NURSE vs PLUMBER
At some time in our lives, most of us will require the services of both
a nurse and a plumber. Both vocations are needed in our society, but when
choosing between these two career paths there are some differences to
consider.
Times have changed, especially for nurses.
- Once to become a qualified nurse, you first had to become a student
nurse in a teaching hospital. Some required that the student live in the
nurses' accommodation attached to the hospital. Student nurses worked in
the wards (practical experience), and attended classes run by the
hospital (formal education).
- Today students go to university and generally not exposed to the wards
until a substantial part of their formal education has been completed.
Anecdotally, a significant proportion discover that the realities on the
wards are not to their liking (eg bedpans, soilage clean up,
shift-work).
- Students incur HECS/HELP fees/debts.
To become a licensed plumber, a person first has to become an apprentice.
They acquire skills on the job, working alongside qualified tradesmen.
Before they had day release on a regular basis to attend trade school. The
major difference is that now they attend vocational institutions in "blocks"
of several weeks at a time during their apprenticeship.
- Plumbing apprenticeships are subsides at Federal and Local level (eg
Construction Industry Training Board)
- Apprentices receive a tool subsidy from the Federal Government
- Some apprentices are eligible for subsidies on TAFE fees
- Apprentices do not incur HECS/HELP debts as they usually pay fees on a
semester basis
At the end of the day, maintenance plumbers and nurses both get exposed to
muck, and the associated health risks.
- Plumbers generally are not required to work shifts, general hospital
nurses are
- Plumbers generally have the opportunity to receive higher levels of
remuneration than nurses
Financially, plumbing appears to be a better option.
Strangely, I know a licensed plumber who became a nurse. The differences
have not gone unnoticed, and there is a belief, changes can be made.
Ponder This ....
- Consider introducing compulsory ward service for aspiring nurses
before commencing university studies. That way the waste of university
places may be avoided.
- Consider reducing HECS/HELP debt based on time spent in wards
(preferably public hospitals) prior to graduation.
- Consider further reducing HECS/HELP debt for post graduation time
spent in public hospitals.