Everytime someone asks me what I major in in college and I say nursing,the first thing that comes out of his or her mouth is "Oh that's good! You're guranteed a job!" For a long time I agreed with that until I realized that nothing in life is guranteed and the way this economy is going a lot of hospitals are doing a hiring freeze. I'm so excited about starting nursing school soon, but its also a bittersweet moment because I'm afraid that once I graduate I won't be able to find a job. For you recent Michigan nursing grads, are you all finding it hard to find employment in MI and do you think that finding employment will get better or worse this new year?

unfortunately nursing degree = guaranteed job is no longer true. I graduated in May 09 and while I personally did not have a problem getting a job (accepted a med surg position in Feb of 09) Many of my classmates did. Out of a class of 30, 1 has still not found anything and 1 had to move out of state in order to get a job.

Hospitals are tightening up quite a bit, I know that mine (one of the biggest health systems in MI) will be on a hiring freeze soon. It is very discouraging for new grad nurses and many of the units you can still find positions on are the least desirable and hardest to staff.

That being said, I will tell you what our instructor told us at graduation. Many of our instructors had graduated at a time of glut for nurses and had a hard time finding their first job, but they were all sitting there at graduation as RN's.

You will be able to find a job eventually, it may just take a little longer, and it may have to be in an area that is not your first choice.

I still hear that statement from people and I wonder do people not read the news? I don't know any fields that are not suffering from job losses due to our crappy economy. There is no such thing as "being guaranteed a job" anymore. Hopefully things will turn around soon.

I spoke to someone recently who had written a paper on the job outlook for nurses. She told me that something like 80% of the working nurses today are over the age of 55 and that in the next 5-10 years there is going to be a very severe nursing shortage nation wide.

So, even if the market isn't great when you graduate, hang in there, it should improve.

unfortunately nursing degree = guaranteed job is no longer true. I graduated in May 09 and while I personally did not have a problem getting a job (accepted a med surg position in Feb of 09) Many of my classmates did. Out of a class of 30, 1 has still not found anything and 1 had to move out of state in order to get a job.

29 out of 30 have a job in their chosen field within months of graduating? That's an incredible % compared to other fields. In otherwords the job market is GREAT for new grads. It may take some work getting a job, but that is good for all of you.

Apparently if a grad wants a guaranteed job then he/she should major in Engineering, apparently the placement of engineers especially Petroleum Engineers is very good and I hear the money is too very good lol...

That being said Nursing is certainly not shabby. Guaranteed?-No but I guarantee the job prospect is better than a,b,c Liberal arts grad who does not want to become a teacher.

my friends graduate magna cum laude and they get job offers everywhere before they even get the NCLEX, i think it earns to have extra credits