I had one friend in college who was going to be a scientist of some sort, chemistry I think. She pushed really hard until year 3 or so and then fell in love and decided to drop out, and then went to a 2 year school years later to become a nurse. So much potential immediately wasted. I can’t pretend to know her exact motivations, but it always made me sad.
And hey, ton of respect for nurses, but anyone from the rural America knows that it’s a thankless job that they are taken advantage of, and it’s specifically because it’s a “fallback” career that is “acceptable” for women with families.
I think that’s what makes me sad. Fuck gender stereotypes, go be a scientist if that’s your dream, don’t fall into what everyone expects that you’ll do.
Nurses make a lot more money. Before she retired, my mom was making over 100k working under 40 hours a week, in suburban midwest
Not all nurses, but travel nurses make bank. It was absurd during Covid, when nurses who worked for specific facilities saw their patients dying on the regular, were working longer hours, and still came home with the same pay they received before it all started.
Meanwhile, a coworker coming in from an agency to “help out” got paid tons more, even though they lacked the knowledge that comes from having worked in the same place with the same patients for years. Then those running the facilities were all shocked Pikachu face when their own employees burnt out and they had to bring on even more of the expensive travel nurses.
I got my MA at a Christian college. I was one of 2 men on my cohort, with the other 10 of us being women.
Of the 10, 8 are now stay at home moms involved in some kind of MLM. The other two quietly married each other and are still working in the field.
That makes me so freaking sad, and the MLM just proves that they know they want something more, but are limited now in how they can. They can always go back to school, but that’s near impossible while you have kids still at home, let alone the cost of it. MLMs take such advantage of that wanting to be successful and proud of what you do, while at the same time siphoning what little you have out of your household.
Hmm… Speaking as a nurse, the benefits seem to be severely underestimated. You are basically guaranteed work because there will always be sick people. If you need flexibility there’s usually a department or specialty that will fit the hours you need, or you go locum. It is actually as interesting as you want it to be; if you want a specialty then there’s usually a route to advance along it. It opens up other avenues, e.g. public health, health research, admin (if you’ve lost your soul). It’s very social, and patients are often more than happy to talk if you like people. If you don’t like people then you just make sure you’re obviously concentrating and they’ll usually shut up.
If someone wanted to do science then went into nursing, then they’re probably doing practical sciences and don’t have to be missing out at all.
A great way to learn the cool shit doctors learn is to ask them about it.
There are definitely benefits to being a nurse… but that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Personally I would be a terrible nurse, I’m not especially personable and I get icked out fast by the more disgusting bodily functions.
Change “nurse” to “housewife” and you described most US military spouses. So many of them were pushing pyramid schemes… err… “multi-level marketing” amongst one another.
My wife served in the military alongside me, and yet even she got roped into an MLM scheme at one point.
No dental hygienist schools in your area?
What’s that pseudo stat about highschool mean girls going on to become nurses?
Why is it cool to shit on a 4 year science degree? Why is it cool to promote infighting on underpaid healthcare providers?
Point out where I said either of those things.
“my friend was going for a chemistry degree, instead she became a nurse. So much potential wasted”
So your first bit, “Why is it cool to shit on a 4 year science degree”, your example says why I found it sad that she gave up on her science degree. The opposite of “shitting on a 4 year science degree”
If you’re upset about wasted potential -> becoming a nurse, then you missed the point of my entire comment and went right to your own conclusions. If you’re upset that a career like a chemist (or a doctor, or a lawyer) require more training and pay better than nurses then you need to take it up with society as a whole. I’m talking about my friend who gave up on a much higher salary and strong career prospects to be a housewife and went with rural culture approved choice of being a nurse, and how gender norms were a non-zero part of her decision.
