Every question below is optional — answer two or answer thirty. Write like
you'd talk to a friend considering this job.
The 36 questions (12 everyone gets, 18 for this
field, 6 about school) What made you choose this career, and at what age/stage did you decide? What did you expect the day-to-day to be like before starting, and how different is the reality? What's the typical path in (degree, certification, apprenticeship, on-the-job), and would you take that same path again? Walk me through what a typical day or week actually looks like. What's the part of this job nobody warns you about? On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with this career choice? Would you choose it again? What's the single biggest reason you'd tell someone NOT to do this job? What's the single biggest reason you'd tell someone TO do this job? If you could go back, what would you do differently? Was the pay worth the training/time/opportunity cost? Do you see yourself doing this in 10 years? Why or why not? What do you wish someone had told you before you started? Was the licensing or credentialing process worth the time and cost relative to what it unlocked? How much of your actual work is the thing you trained for vs. paperwork, compliance, or admin? Is there a "specialization tax" — do certain subfields pay dramatically better or burn people out faster? If you had to get the same credential again, would you choose a different path (different school, program type, etc.)? How much continuing education or recertification is required, and is it worth it? What does the burnout timeline typically look like in this field? How does pay progression actually work — is there a ceiling, and how do you break through it? What's the relationship between years of experience and the respect or autonomy you're given? How much of your stress comes from the actual work vs. the systems or bureaucracy around it? Is there a meaningful difference between working for a large institution vs. independently or in a small practice? What's something about liability or risk in this job that outsiders don't understand? How do you handle emotionally difficult cases or situations, and does the job provide support for that? What's the gender or generational makeup of the field, and does it affect the experience? Would you recommend this credential path to someone without a specific passion for the field, purely for stability? How portable is this credential — can you move states, countries, or employers easily? What's the realistic timeline from starting training to full independent practice or qualification? How has the field changed in ways that make it better or worse than when you started? What's a myth about this profession that you'd want to correct? Which specific nursing school or program did the author attend? ONLY if the school is explicitly NAMED in the text — never infer or guess from context. Expected to be empty for most posts; that is correct, not a failure. What TYPE of nursing program did the author go through — ADN, BSN, ABSN/accelerated, direct-entry MSN, diploma, or LPN-to-RN bridge — only as literally stated. How hard was nursing school compared to what the author expected (harder, easier, different in what way), from their own experience? What did their nursing education cost, or how much student debt did it leave them with? Figures only if literally stated — never estimate. What was the author's OWN NCLEX experience — attempts, pass/fail, how prep actually went? Their experience only, not advice to others. Would the author choose the same school/program again, or pick a different one — as an expressed judgment, not implied.
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