Feeling stuck and not sure what I want...

So you want to make a lot of money for a potential family/being comfortable and NOT work like a dog? All I’m going to tell you is that it sounds like you’re overthinking it and not doing yourself any favors by jumping lanes all the time.

There must be a way of using your experience and education. For the courses that have expired, is it possible to take an exam for the courses without having to retake the courses? Is there someone in your field who you can speak to about your options?

@KNOWITALL

I can understand why you came to the conclusion that I want to make a lot of money but that’s not exactly true. I am by no means looking to be “rich” but rather I am looking for a career that I am going to love and enjoy doing while making an income that I am comfortable to live on. Let’s say an income of $50,000–75,000. I would not consider that being rich but rather a middle-class income.

May I ask why I am overthinking it?

@LostInParadise

Well, I wouldn’t say I have the “best” experience but I do have it. It’s more like look at my mistakes and please do not be an idiot like me. Sadly the courses that have lapsed are not allowed to be challenged. It’s mandatory that the classes are to be taken over completely which is just a way for the college to make money. It’s frustrating but it is what it is.

There are a few in my field that just bridged from there paramedic to there RN but they also are married and had the safety net of the significant other bringing in another source of income while they attend school to finish. I sadly do not have that luxury.

In my area of the US, which is near you, most NP’s I know have gone online to get their degree. If I’m not mistaken, it would take two years to get your RN, then 18 months online to get your NP. You should be in your early 30’s and in a good paying job.
Can you talk to your dad about living with him and him taking care of your bills for 2 years until you get your RN? It would be difficult to work and go to nursing school at the same time. Also, NP’s make around the same as PAs without the the same years of school and without the big student loans. I work in a doctors office in a hospital, so I know their salaries.

@chyna

Yes NP gives you the ability to do it online which is nice. The downside of it is you have to most likely schedule your own clinical days but that can be done.

Actually, since I am in paramedic school right now and I do not graduate until Feb 2020. I will still need to take my Prereqs and ill be close to 30 when I finish that. Then I need to hopefully get into a program my first shot or have to wait another year. So let’s say I get into the bridge program. That is a 1.5-year program. Next after completing that I will need to enroll in an RN-BSN which will take another 2 years and then enroll in a BSN-NP program which will be another 2 years. So let’s say everything worked out to the tee. I would have it all completed in 5–6 years. I could be between 32–36 years old or worse case be 40 years old. It really all comes down to the cards and how they play out. Also, my concern is being a single male. The bridge programs still require me to come into school for the majority of the day to attend class. So that worries me because I am not sure if I will be able to do it while working to pay my bills.

NP’s do make pretty similar wages to PA.

Sometimes just knowing what we don’t want is enough.
For each career path list the Pro’s and Con’s. Eliminate what you don’t want and see what is left.

@TheVaal

How do you recommend going about making this list?

Have you done enough research on the jobs you want yet? And have you also considered if you have enough skills for each of the job?

And also I agree with @KNOWITALL about the first sentence she said. Even when you finally find a job you love you still have to work for it. It’s called “work” for a reason.

I didn’t read the whole question, but I would consider taking a look at a Registered Vascular Ultrasound Technologist specializing in leg veins (RVS). The school requirements are not that crazy and a talented tech can be very well paid. Techs don’t have stressful hours and could in theory be a stepping stone to becoming a PA in a vein practice—if that has any appeal.

First let’s make sure we are talking about career paths.
Careers are not straight lines. What you study may not be where you end up working. I once new a man with a bachelor’s degree in astronomy who was the Maintenance Officer in an Infantry Battalion. So study what you enjoy studying, a degree or a diploma opens up many different doors. A career path may not be in your field of study.

So for each field of study try this: Write it on the top of a blank piece of paper. One field per page. Divide the page into two columns, label them ‘Pro’ and ‘Con’
In the Pro column write down what the benefits are for that field of study. How much you enjoy it, what the careers are in that field that interest you. Where and who you could work for, etc. In the Con column write down the disadvantages to the field of study. Some of the cons may even be the same as the Pros, like where you will have to work in that field.
Do that for each field of study. Do that for each career path as it becomes available to you.

Writing this all down is important. Writing it down forces us to organize our thoughts and feelings on each one. Quite often we have all these things bouncing around in our heads without really knowing what exactly they are. That “Feeling stuck and not sure what I want…” feeling may come from that.

My stepson was an RN and wanted to become an NP. He took classes on remote learning from some school in Nebraska, but was living in South Carolina at the time. He ended up working at an ER for a while (which he hated) and then found a job at a Cardiac Rehab facility. He like that very much.
His schooling started a bit earlier than yours…I think he went into nursing in his early 20’s. But your time line for your education seems a bit skewed. He worked at night with a cleaning company when he was in school for RN which allowed him to have days for classes. I don’t think he went more than 4 years for his degree. He did some different jobs as an RN for a few years before he decided to become an NP. He completed his NP schooling/licensing when he was 29. If you were starting off fresh today you could be an NP in about 6 years.
It really comes down to you. What you like to do. Are you choosing a career path because you like the work or because you like the money? Both are fine, but there are trade offs. If you are choosing a career because you like the work, you may not be in a field where you will make tons of money but you will enjoy what you do. If you are choosing because you think it will be a career that makes you lots of money, you may not like the job, but will have more money for your off time. I looked at your list of job suggestions you are considering and thought they were kinda all over the place. Engineering (of the various sorts) would usually put you in a job where you work for a company on projects, doing calculations and evaluations. The medical field jobs seem to be in line with your desire to be an NP, and would be working with people and in the medical field. The hydrologist is sort of an outlier. That job usually entails a lot of outdoor work (I worked closely with hydrologists in my life). So I guess if I were you, I would ask myself some questions. Do I like working with people? Do I like working at a desk using my brain? Do I like being outdoors? Do I like to work with my hands or my brain or both? Questions like this can help you narrow down your choices. Start with general questions and move to more detailed ones. But be honest with yourself otherwise you will find yourself doing this exercise all over again in a few years.