I would agree with finishing your degree while learning to program (if that’s what you want). One thing that I’ve noticed is that people who work in technology often have little understanding of the business or operational context of what they are programming. Having a formal health care education could give you an edge in landing technical jobs related to building systems or applications with health care or insurance application.
Let me just mention my son-in-law’s experience. He was an editor, managing a small imprint in a major publisher. When he was ordered to fire half his staff of editors so they could outsource to India, he quit. Then he went to a coding boot camp and learned, IIRC, Python. He got a job with a small company that wrote software that takes a dozen measurements of a person (height, weight, chest, waist, hip, inseam,…) and produces a body type for fitting clothes. The company was eventually bought by Amazon so now he is programmer for Amazon and seems quite happy with it.
That sounds like a tragedy turned serendipity–I hope my story turns out that way, minus the tragedy part. Do you have a name for the coding booth camp he attended?
@msmith537 true, I’ve taken a look at the health tech industry and it looks like I have a ton of job opportunities–especially with apple! It seems like the general direction right now is focused on improving their health technology especially with the apple watches!
Remember, life is not short - it’s the longest experience you will ever have. Make it as good as possible, productive, and enjoyable. I applaud you for seriously considering making a change at this point, before the shackles of responsibility take hold.
If you are having doubts, get out now. Nursing is both a profession and a calling. If you don’t have the passion for it, it will eat you up.
I wrote my daughter and asked her for the name. Here is her reply:
“It was Dev Bootcamp, but they no longer exist (funny story: Kaplan - test prep Kaplan, the place I used to work - bought them, and within 2-3 years ended up deciding to “wind them down,” having apparently decided they weren’t as easy to “scale” as they thought. They are still schmucks, apparently.) One that does, and that I know Joseph thinks well of - I believe he thinks he might have done better to go there - is called General Assembly: https://generalassemb.ly/.”
Good luck. Hope something works for you.
My first reaction when i saw this title was “Hell, no! Go for it!”
So now, without reading the first post or any of this thread, here’s my advice: You’ve got a long life ahead of you. Chances are you’ve still got half (or a couple of thirds or quarters) of your life left.
So leave the selfish boy/girlfriend, change your major/career, adopt that kitten/sled dog team, go chase that cute Aussie/Sicilian…
Oh, and throw a sleeping bag on your backseat or your bike, buy that Amtrak or RyanAir ticket …and set out on an adventure.
You’ve got plenty of time.
And if you do have regrets, you’ve got plenty of time to recover…
. . . okay, how’d I do? (Now I’ll go back and actually read the thread)
Unsolicited life update: I’ve made the decision for the switch since I finished my duty hours for the nursing equivalent of an internship program.
Talked with my program adviser as @Fretful_Porpentine advised and it was a terrific decision. My program adviser told me that I had a lengthy period of 8 years to return to the program without needing to do bridging or repeating should I choose to come back. Plus, he wrote me a detailed unit carry-over for a sister college that we have that has a computer engineering and development program!
I’m currently looking at 1-2 years for a Bachelor’s, with just needing to take up all my majors (some during the summer). I’m excited about where this journey will take me, and the thought of having a safety net to come back reassures me.
Thank you kind strangers for all your inputs! My parents are skeptical, but I’ll show them (hopefully)!
That’s a great outcome! I work at a college and do some basic advisement, and it sounds like your program adviser is really helpful and knowlegeable. 1-2 years for a Bachelor’s isn’t very long, considering that it’s a big change of majors.
Good luck and hopefully your parents will realize soon that you’ve made a good decision.
Doing something you’re interested in is priceless.
In my case, I’ve never even thought about the salary cut I took (because then I’d cry).