Laura
Can you help me decide?
I'm trying to decide between Human Resources and Nursing. I'd appreciate some advice from people working in either field!
I'm 27 and currently exploring my long-term career options. I've been going back and forth between the two careers, but I'm constantly stuck.
I have a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, but I couldn't find a job in that field, unfortunately, so I had to change my approach. So I went back to school to pursue a new degree, starting with health sciences before switching to Information Technology.
I took three MBTI tests to get ideas for careers I could explore, and I got INFJ in all of them.
Career Ideas for INFJ-T (Top 5)
Human resources professional
Nursing Professionals
Counselor
Psychologist
Epidemiologist
I know MBTI is a self-reflection tool, not a definitive measure of career suitability. Actual interests, skills, experiences, and working preferences should carry more weight.
I looked into being a counselor or psychologist, but both jobs demand so much emotional intelligence to navigate human suffering. I already have a lot of mental health issues as it is, so I'm not qualified to handle someone else's. Epidemiology seemed like a good fit as I researched it, but it requires a master's degree and a lot of time to study and build new skills.
So, my options are either nursing or human resources. For nursing, I have considered nursing informatics, which combines my knowledge of health sciences and technology. Plus, if informatics doesn't work out, I can try working as a Nurse Educator, teaching new nursing students or helping healthcare employees develop clinical skills. As for Human Resources, I can become an HR manager by starting small as an intern or specialist. I can help people find jobs and learn new skills.
Both jobs sound so meaningful and such. Helping people and giving them opportunities to learn and grow.
When I graduated from college with my bachelor's degree, I struggled to find a stable job and more opportunities to grow. But I didn't, and it made me so mad and sad that I didn't get to see the fruits of my labor. That's why I empathize with people who are struggling right now and experiencing what I did in this terrible job market. I have friends struggling to find stable jobs, only landing roles that are the complete opposite of what they studied for. One friend of mine studied to be a psychologist but ended up working in a high school.
I want to help. Four words to define my reason.
For nursing, I don't have much experience in the medical field, but I know nurses are vital to caring for people's health and lifestyles. Teaching new students skills and helping them find new opportunities seems well-suited to my cause. Because if I help them, I help more people in need.
For human resources, I empathize with people struggling to find jobs where they can explore new horizons, using the skills they learned to grow as professionals and people.
I want a career that offers financial stability, opportunities for professional growth, meaningful work, and a healthy work-life balance.
I need your help.
2 answers
Asia Howard
Asia’s Answer
1. Nursing informatics and nurse educator roles aren't entry-level Both usually require you to:
Become an RN first (an ADN or BSN; with your existing bachelor's, an accelerated BSN takes about 12–18 months)
Pass the NCLEX
Work 2+ years in bedside clinical care
Earn an MSN for most educator roles and many informatics roles
So nursing really means a few years of hospital work: long shifts, nights and weekends, patients who are suffering, and a lot of burnout. You said counseling would be too much emotionally. Ask yourself honestly whether bedside nursing would be too. It can be just as emotionally heavy, sometimes more.
2. HR also has hard moments HR isn't only about helping people grow. It also covers layoffs, firings, workplace complaints, and enforcing policies that protect the company, sometimes at an employee's expense. The part you're drawn to, helping people find jobs and build skills, mostly falls into a few specific areas:
Recruiting/talent acquisition: Matching people with jobs
Learning & development (L&D): Training employees and building growth programs
Career services/workforce development: Helping job seekers at colleges, nonprofits, or government programs
3. You might not have to choose either one Your background is graphic design, health sciences, and IT, and you want to help people learn and grow. That combination fits some fields you didn't list:
Instructional design / L&D: Creating training courses and e-learning. It uses your design and tech skills directly, pays well, often allows remote work, and you can get in with a certificate and a portfolio.
Health informatics (no RN required): Health IT, EHR analyst, or clinical systems roles. Your IT degree plus health sciences coursework is a real qualification here.
Career coach or college career services advisor: You'd directly help people like your friends who are struggling in this job market.
4. How to decide
Talk to people: Set up 2–3 informational interviews each with nurses, HR or recruiting staff, and instructional designers. Ask them what a hard day looks like, not only a good one.
Try it out: Shadow a nurse, volunteer at a hospital, or take an entry-level HR or recruiting coordinator job. A few months of real experience will tell you more than any test.
Check against your four goals: For each path, rate financial stability, growth, meaningful work, and work-life balance. Then add a fifth: "Will this protect my mental health?" Give that one the most weight.
Bottom line: If you're ready for several years of demanding clinical work, nursing pays well and is very stable. If not, HR, especially recruiting or L&D, gets you working much sooner and fits your goal of helping people grow. Before you commit, look into instructional design and health informatics, because they may fit your skills and your reason better than either. Whatever you choose, "I want to help" is a strong place to start. Good luck!
