How common is it for employer to pay for BSN?

I'm just getting started looking into the nursing field. I currently hold a BA in a non-nursing field. My preference would be to attend an accelerated BA to BSN program, but that will cost about $35,000. An ASN at the local communitity college would be about $7,000. I am 37 and have 2 young children and a mortgage, etc. Money is an issue of course.

I've heard some employers will pay for ongoing schooling to reach your BSN, as long as you work for them for a contracted time. How common is this really?

I'm debating how difficult it will be to get a job with a BSN vs. an ASN as well as how likely it would be to have ongoing education paid by an employer.

Thanks!
get a job first then worry about it. In my town (<100,000) we have two hospitals. One pays BSN nurses $1 more/per hour. Both pay tuition reimbursement for employees.

My hospital pays $4000/yr for tuition reimbursement.

I'm an LPN in a BSN bridge program. My employer allows me to work pt time w/a flex schedule w/full time bennies. Also a 2K bonus twice a year for school. I don't know how common it is, I've been w/ this company for 4 years as a LPN.

I would not count on this as a source to pay for school. Any program of this nature was an easy target for elimination as a cost-saving measure in today's poor economic climate, so there are fewer opportunities.

My hospital is associated with a larger teaching hospital so the BSN is offered for FREE through them and online through them with a 2 year work agreement. Overall, i don't know if the pay is higher, but its a pretty nice to get the education for free.

Quote from melc0305I'm just getting started looking into the nursing field. I currently hold a BA in a non-nursing field. My preference would be to attend an accelerated BA to BSN program, but that will cost about $35,000. An ASN at the local communitity college would be about $7,000. I am 37 and have 2 young children and a mortgage, etc. Money is an issue of course.I've heard some employers will pay for ongoing schooling to reach your BSN, as long as you work for them for a contracted time. How common is this really? I'm debating how difficult it will be to get a job with a BSN vs. an ASN as well as how likely it would be to have ongoing education paid by an employer.Thanks!

My company reimburses $2,000 a year after you have worked there a year. There are no contractual obligations with that.

My hospital has a tuition reimbursement similar to that of robby5313. After you have worked for them for a full year, full time employees are eligible for $2000 per year in tuition reimbursement. Part time employees are eligible for $1000 per year. There are no obligations other than to get a "C" or better in the course that is being reimbursed. (So you have to pay out of pocket at the beginning of the semester ... then get reimbursed when you show that you passed the course.)

Thanks for the great opinions and information. It is overwhelming starting out in a new field!

You are so right, the hospital I where I work has cut tuition reimbursement for a year to help with the budget (in addition to replacing exisiting better paid staff with newer secretaries, CNAs, and RNs that are not paid nearly as much)

There's a girl from my hometown in my BSN class. She's getting the hospital to pay for her schooling. I forget what the term of indenturement is. I had a buddy growing up who got them to pay for his schooling as well. I was a science major back then. He did nursing.

I was in a similar situation as you, with a bachelor's degree in another field and transitioning into nursing. I looked into a accelerated program but opted for a concurrent ADN-BNS program where I attended a community college and a university at the same time. The cost dramatically less. I'm graduated with my ADN and had only 3 additional classes for my BSN. I had no problem getting a job. I hospital I now work for does pay tuition reimbursement for BSN education so I'm letting them pick up the tab for my last classes. My fellow classmates who were not actively pursuing there BSN have had more of a difficult time in their job search. Good luck with your new career.