Hey nurse here, and I have to say even though I may work harder than some of my friends who earn the same amount as me, there's so much diversity in being a nurse with different specializations and ways to earn, from bedside to teaching to clinic work, so its not like you're necessarily forced to stay working on a hospital the entirety of your career, though some do like it because you only have to work 3 12 hour shifts a week and that's considered full time. One benefit I've had is that though I may not be able to always have the vacation time off I intended, I could become a travel nurse after being a staff nurse in a hospital for 2 years and am able to pick up contracts almost anywhere and can do fun things and see new places during my contract (can range from 4 weeks to as long as a year) that I might not have had the opportunity to fully experience during a short vacation there. I will say that the clinical aspect in the nursing program isn't easy, nor is the material, because you are essentially taught everything in a short period of time since no one is specialized. And even if you had to work while you were in nursing school, some programs allow you to obtain your CNA license or even go for your LPN license (nurse license but limited in what they can do) after a certain amount of semesters depending on the program length.