What is the highest paying nursing career in Australia?

Possible Career in Nursing?

• I'm in my 3rd to last year of school and have been thinking of careers. My dad tells me I should become a nurse because of the pay and working conditions. My step-mum is a speech therapist and also tells me that I should do nursing. Is nursing a good profession? Are male nurses common? What is the average pay? What would I have to do to get qualified as a nurse? Also would it be easy for nurses to find work overseas? I am a New Zealander and so can work in NZ and Australia because of my citizenship. I am also a British Citizen and also and Irish citizen because my mother is Irish and my dad is English. I want to work in Nth America as well as I haven't been there before and because my cousin is a nurse in New York. All answers are appreciated thanks.

• Answer:

  Nursing is hard. It is far less common for males to do it but that shouldn't matter. I will say this, if $ is your motivation, forget about it. It takes tremendous dedication. I know plenty of people who graduated with a 4 year degree in science who still failed out of nursing school (never got the RN). Some of these bright people, had A averages. It really is HARD- almost like becoming a doctor. Just last week a friend told me she studied every day for 8 hours, 7 days a week and scored a 65 on her test- she is failing. In nursing, anything below a 70 or C is failing- there is no D. She is very smart. Lots of math, chemistry, need to memorize 300+ medications and their interactions- it is hard- really hard. Now, if you love helping people, I can't think of a better career. You can literally save lives but it is risky and has plenty of stress. I don't know what your dad is talking about- the conditions are not good- you have to clean people, change HIV infected needles, be exposed to TB, Hepatitis, etc. It is not glamorous. Nursing can make decent money (maybe $40/hr US after you have an RN and 1-2 years experience) but they earn every dime. DO WHAT YOU ENJOY- not what others tell you that you should do. People can make $ selling dirt, if they believe in it and love what they do. You have to tap into your passion. For example, if you never had to work again, what would you do to stay busy? DO SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. This life is VERY short. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs