RN vs LPN-Making the Right Choice
When it comes to the RN vs LPN debate about which degree to pursue, most people with experience in nursing will vote for earning a licensed practical nurse degree. That may surprise many people who haven’t talked to many nurses who are actually working day to day in the health care field. But if you doubt it, do your own personal survey, and you’ll probably find out the same thing – that when when it comes to what career path to start off with, RN vs LPN, a great many actual nurses will tell you to go with the LPN.
Why is that? One of the big reasons is that you’re probably attracted to nursing in part because of your desire to help people with their health. When you for a licensed practical nursing degree, you can be out in the field helping people and being paid well for your services within a year or so. If you choose to become certified as a registered nurse, it can take you four years or longer to actually begin your nursing career. Sure, you may have internships and practicums, but these aren’t the same thing as making a living doing what you love.
Many people think that money should decide the RN vs LPN debate. Registered nurses make more money than licensed practical nurses, and therefore a person should go for the RN degree, they say. But that’s a bit simplistic. Yes, RN’s are paid more than LPN’s (at least most of the time), but they aren’t paid that much more. And if you get your LPN degree and start working, by the time the RN candidates get their degree and start working, you’ve got three years of a good paying job under your belt, and probably some substantial raises. Plus, if you want to, you can always go back to school and move from LPN to RN. But if you really want to dive into nursing, LPN is the way to go.
