re: Calling All Nurses

"best" field is very subjective- I know nurses that work in PEDS that love it. . . I don't think I could deal with it; PEDs clinicals were enough!

If you talk with experienced nurses, alot of them will recommend spending at least one year cutting your teeth on a Med/Surg floor in order to learn time management and get to see a variety of issues.

Base pay here in LA is right around $22/hr. for new nurses.

Some hospitals still have a diploma school (BRG Midcity here in town) that I believe is a 3 year program.
Locally, BRCC has a 2 year ASN program. Your other options are the BSN programs at OLOL College, Southeastern and Southern.
The BSN programs have more prereq's and are obviously longer than the ASN program, but are the more expensive option.
Hospitals will say they prefer BSNs over ASNs, but as an ASN you can get out in the field sooner and then earn your BSN online while working full time. A BSN also gives you more room to advance into management or continue pursuing an advanced nursing degree.

I chose the ASN route and will be graduating soon. I plan on enrolling in the online RN to BSN program at ULL after the ASN. I've been paying for school out of pocket, so this was the more affordable solution for me, and since the RN to BSN program can be completed within one year, you still come out ahead moneywise and timewise over the BSN. (Unless you spent a year just doing the prereqs, in which case it's a wash timewise)