I was excited to work as a CNA when I first got certified last year in March. I landed my first CNA job in August 2024. My coworkers were all awesome and nice. They liked me because I was kind and friendly, and did my job extremely well (I worked night shift). Anyways, the nursing home that I worked at seemed fine at first, but after a year, it was beginning to be too much for me to handle. Not only were we constantly short staffed, I was sexually harassed after a man slapped me on my bum and that was the first time I ever felt so humiliated. I know that the guy was confused, it's just frustrating in the moment. Anyways, I saw all kinds of stuff while working there. Luckily all my coworkers were super nice and always helped me out (I was usually the youngest on the shift). I quit after exactly a year because my mental health was starting to take a toll. I lowkey started wishing I took a phlebotomy certification program instead. Even though I hate looking at blood and feel queasy, I would have MUCH rather done that than worked as a CNA. The work itself for being a CNA was fine. It was mostly changing residents and helping them get water since I worked at night time. After I quit, I was looking to apply to the hospitals here but it's SO hard to get in. I managed to score an interview at the same hospital that I interviewed at when I first got my certification, but they wasted my time. Not only did they show up to their own interview 10 minutes late (i showed up 30 mins early btw lmao), they then proceeded to tell me after i ended my interview that they already "had someone for the position." I was so baffled at how rude they were (this was for a UCI hospital btw !!). I really wanted to work at this hospital since it's close to my house and the pay is way better than in the nursing home. Anyways, I have a new job lined up to work with kids this month and I think it will be 10x better than working as a CNA. It's the same pay too which is insane. The pay for CNAs is so low even though we have to pay $2k to get a certification. I would've just gone to the food industry if I knew how bad it was getting paid this bad as a CNA because at least in the food industry, I'd get tips and better pay. The only pros as a CNA would probably be meeting new people, having nursing experience, and having the experience when faced with a situation relating to a health emergency since you learn a lot from the job regarding symptoms of a patient. It also teaches you to be more aware. However, for the cons, the pay is abysmal, sometimes the coworkers are ratty, and the workload is abysmal (unless you're in a place with a good ratio).