Before I go into this I just want to say that this is quite a ways in the future, but I like having a plan. I would also like to say that I do not have the desire to retire early, I would much rather enjoy my work but still have the option to retire if need be. I am a 22 year old male.
Where I am at now- I am currently in an associate degree program to become an RN. Starting pay around here is 35$/hour with benefits. In my state it is getting to the point where you are basically required to have a bachelors degree (places only hire you if you sign a contract stating you will start school to get your bachelors degree within a few years.) Luckily these programs can be done online, so I will be able to work full time while accomplishing this goal. The thing is that I have come to realize how back breaking nursing really is. I don't want to be a traditional floor nurse because I don't want to risk damaging my body. The way I see it I have 2 options and I would like to discuss the pros/cons then get feedback.
Management- I have family who has gotten in to management which basically takes the physical labor out of the job, they get a slight increase in pay each time they get promoted up the ladder. The person I know who does this is salaried working for the state for over 6 figures per year (if you work for the state you don't need a bachelors degree) it took him around 5 years to get into management and around 10 to break 6 figures. The problem with this route as I see it is you back yourself into a corner. You climb the ladder, get your pay up, but if you leave you have to start new on a different pay scale, likely back to floor nursing. Also if I chose not to get my bachelors and work for the state, if I ever wanted to leave I would likely have to get one then (programs run about 10k online.) I would prefer not having to be tied to a job.
Graduate school- nurse practitioner school specifically- if I went this route I would work a couple years as a floor nurse to save money, get experience, and finish my bachelors (programs require you to have a bachelors degree before starting np school. Nps pay scale from the listings I have seen start at around 96k/year. Being an NP would give me the opportunity and freedom to go where I please. If I happen to think a workplace is toxic, I would be able to go start fresh without such a big hit to the wallet. Problem here is programs run 2 years for a masters degree, or 3 years for a doctorates. Both can practice as an np. The np program itself runs 50-80k currently (likely to go up before I can get in.) what I should add is in my state nps can practice independently, meaning they can open their own office, pay all of the overhead, and pocket whatever's the rest themselves (nps who work for hospitals typically take a salary, everything is covered for them, but the hospital then keeps the leftover seeing as it is a business.)
with this all taken into consideration, knowing I don't have nearly the financial knowledge the people here do I would like to be walked through the numbers. I have a lot of knowledge about both of these profession levels, if you would like more information, feel free to ask. (Np is knowledge from online research, RN management is knowledge from someone who works in the field.) In either scenario I would invest as much as I can. I will list 2 timelines below.
Rn- will complete 2015 at 23 years old, if all went well I would work at one place until 60 years old with varying levels of pay.
Np- Rn by 2015 at 23 years old, bsn at 2016 at 24 years old, I would start an np program around 2018 hopefully which would end around 2020 or 2021 at 28-29 years old, working until 60 in both cases. Hopefully I would not have to take much debt this route seeing as I would save as much as possible the few working years I had.