Ask A Nurse: College Vs. Technical School For Nursing?

Your nursing career starts with your education, and you have real options. The right one depends on the type of license you want and where you see your career going.

Earning an associate degree in nursing (ADN) from a technical school should not hurt your job security or pay, says nurse educator Jenna Liphart Rhoads, Ph.D. The catch: some hospitals prefer to hire RNs with a bachelor's degree. Nurse practitioner and career counselor Amanda Guarniere agrees. "While there are some employers that favor bachelor-prepared nurses (Magnet hospitals, for example)," she says, "for the most part, those who go to a technical school should not face adversity when retaining a job or in regards to compensation."

Weigh cost, program length, and accreditation for any program. But the biggest factor is the degree you intend to earn. "Trade/technical/vocational schools more commonly offer practical nursing programs (for LPN/LVN certification) and will occasionally offer a bridge program for LPNs to become RNs," Guarniere says.

Technical, trade, and vocational school vs. community or four-year college

"Trade, technical, and vocational are generally used synonymously when describing schools that train students in a specific trade or skill that is directly applicable to a job upon graduation," Rhoads explains. These schools give you hands-on, career-specific training and most commonly offer LVN/LPN and certified nursing assistant (CNA) certificate programs. Most can be finished within 18 months.

Community colleges offer associate degree programs. With an ADN from a two-year program, you can sit for the NCLEX-RN and get your RN license. Four-year colleges and universities award the bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), and some also run graduate programs that confer master's and doctoral degrees.