San Diego California

U.S.A. California

Published

Hello,

I will be graduating in a year from a RN BSN program and I am looking to relocate from Florida to California. I have Looked into Sharp and Scripps hospital and was wondering what the start pay for a new graduate is? I want to be sure I can afford to live comfortably.

Expect mid 30s/hr. It's definitely enough for a single person to live on, even more so if you have roommates. My coworker is doing just fine renting on his own.

Also depends how close you want to be to everything and spending habits.

Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.

Just a heads up the market here is super saturated and takes new grads up to and over a year to find a job. Make sure you don't move till you have a job secured! Good luck.

Yeah you won't afford the worst dump if you can't make them monies. You're against lots of competition, no network to start with, little recognition of reputation.

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Just a heads up the market here is super saturated and takes new grads up to and over a year to find a job. Make sure you don't move till you have a job secured! Good luck.

Yup. CA has a 47% new grad unemployment rate, and that's average- it's higher in major cities.

Make sure you have a job lined up, offer in writing, starting date, orientation scheduled, before you move. It is TOUGH out here, even for those of us new grads with prior medical experience, who did clinicals where we want to work and have connections locally.

Currently I am making just over minimum wage working at my old retail job. With my BSN.

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I agree: if possible, do NOT come out here without a signed official job offer in hand. The market is really tight out here, especially for new grads. To give you an example: one of the facilities that I work for has been rejecting its own employees for its new grad program because there's just too much competition. It used to be that being a CNA/LVN in a hospital was an automatic lock for a RN job when you graduated...well, not anymore.

Salary: around mid-30s for a new grad program is right. Smaller hospitals w/o a new grad program may be more willing to give you a chance, but the salary is lower (upper-20s to mid-30s). Rents, gas prices, etc. are cheaper the further north and east you go from SD/the coast. However, this also means you may have more of a commute.

+ Add a Comment