RN or LPN?

               

In my opinion it all depends on what your plans are for your nursing career. It usually takes a year of study to become a LPN, and a diploma or certificate will be issued. It takes anywhere from 2 to 4 years to become a RN depending on whether you choose to get your Bachelors or Associates degree.
As far as pay scales go there are many sites you can go to research pay rates however RN's typically have higher pay rates than LPNs. You can visit sites such as www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Licensed_Practical_Nurse_(LPN)/Salary and www.aboutnursing.com/jobs/rn-lpn-nurse-salary.htm to get an idea of pay scales.
In my experience working side by side with LPNs in the hospital I felt that they were not paid fairly because the majority of the time they were doing the same job as the RNs. If you are planning to work in the hospital I would recommend getting your RN. In my experience in home health LPNs are paid very fair as they are not required to do the amount of paperwork that the RNs are required to do when nurses are paid per visit. RNs are also required to supervise LPNs in home health.
The advantage to getting your LPN is that the training is shorter and you can start your career sooner and always further your career after you start working. The advantage to getting your RN is that you start out at a higher payscale and you will only have to worry about going back to school if you want to advance in your career or specialize.
I have had many LPNs tell me that they had planned on going back to get their RN but got very busy with life and were not able to go back to school. If your definite plan is to get your RN and you have the time and resources I recommend getting your Associates in Nursing to begin with.
Again, it all depends on what your plans are and what company you work for.