ICU nurse here, and accelerated program graduate.

I graduated with a double major in chem & health/nutrition science. I was initially gunning for PT school but liked nursing instead after shadowing a couple of close nurse-friends I have, as well as family members. I had a 3.9 gpa, and the only classes I was missing for an accelerated program was a sociology/humanities course. So i took one the same year I was applying and it did not affect my application whatsoever.

I worked during the program. I was a tutor for anatomy and english and worked a lot before the program. I had flexible hours at my old college, so I worked less depending on how heavy my schedule was including clinical. After a few weeks in the program I had my routine down and went for a shadowing/research experience at a hospital where I have a good working relationship with the director and manager. It was time consuming but i made it work with my school schedule. I learned a lot and networked this way and it has helped me get a job quickly after graduating.

I work 12hrs night shift, 3 days a week, one week of the month 4 days. Some places have 8hrs 5 days a week depending on the position or 10hrs like outpatient dialysis. Some jobs have you on call like OR certain days of the month or week. As a new grad getting a day position depends on the acuity of the unit and more likely seniority. Usually there's a template where you can write what days of the month you are working but it is not highly guaranteed. It depends on staffing for a particular day. In terms of vacation or holiday, getting one also depends on staffing as well as seniority. You can also switch days with a co worker if necessary.

Nursing is wonderful and you need to find what kind of nursing attracts you. Volunteer at a hospital or be a nursing assitant and get a feel of the environment, pay attention to what each member of the healthcare team does and how they approach patients. Do you want to be a floor nurse? surgical? critical care? psych? pediatrics? community? informatics? etc..there's many opportunities.

Just remember there's a lot of stress that can come with nursing, it's the nature of the job. So be ready for it, and be sure to have something to do to unwind from the job too.