Registered Nurse or Multimedia Artist & Animator?

College Majors
1

Yeah, I know, I know–another thread about deciding on a major. Just hear me out! lol

Im starting community college later this month, so maybe I dont have to worry about my major just yet…but, I dont know, I cant help but worry because I want the classes that im taking to benefit me in the long run. I dont want to take the wrong classes and screw up :confused:

I’m stuck between wanting to become a RN or a Multimedia Artist and Animator…two completely different things. I went my whole life thinking that I’ll become a nurse. The thought of helping people is something I can see myself doing, the pay is good…my main concern is that I have fibromyalgia and that leaves me very achy, sore and tired, and with the schedules that nurses have to work, I dont think It’ll be a good choice for me physically in the long run. It makes me sad, because I really cant see myself doing anything else, and I wish I would have considered other options that would be better for me. Perfectly healthy nurses are tired and often over worked, so im worried I’ll be overwhelmed. In fact, I’d love to work in a large hospital, but most likely will never be able to…Also, I dont know if this is relevant, but I know that if I were to be a nurse I’d have to take science and math classes…both of which Im not too good at >.>

As for being a Multimedia Artist and Animator, it suddenly came to me that I should probably lean that way because I’ve loved drawing my whole entire life, and in fact, a lot of people say that im good at it and if I plan on becoming an artist and going to art school. I always shyly say no, and have never even considered it until now lol. I figure, it seems that they get paid good, I’d have fun doing it, Im not sure about work hours and schedules, but hopefully they’re not too hectic–and i hope I dont sound lazy, I just have to learn to do what my body can handle. I mainly draw, but im also interested in learning how to do art in programs such as photoshop–just thinking about it gets me excited! An issue I have with art is motivation, but I’d really like to get back into drawing because it’s a skill that I never want to lose.

So, im at a loss as for what I should do. I could become a nurse, which is stable and makes good money(stability is important to me…I dont want to be rich, just want clothes on my back, my bills paid, food on the table and gas in my car)but could be potentially draining for me. Also, I dont know how I should tell my mom that I might not become a nurse because i’ve never voiced my doubts before.

Multimedia artists make good money, I’d be doing something that Im good at and enjoy, but I wonder how hard it is so get and keep a job in that industry.
If I decide to do neither, Im also interested in looking into becoming a social worked or a therapist…Im all over the place lol!
Advice?

2

I don’t see why you can’t try either or both!

Nursing is a career that requires a pretty specific set of courses that you have to take in sequence. Multimedia animation, however, does not - you need artistic talent. You do need some classes/skills, but you can largely pick those up later or on the side. And nursing sounds like what you really want to do, but you are concerned about your physical limitations.

So why not start out taking the prerequisites for nursing programs? If you are at a community college, your college may even have an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) program in which you can be a nurse in 2-3 years. You could then work as a nurse while you complete your BSN, after you transfer, or do an RN-to-BSN program. Test it out for a few years and see what it feels like to you. Also, realize that while most nurses do start out “on the floor” doing regular hospital nursing, you don’t have to do that your whole career - especially once you finish the BSN and have some experience. Many nurses leave hospital nursing to do other things, like community health nursing, school nursing, research nursing, consulting, nurse telemetry and infection control/nurse epidemiology. These other specialties of nursing have more regular daytime hours and are usually less physically taxing than hospital nursing.

If you find that nursing is too taxing for you, once you have a bachelor’s you can always switch careers. While pursuing your degree, you can take multimedia art classes as electives and maybe do some freelance work to build a portfolio. Or, once you have a BSN, you could get an MSW and become a licensed clinical social worker - a nursing background would probably be excellent for a social worker, particularly if you decided to go into hospital social work. An LCSW would also allow you to do more traditional social work and counseling/therapy.