So happy to have found this forum!
At 43, I'm seriously considering a career change into nursing. I've been working my whole adult life as a software engineer; I have a 4-year B.S. engineering degree.
I've gotten to the point now where the 6-figure money simply is no longer a meaningful reward for work that I absolutely loathe. There is no security in this field anymore either and I just can't see myself doing this for my next 25 years.
My wife is a hospital lab tech and has currently returned to school to finish her nursing degree, so thanks to her, at least I am not completely ignorant of what is involved here. She is completely supportive of my desire for a career change into health care.
Realistically, it will likely be another 2 or 3 years before I can actually start a nursing school program in earnest. My wife needs to finish first, and we have to finish adjusting our lifestyle so we're not dependent on my high-tech salary. I will likely take a CNA course soon and work in this capacity to get direct patient care experience before and during school.
So... any thoughts on a 46-year-old (by the time I start) former computer geek becoming an RN? I personally do not see my age (I'm in good shape) or Y-chromosome as a hindrance; I'm just wondering if it is, and hoping it is not, kind of late in life to be trying this.
How hard it is for a middle-aged guy to get into a nursing program, or to land a job afterwards as a new nurse?