Not many people are so absolutely certain of the job they want early enough in life that the map of their education and career path is a straight shot to their goal. Most of us have a broader target. Some are satisfied to head in a general direction and others are so lost they have no idea which way is up.

But no matter where you are in your career trajectory, there’s always an opportunity to change course. If you’re interested in pursuing nursing, but your experience and degree lie in a different field, programs exist to help you build on your previous education without having to repeat it.

If you’re good at math and science, like working in an intense atmosphere and enjoy working with people, nursing might be an option for you, even if you’re 40 or older. The March 2000 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses found that the average age of nursing program graduates was 30.5, and it’s increasing every year.

You can find post-baccalaureate, second degree or accelerated degree programs at nursing schools across the country. Post-bac programs (BA-to-BSN or BS-to-BSN) allow people to expedite their progress to begin their nursing career within one to two years of starting their nursing education.

As in many fields, second-career nursing students tend to have energy and focus that younger students may lack. They often do better academically as older students than they did in their previous schooling.

It’s not difficult to get into accelerated degree programs. Nursing school enrollment is just beginning to go up after a long period of decline, and the nationwide shortage of nurses doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon. Nursing schools and health care providers are actively recruiting nontraditional nursing students, which includes those starting their second career.

AllNursingSchools.com has a school finder that lets you search by education level and state or zip code. Contact school administrators for admission requirements.

Not every nursing job consists of handing surgeons their scalpels all day. There are dozens if not hundreds of specialties that require a nursing degree. If you’re thinking about going into nursing as a career but don’t know what you’d like to specialize in, check out some of these opportunities.

If you like working with patients, their families and their physicians in detemining the best course of care, you might be a candidate for a Nurse Case Manager job. Case managers are RNs (usually with B.S. or M.S. degrees as well) who have experience with the financial and clinical aspects of medical care, and who are good at managing several different and sometimes opposing factors. Case managers usually work with a specific type of patient such as organ transplant recipients, brain injury patients or the elderly, bringing all the aspects of their care together so they get the best treatment possible for their situation.

A Nurse Anesthetist is one who administers anesthesia to patients during surgery. Nurse anethestists usually have a good amount of independence and may have their own practices, but can be on call with a hospital or medical center. You need a master’s degree in nursing to be a nurse anethetist, and good skills in pharmacology. The job involves not only “passing gas,” but doing physical assessments and interviews with patients before and after their surgery.

A relatively new field is Forensic Nursing. Practitioners assist law enforcement personnel in investigating and treating perpetrators and victims of assault and abuse. If you are interested in criminal justice and medicine, and can deal with what could be an emotionally taxing career, this could be for you. Work settings include urgent care facilities, correctional institutions, insurance companies and mental health facilities. Positions are fairly few, though, and many are so new that they are subsidized by grants.

Nursing is rapidly becoming one of the most important careers in the health professional field. Nurses assist and facilitate the care and respond to the health of every person that comes through the hospital. While the doctor may be the authority, the patient spends much of their time in the hospital with their nurses.

With the increasing number of hospitals and with the ever broadening role of nurses in the hospital or doctors offices many programs all over the country have popped up to provide the education needed to perform these roles. It’s important when choosing an education venue to consider what will best suit the student. Here are just a few nursing education programs to choose from.

Three Options For Nursing Education

1. University- Many universities across the country offer nursing comprehensive nursing programs that require anywhere from a two to four year commitment. For men and women looking to get into the nursing field directly after college it can be to their advantage to apply to the nursing school at their university if at all possible.

2. Online- Since the emergence of the internet, several online programs from dependable universities such as Phoenix University have began to offer nursing programs. Online programs are a great for people who have children or other jobs who need to gain their education before entering the field. Online programs will often be cheaper so they are also great for those who have money constraints.

3. Private- Private nursing programs might often be called accelerated programs and are also great for people who have time constraints or who are looking to get into the field quickly.

Nursing is a great opportunity to break into the healthcare field and to fulfill dreams of helping others. They are many ways to get educated so just remember to choose the best path.