Looking to change jobs?

I need to make a huge change with my job. I am working fast food and not making ends meet. I have a couple of friends who are CNA's and they have been talking to me a little about that. I have considered that and I was wondering if I could hear from those who have made the decision to go into that profession and your opinion or any avice you can give me. I also want to make it on my own and get out of a relationship that I am not happy in so would like to know how much they make.Looking to change jobs?
Well, I am a CNA and to give you my honest opinion. It's not the best job to make end's meet on your own. Pay isn't great unless you get into acute care (which can be difficult being a new grad) or if you get your Home Health certificate (but then again, gas prices aren't cheap either). And even then, money isn't that great.



Here in Southern California, my old CNA classmates are making $10.00/Hour at a Long-term care facility (some facilities here even pay as little as $8.00/HR), and if you know southern California, that is way too little pay. Acute care CNA's here can make up to $16.00 with experience and maybe as little as $10-$11 without experience.



The plus side is being a CNA can help you advance into the world of Nursing. If you do get into acute care (hospitals) you may find that they will train you to do other things and ultimately get paid more.



If you do become a CNA, I hope you don't stop there. There are LVN/LPN programs and RN programs that take only 1 or 2 years. Well, it takes 2 years for the RN, but it would be well worth it once you're done. The first things you do in each program is the stuff you do as a CNA (or so I've seen). When I was training from my CNA license, there were LVN students at our facility doing the same things we did. And now, I am in a RN program and, you guessed it, the first thing on our agenda is long-term care!



Good luck with your career choice!Looking to change jobs?
try this website

http://www.cna-network.org/





they are the experts.



You can probably email them to get answers for anything they don't cover on their website.



personally, as the population ages, i would expect the career growth prospects to be good for this specialty. but i am no expert.