u/Common_Reality_7238

I’m currently in an LVN program in SoCal and plan to work as an LVN for a bit before bridging to RN or BSN hopefully by 2030. There’s also a decent chance my family will move to the greater Sacramento area in the next few years.
I’m in my mid 30s, have two kids and a life outside of work, and worked as a CNA in a hospital for a couple years when I was younger. So I have at least some idea of hospital culture, pace, 12s, etc. I also know myself a lot better now than I did in my 20s, and I’m honestly not sure hospital nursing is what I’m looking for.
Home health, hospice and especially pediatric home health really interest me. I like the idea of more 1:1 patient care, a somewhat less overstimulating environment, and potentially better work life balance.
But reading nursing/new grad groups, I get the impression these jobs are viewed as something you take because you couldn’t get a hospital job, or that they barely count as nursing experience.
Am I missing something?
Is the pay significantly worse? Are the working conditions or schedules worse than they sound? Are these jobs actually difficult to land as a newer LVN/RN? Or is some of the negativity because a lot of new grads specifically want fast paced exciting ICU/ER, L&D, NICU hospital jobs?
I genuinely don’t care much about having the most exciting or impressive nursing job. If I can make decent money, have some autonomy, take good care of my patients and still have energy left for my family and my actual life, I’m happy.
Would especially love to hear from California LVNs/RNs who went directly into home health, peds home health, hospice or another non-hospital setting. Do you like it? What do you make? Would you choose it again? And did it limit your options later?

I recently started an LVN program at a small private vocational school, and I’m really torn between whether I’m being too critical or whether what I’m seeing are legitimate red flags.

The school is honestly pretty disorganized and the classroom environment feels unserious. There hasn’t been a lot of actual teaching so far…It’s mostly independent ATI modules, reading, and basically teaching ourselves. Communication and organization aren’t great either. It’s nothing like what I pictured nursing school being like, or what I experienced taking my prerequisites at community college.

I originally wanted to attend my local community college program, but I’m in CA and it’s extremely competitive. They take around 60 students once a year, and I didn’t get in this cycle. Reapplying would mean taking additional classes and waiting at least another year, with no guarantee I’d get in next time.
The problem is that my current program works really well for my actual life. I have two young kids, my partner’s work schedule can be unpredictable, the school is only a few minutes from my house, and they’re pretty understanding about real life and family stuff.
I have everything I need to learn with ATI, textbooks, clinicals and the ability to graduate and sit for the NCLEX. I’m a strong independent learner and already do a lot of my learning on my own anyway.

So I keep coming back to this: how much does the actual school environment matter if I have the resources, I’m self-motivated, get legitimate clinical experience, and can sit for NCLEX?

I’m in my mid 30s making a career change with a family, so time is a big factor. My goal is to get my LVN, start working, and bridge to RN as soon as I can. Starting over and potentially delaying everything another year or more feels significant at this point.

For nurses and LVNs who have been through nursing school, how much did the quality or reputation of your program actually matter once you graduated? Did nursing school itself prepare you to be a nurse, or did most of your competence come from independent studying, clinicals, and eventually working?
And if you went to a program that was disorganized or mostly self-taught but still got you licensed, would you do it again?

I’d especially love to hear from people who went through sschool with kids or other major responsibilities, because the flexibility piece is a big factor.

And yes they are 100% approved and legit I did my due diligence.