it's 6-8 years to making 180k and living a comfortable life, but possibly not feeling for fulfilled, or, I can choose to become a physician, take 12+ yrs and I know I'd be happy if I can make it.
I'm not going to rag on you for considering the financial aspects of it, because that's certainly a valid consideration when making important life decisions.
I would like to point out that right now, the money you can make as an advanced practice nurse (CRNA, DNP) is out of proportion to the investment (time and financial). In other words, current salaries are well "above market" for the training involved. That has happened numerous times in other professions, and is a situation that free market forces tend to correct for within a few years. The pipeline for CRNAs and DNPs is deep and wide, so a large number of qualified applicants are way ahead of you in line for those big bucks. By the time you get there, market forces will almost certainly have corrected the pay scale to something more appropriate to the training...
Now, on the the greater question, which is advanced practice nurse or physician. Might as well toss PA into the mix as well -- great career with a nice balance of autonomy and life-friendly training, and a decent income.
On the academics, the only way to see if you can cut it is to try. Give it your 100% best shot and see if you're up to it. You might surprise yourself with a great result. Or not. But it's a lot easier to hop OFF the pre-med trail and over to nursing or PA than it is to start off with pre-nursing classes and then have to re-take (yes, re-take) your hard sciences because the nursing versions were not as stringent. It will mean confronting the possibility head-on that you're not up to it. Or more realistically, that you're not willing to put in quite as much effort as it takes to succeed in pre-med classes. Or to hop on the hamster wheel and discover that you actually love it and have much more aptitude than you thought. But as someone older who's been around the block a few times, don't leave yourself with the chronic discomfort of
always wondering if you could have...
Take a closer look at each job with your eyes wide open. Would you genuinely want all the responsibility the physician has? Ownership of life and death decisions? Liability when things go wrong? Or would you always be dissatisfied as a nurse knowing that the ultimate decisions were never yours? That no matter how smart you are, you will never truly be the one in charge? Would you rather implement the orders or give the orders?
And finally, what else do you want out of life? Flexibility to raise children, not feel guilty for staying home with them (if that's what you want) and "take a few shifts" when you need some extra money or time away from home? Or would you rather work like a demon upfront, then spend your leisure time golfing or sailing or jetting off to the Caribbean or Europe? If you're female, how do you feel about bearing children? And/or postponing childbearing? (Some young women think 30 is incredibly old for motherhood. Are you one of them?) And running a household -- Do you want to have time to run your own? Or would you rather have the disposable income to hire someone to cook and clean?
If you're not sure, keep your options open.
I'd be happy as a surgeon, once I made it there. I'd hate "trudging through the mud" of internship, residency, etc. but it's part of the journey. For CRNA, I'd be happy once I made it there, and it would take less time to get there. I guess I'm answering my own questions on what I should do, but for some odd reason, it's hard to let go of wanting to be a Surgeon even though I know better.
