Certified Nursing Assistant: A Good Choice for Those Considering Mid-Life Career Changes

With unemployment rates rising, it’s hard not to think about yourself and ask what next? What if you get laid off next? Because of this, more and more people are taking career shifts midlife, sometimes taking the under-employed roof and working for a minimum hourly rate in order to make ends meet, when they should be preparing for their retirement in the future.

If you’re considering a midlife career change, or are forced by circumstance to quit your job and find a new one – a Certified Nursing Assistant career might be a good idea for you. One good thing in shifting to become a Certified Nursing Assistant is that the position is one of the most in – demand jobs in the health care field today.

As a middle aged individual, there’s a huge chance that you have family responsibilities and bills that need to be paid – and going back to school just to enter a different job market may be out of the question. What’s great when it comes to choosing a Certified Nursing Assistant Career is that you do not need to go back to college and study for the job. Training in order to become a CNA only requires just several weeks or months worth of training, plus a license or certification, which may be obtained by passing a licensure examination. After that, you can already work in the medical field and earn a substantial amount of money.

A CNA certification is also used as a stepping stone in becoming a registered nurse, so if you wish to, you can further your studies and become an RN, eventually. Certified Nursing Assistants earn an average of $25,000 annually. If you choose to continue on and become a nurse, you can command as much as $45,000 per year.

So whether you’ve lost a job recently due to certain circumstances, or you just want to leave your stifling 9 to 5 office job, studying to become a Certified Nursing Assistant is indeed a good idea for a mid-life career change. Education and training is easy to get, and can even be obtained for free if you know where to look. Shifting your career to a CNA means that you can leave your old job behind and still earn a substantial amount, while being on a stepping stone for a higher nursing career should you decide to further your career level in the future.