How long do you have to go to school to be a nurse?

It all depends what kind of nurse you want to be. Deciding what kind of nurse you want to be depends on how long you want to be in school - and how many years you can afford to be in school for - and also, what kind of future salary you're hoping to make. Here's a chart to help you out.

• Certified nurse assistant (CNA): 2 years at a community college + certification exam; salary range is $25,000-30,000/year
• Registered nurse (RN): 4 years in an undergraduate bachelor's program + licensing exam; salary range is $65,000-75,000/year
• Nurse practitioner (NP): 4 years in an undergraduate bachelor's program and 2 additional years in a master's program; can do more things that doctors can do; salary range is $65,000-75,000/year

In terms of how much you'd be paying for a school out of pocket, it depends on whether you go to a state/community school or a private university. Private universities can cost $60,000/year in tuition alone - this doesn't even take into account books, room and board, etc. A more cost effective route is to check out state schools within the state where you live - most places have an in-state tuition discount for residents. If you do your homework, you can probably find a place that'll charge $5,000-10,000 per year. Also, lots of people take out loans to pay for nursing school, which they pay back in their first few years of nursing. Since RNs usually don't have a problem finding jobs, this is a fairly safe (and common) route to go.

To tag along to the above answer, for financial reasons sometimes people get a more basic nursing accreditation first (which takes less time and costs less), and then once they are working and making money, they enroll in programs to get more advanced nursing degrees. There are many transitional educational programs that help people with one type of nursing degree further their education while still working. For example, there are many programs for licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to become registered nurses (RNs). They can do this while they are still working, so this is a much more economical option for some people. Similarly, RNs who do not have a bachelors of science in nursing (BSN) can work while they go to school to get their BSN. Many hospitals are interested in hiring RNs with their BSN because they have more knowledge to apply when they are working. There are also BSN to MSN (masters of science in nursing) programs that a person can also do while they are working. It means a busy schedule, but again, can help you pay for school because you are earning money. Sometimes, you can even get your employer to help pay for the transition program because they want their nurses to have as much education as possible!