How is job market NOW for Registered Nurses?

BSN was a waste · Nov 15, 2011

All of California. Job market is IMPOSSIBLE. Everyone should avoid nursing as the odds of getting a job are stacked way against you. Better speak 2 languages, have CNA experience and have family in the hospital you want to work. Also helps if you like lumpia and speak tagalog.

mb1949 · Nov 16, 2011

Please I went to school with a ton of Philipino students and they are actually in the same boat as the rest of us in NYC, if they can't get jobs what hope is there for the rest of us, I graduated one year ago, and haven't had one interview, and yes I have a BSN and excellent gpa, it is so scary, if your mother or aunt is DON your ok, otherwise you are out in the cold, I am 60,000 in debt and working as a waitress

pat8585 · Nov 18, 2011

mb 1949...is it really that bad? for NYC???? There is a lot of people in nyc.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 18, 2011

mb 1949...is it really that bad? for NYC???? There is a lot of people in nyc.

Multiple hospitals have closed their doors in NYC over the past couple of years, which has greatly reduced the number of Nursing Jobs in the city. However, nursing schools in NYC have increased the number of nurses that they are churning into the local employment market through the expansion of nursing programs, creation of accelerated BSN programs, etc.

In other words, NYC has a huge surplus of nurses and a dwindling number of jobs.

pttrac · Nov 18, 2011

Thanks for the reality check guys. This is really depressing to hear. Is the job market a little better for those who are in advanced practice or is it the same for everyone? I guess it's really who you know then.

sallyp911 · Nov 23, 2011

All of California. Job market is IMPOSSIBLE. Everyone should avoid nursing as the odds of getting a job are stacked way against you. Better speak 2 languages, have CNA experience and have family in the hospital you want to work. Also helps if you like lumpia and speak tagalog.

Wow, I totally disagree with you 110% about your thoughts of some of the requirements. But let's start with your BSN degree, if you don't mind so that we can see where you're coming from.

Was this from an accredited 4 year college/university or on-line or for-profit campus?

What was your cumulative GPA?

Any previous volunteer work? Excellent references from your instructors and preceps?

Btw, I also disagree about the mention of eating of certain foods and lingo ideas. That is soooo far from the truth today, in today's world and market place, I KNOW that many of my classmates who graduated and who have either recently gotten interviews or real job offers this year are not of what you strongly stated.

I myself am from a German descent and Irish mix and many in my sorority were also mainly of the same background or close to it. While I will be graduating next mid-year, I too will face some tough roads. But I am attending a 4 year university, maintain a high overall GPA and do lots of volunteer work. Doesn't mean I'll be job ready for some hospital but know I probably stand a good chance of getting in as some of my sorority sisters who are in and pass on a good word or two. Still no guarantee, but at least I have a much better thought of this going in.

You're also blaming the wrong set of ideas: how about hospital budgets, less people are using medical care places due to unemployment, internal applicants who are getting the jobs, part-time nurses going back to full time due to their retirement funds are taken a beating from their 401K's, their spouses are out of work. Why don't you address that?

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 23, 2011

All of California. Job market is IMPOSSIBLE. Everyone should avoid nursing as the odds of getting a job are stacked way against you. Better speak 2 languages, have CNA experience and have family in the hospital you want to work. Also helps if you like lumpia and speak tagalog.

I'm in California. I just moved here two months ago. I have no CNA experience, no BSN (an ADN instead), no family working in the hospital or AFAIK even in the state, no networking connections in said facilities, don't speak Tagalog or Spanish though I know enough of the latter to follow a soap opera, and it took me one month to find and land a job as a RN at a large hospital corporation. I do like lumpia but my dietary preferences were never mentioned during the interview process, so I will not say that was a factor in my hiring.

I searched high and low every day from 9-5, applied for whatever I felt was qualified (and even stretched it a bit), kept the resume fine-tuned at all times, kept references at the ready, and never passed up an opportunity to interview even if I didn't want or knew I wasn't getting the job. Is that all it took? No, there was a whole of lot of luck and good timing involved in there, factors of which I had no control over. For every interview I went on, there were several other job applications that were rejected or unanswered. And the fact that I'm a psych nurse probably helped a little since most nurses run screaming from psych. For the handful of non-psych jobs I applied to, I heard nothing whatever. Not even a "thanks but no thanks."

I'm sorry the job hunt isn't going well for you, but based on what you write, it's clear there's a big chip on your shoulder and perhaps employers are picking up on that chip as well. Especially when you go around blaming a poor job market solely on on cultural preferences and food choices.

J&B-RN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Nov 24, 2011

I live in Utah were it is no different. New grads are everywhere and schools are pumping them out hundreds by the year with no where for them to go. Most of the people I graduated with in May 2011 that didn't already work at the hospital as a tech/CNA have jobs in SNF's. There are a few that haven't gotten a job at all. No one is getting into critical care areas. I worked in a SNF as an LPN for a year and then as an RN since may. I applied to 50+ jobs in all different hospitals in all different units. I finally got a job on a med/surg floor but had to relocate 3 hrs away to a rural town that some would consider a less than desirable area to live in. I don't think I would have gotten a job in a hospital if I didn't take this job. Honestly it was more than worth it. SNF are not really my cup of tea, and after 1.5 yrs of working in one I was done. I am SOOOOOO grateful for the opportunity to get my experience on a med/surg floor. After a year or two there then the world of Nursing Jobs and critical care will open up for me. If you want to get a job you have to take anything you can get, keep applying, make connections in school and volunteering, but you still might have to relocate. I heard North Dakota is hiring new grads, not sure how true that is though.... Good luck!!!

Blue4me2 · Nov 26, 2011

I live in Maryland and graduated in May 2011. I am still not working as an RN. I have had two interviews out of hundreds of applications and no job offers at all. I fear that I may have wasted my money on a degree I can't use.