interests and talents; work for a private physician, work in a hospital’s emergency room, or become a military nurse and travel around the world. You can work with children and newborns, or visit and care for in-home patients, work for a forensic research team or work with the Red Cross as an international nurse. These suggestions don’t even begin to scratch the surface of what is available, so it’s really all up to you.
Becoming a nurse means accepting a high degree of responsibility. Nurses are often the first to recognize an emergency situation and deal with it until the doctor arrives. That in turn will require a lot of work and dedication to acquire a nursing degree. But for all of that work and dedication, you will step into a satisfying career that will guarantee that you will be in a position to make a real difference in your patient’s lives.