Nursing --> Bio????

[Dazedandconfused27]

I just want to say thank you for anyone that lends advice to me....I'm quite "stuck" and would greatly appreciate wisdom.....

I have a B.A in Psychology (minor in History of Science and Medicine) from UC and a B.S in Nursing from Cal State. I currently work as an R.N. and, although it could very well be the specialty I work in, I am super dissatisfied with my career. I have ALWAYS wanted to teach and have been told I am very good at it. I originally wanted to pursue an M.S.N. but the more I think about it, the more I just don't want to be in nursing (though, again, this could be because I am less than thrilled with my current specialty) I absolutely LOVE A & P and have a particular interest in Metabolic Bio. I did take science courses (A & P , Micro, Intro to O. Chem; some at UC, some at a comm. college) but I have full confidence that it likely would not stand up for competitive MA/MS Bio programs. My main interest would be teaching at a college-level.

My husband and I are going to start a family, so it would be a few years before I would start my MA (if I were to get admitted) but I'm wondering what I should do 1.) to increase my chances of making it and 2.) is it even worth it? I almost wonder if I should suck it up and do the MSN and go on with life.....I just don't want to spend my life in a career I hate.......

Thoughts?

[mtlve]

I think that it is easier to find a teaching job if you have a PhD. Have you considered teaching high school instead? You may be able to teach at a small community college though. There are more PhDs than positions for them though, so it may get more difficult to even get those positions with a MS.

Would you consider moving? If you qualify for a post-bac program, I would consider moving to the DC area and trying to get a post-bac position for a few years while you figure things out. They even have a nursing institute, so you could learn more about other things that you can do with a nursing degree and you would get a better idea of what you would be doing in an ms/phd program before you spend time (and money for the ms) doing it.

[pghbioteacher]

dazedandconfused-

As someone who's been teaching at a community college for a few years, I can say that Faculty are hired for their teaching experience (not their degree).

Though it is true that many applicants have their PhD's, they often are not offered a position. The reason for this is their lack of teaching experience or their mediocre performance as a teacher. Current or ex high school teachers who have their masters (MS, MA, MEd, etc) typically get the positions.

I would recommend working towards your masters part-time. There are even online programs that would allow you to forego relocating (Clemson and Lehigh have programs like this). Once you earn the degree, start teaching as an adjunct as soon as possible. Some people are able to land adjunct positions without a masters and build up their teaching portfolio early... You should start sending out cover letters and resumes to local schools now- The worst they can say is "no."

Best of luck!

[mtlve]

This is true. Schools that focus on teaching require people to have a lot of teaching experience. Faculty at my undergrad only taught and they had to have several years of experience. Students were even on faculty hiring committees to help them determine who would be the best teachers. That being said all faculty at my school had a more advanced graduate degree than a MS. A lot of the A&P type teachers had either a DVM or a PhD. The OP needs to decide about the type of schools they want to teach at. If they are happy with a 2yr school then a MS might be fine. If they want a 4yr school, then they might need a more advanced degree.

If the OP is fine teaching high school and at a community college, then a MS is fine (assuming you have the teaching background). If there are PhD with teaching experience up for their position though, it may be tough to get it. A lot of PhD students seem to have an interest in this option and with the funding situation in the US more may go this way, so I do worry about not getting a PhD for job stability. Half of my friends that went to grad school were interested in this and some schools have even built more teaching curriculum to PhD programs to prepare them. Duke, UNC, and Berkeley I think are examples of these.

Edited January 3, 2013 by mtlve