Why Nursing?

A few days ago Superstar Genius asked why am I now interested in becoming a nurse or dietitian with my background in retail.

These are questions I asked myself numerous times before I made my final decision, here are my reasons - in no particular order.

1. I never liked retail.

Retail was a means to an end. When I was in college I needed a job to pay the bills, I tried to get an office job but with no clerical experience I could not get one. I started out as a sales associate and worked my way up to manager. Working all of those hours took a tole on my GPA and limited the places I could apply to after graduation. I decided a job I hated was better than no job at all.

2. Visual Merchandising jobs are few and far between, and are hard to get.

Most stores do not have visual merchandisers, the few that do are either getting rid of them or have had the same employees forever. To go corporate I would have to move to New York and try to get a job from to small pool of available jobs.

3. I have no desire to open my own store, nor the capitol needed to do so.

I have been in retail long enough to see the way people act and treat stores. I would never want to take that risk with my own money.

4. I like helping people.

As a nurse (my first choice) or a dietitian I would get to help people feel better and live longer. In retail all you are doing is trying to get people to spend money they don't have and open credit cards they don't need.

5. I have to go where the money is.

I have been trying to pay off debt for years and it can not be done on $12 and hour. Nursing is an in-demand field that pays well.

As far as going back to school, once accepted I could be done with school in 4 years. In the grand scheme of things 4 years is not a long time, I will be 35. I can either be 35 doing a job I hate with no future or doing a job I would love (or at least like) with a future and a good income.

Good, Bad, or Ugly, these are my reasons.