Is This a Good Career for Having a Family? (RN)

00:01 Is nursing a good career for someone who has a family? Overall, I think so.

00:06 But when in doubt, I love a good pros and cons list, so let's get one going.

00:11 The pros. This schedule can be incredibly flexible depending on the type of unit and shift work that your job is offering.

00:18 So this means that you can go to school plays and doctor's appointments and muffins with mommy and all of that.

00:25 And also, it is a very stable job, so you don't really have to worry about losing your job and providing for your family.

00:32 If you work day shift, you could be off at 3.30 and home when your kids and your partner are at home, and you have a great excuse to not be home for some family events that you don't want to attend because you work weekends. Just kidding.

00:47 Not really. It's a great excuse and a last perk is there is over time.

00:52 Now, I'm not a huge fan honestly of picking up overtime because I think it can lead to a lot of burnout.

00:58 But what if you just really need some extra money for something or your family needs something, your car breaks.

01:05 You can make really good money in a pinch by picking up overtime, which is an awesome perk of the job.

01:12 Family or not, just try not to make it a habit because your downtime is going to be so incredibly important for maintaining your mental health.

01:21 And if you work a lot of overtime, then that's really digging into that.

01:25 The cons, you may have to work some holidays and weekends and if you adore your family and never want to have to hide from them, then this could potentially be problematic.

01:36 You may also kind of get stuck at work when you are there.

01:41 It can be really tricky to leave because there's not anyone to come and take care of your patients for you.

01:46 So if you have kids, and they get sick at daycare, and they need to be picked up early for whatever reason, it often can fall on your partner if you can't be the one to go and get them because their job is usually more flexible and most health care places don't have sick days.

02:03 So if someone you get sick or someone in your family gets sick, you are taking PTO days or days like your paid days off.

02:10 And I found that with my own children, I ran out of PTO days because they were sick so often. And then my husband had to take all these days off because I couldn't get out of work.

02:21 But I worked 12 so when I was home, more days.

02:24 If she got sick on a day that I was home, then it would sort itself out.

02:27 But anyway, it's just, it can kind of be a problem.

02:30 And another situation where a pros and cons list going over this with the people you live with is going to be helpful.

02:35 Additionally, having child care that is somewhat flexible if you have kids is a must. Sometimes you get out of work late.

02:43 Well, what if you get mandated? Having child care that is available to watch them for those extended hours is huge for the days when things just don't go as expected.