01-20-2013, 09:11 AM
Ya'll are great! I really appreciate the replies and advice!
Sanantone, At least here in SC LPN's do not make much more than CMA's. My best friend is an LPN. In fact, we even job shared at one time. We had the same exact duties in a peds office and both made $15/hr. Now that was 10 years ago. I have done my research here in SC and find that CNA's make $9-$12/hr, CMA's $12-$15/hr and LPN's $14-$17/hr. I have looked into the alternate taching certification. We have a big push for Teach for America here. They will help you get your teaching certificate, but in turn you have to give them 2 years of teaching in a failing school. There is another route here called PACE. I think their setup is about the same. I know that I never want to teach children, so that's why I never really considered it. I do think it would be good to have the certification and it would teach me how to teach, but I don't need it to teach adults at the local vocational schools. Another friend of mine does teach at one and loves it. However, she is a Masters level teacher and that is her passion. She makes good $ but says that it really is not a lot compared to the hours she spends preparing and grading.
Marianne, I have thought about getting a coding certification. I hear there is good $ in it even all by itself. I am a bit confused as to which certification is the best. I think there are 3 levels. I have tried to get more info. on this, but I don't know anyone that does this for a living. As for the RN, Excelsior is not an option. Some years ago they had a CMA to RN option, but they discontinued the program. I even petitioned the Director of the program to at least sit through the class to prove myself, but was denied. You have to be an LPN or paramedic to be admitted at this time. Believe me, I've looked into getting one of those just to bridge to RN, but the time and $ is really not worth it.
I have heard about new RN's having a hard time finding jobs. One of my neighbors graduated in 2010 with her RN and looked for only a month before finding a job. She has a great job w benefits at the VA. Most of her classmates took jobs in the pool to get their feet wet. Now, here in SC there are quite a lot of medical facilities and they all have a list of RN jobs available. Now, they did have a hiring freeze until recently. I agree that this might be the case as they definitely continue to hire less qualified people to do a lot of the jobs in a hospital.
I guess my big dilemma is $. I just don't want to be in this rut forever. It feels like forever now. I just want a better life for myself and family. If I keep on making $25k a year, I will never have anything and be miserable. My life has changed so drastically from where I was 2 years ago and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I know there is no easy fix, but I'm just trying to find some way to make a decent living......Keep the ideas coming!
Sanantone, At least here in SC LPN's do not make much more than CMA's. My best friend is an LPN. In fact, we even job shared at one time. We had the same exact duties in a peds office and both made $15/hr. Now that was 10 years ago. I have done my research here in SC and find that CNA's make $9-$12/hr, CMA's $12-$15/hr and LPN's $14-$17/hr. I have looked into the alternate taching certification. We have a big push for Teach for America here. They will help you get your teaching certificate, but in turn you have to give them 2 years of teaching in a failing school. There is another route here called PACE. I think their setup is about the same. I know that I never want to teach children, so that's why I never really considered it. I do think it would be good to have the certification and it would teach me how to teach, but I don't need it to teach adults at the local vocational schools. Another friend of mine does teach at one and loves it. However, she is a Masters level teacher and that is her passion. She makes good $ but says that it really is not a lot compared to the hours she spends preparing and grading.
Marianne, I have thought about getting a coding certification. I hear there is good $ in it even all by itself. I am a bit confused as to which certification is the best. I think there are 3 levels. I have tried to get more info. on this, but I don't know anyone that does this for a living. As for the RN, Excelsior is not an option. Some years ago they had a CMA to RN option, but they discontinued the program. I even petitioned the Director of the program to at least sit through the class to prove myself, but was denied. You have to be an LPN or paramedic to be admitted at this time. Believe me, I've looked into getting one of those just to bridge to RN, but the time and $ is really not worth it.
I have heard about new RN's having a hard time finding jobs. One of my neighbors graduated in 2010 with her RN and looked for only a month before finding a job. She has a great job w benefits at the VA. Most of her classmates took jobs in the pool to get their feet wet. Now, here in SC there are quite a lot of medical facilities and they all have a list of RN jobs available. Now, they did have a hiring freeze until recently. I agree that this might be the case as they definitely continue to hire less qualified people to do a lot of the jobs in a hospital.
I guess my big dilemma is $. I just don't want to be in this rut forever. It feels like forever now. I just want a better life for myself and family. If I keep on making $25k a year, I will never have anything and be miserable. My life has changed so drastically from where I was 2 years ago and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I know there is no easy fix, but I'm just trying to find some way to make a decent living......Keep the ideas coming!
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