Do I have to have a BSN?

Hello everyone. I am not a nurse yet but rather applying to get in to a nursing program. My original plan was to just get my ADN, make contacts, and get a job upon graduation so I could start earning money sooner. Now I am worried I will have trouble getting a job without the BSN in this economy/job market. I am hoping to go into L&D, OB, PICU, NICU...you see the idea. I hope to go back for a BSN or RN-MS later on with the financial assistance of my employer. I'd appreciate any feedback from nurses who have taken different paths as well as those in charge of hiring.

Thanks so much!

Nikki
Moved to the Career Advice forumI guess a lot will depend on the demand where you live and whether BSN is the preferred qualification
I'm currently in the BSN program at a school that does both BSN and ADN. My professors have flat out, bluntly said that the ADNs pretty much learn all the same material, get paid the same, and their name tags in the future will simply say "RN", just like mine. The only difference that I can see is that at our school the ADNs are taught more like LPNs sort of. They get a gerontology class and we don't. We have to take some crap leadership classes and they don't. And they got a clinical for nursing foundations (a class that teaches pretty basic stuff - giving shots, putting in feeding tubes, etc. But they didn't actually do this stuff in their clinicals as far as I know). Personally, if you haven't already dedicated two years to a bachelors (for pre-reqs) I would go for ADN. Faster, and honestly, anything a BSN nurse might learn in school that an ADN nurse wouldn't, the ADN could learn on the job. I would pick ADN.
I think it depends on the area...where I am all of the hospitals are asking for a minimum of a BSN.
I have heard of hospitals only wanting to hire BSNs too, but the reality is that there is a nursing shortage out there and that won't always be possible. In my area, it doesn't seem to be an issue yet. If I was a youngster in nursing school and just starting out, I think I would go the ADN route and then, when I got a job, I would let them pay for my BSN through tuition reimbursement, which is in place in most decent-sized, reputable hospitals. There are a lot of online RN to BSN programs out there, which would be much easier than hauling yourself and your books off to a classroom everyday and would be easier to work around your work schedule.
Quote from westieluvI have heard of hospitals only wanting to hire BSNs too, but the reality is that there is a nursing shortage out there and that won't always be possible.
Quote from PMFB-RN*** There is no nursing shortage. That there is a shortage is propaganda from those who have a vested interest in a nurse over supply situation.
Quote from westieluvI have to respectfully disagree. I am a diploma RN and I get at least one or two emails every single day offering me job opportunities across the U.S. There is a strong need for nurses in my area (SE Michigan), and new grads are getting hired. When you figure in how many nurses are in their 50s and 60s and looking at retirement in the next few years, there is and will continue to be a need for nurses. I know that some areas of the country have instituted hiring freezes and the like, much to the detriment of the patient population, to save money, but yes, there is a need for nurses in most parts of the country. It may not seem like it to a new grad who is having a hard time getting someone to hire them based on what part of the country they live in, but it's true.