[fil149]

I graudate from nursing school in May from Philadelphia and am planning to work in California. I would prefer to live close to the coast but that is not too big of a deal. I am open to work anywhere in California. My interest lies in ICU having hard time choosing whether to do an RN residency/new grad program or just try to find a job in ICU.
My questions to all you California RNs are"
1. Which hospital do you work in and would you recommend it to a new grad?
2. How much is the starting rate?
3. Is it hard to start in the ICU at your hospital.
4. Should I take my NCLEX in California or Pennsylvania?

My main spots I would like to live are:
Anywhere around the Bay area, although I hear those jobs are few and far between
San Diego area.
I'm open to work anywhere in california though, just looking for the best learning opportunity.

[carebearRN08]

Hello, I'm a new grad/new RN, I'll tell you a bit about CA:

1. I prefer not to post the exact hospital name here (I'll tell you in a pm if you want) but I live in southern CA, between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. I live 10 minutes from the beach
2. Starting rate in telemetry is 27.60/hr with a $3 shift differential for nights. I'll be working nights.
3. I'm not sure how hard it is to get in the ICU at my hospital, like I said, I'm in tele but my manager was open to me transferring to ICU in a year. There is a new grad residency for critical care at another hospital in my city.
4. If you know for a fact you are moving here, you should save yourself the time and trouble and get licensed in CA. You must apply to the CA Board to do so, but can choose to sit for your test in PA (it doesn't matter where you test, just where you apply for your license). If you apply for a PA license, you will have to get a temp license and then endorse for a CA one.... seems like too much trouble if you know you are going to work in CA.

Good luck to you! I think if you come to CA, you will find it to be very pleasant here, I love it!

[suzanne4]

As a new grad, would definitely have a job lined up before moving out here.

Bay Area new grad programs only start about three times per year at the max, and next one is in August for most of them. You will be competing against many that attended school in the area for only a few positions that are open for new grads.

If you have a couple of years of experience, then it is much easier to find a job at most facilities, but as a new grad, you want something that has a specific new grad program in place.

Best of luck to you.

(p.s. you will find it easier to get hired after you have taken and passed the NCLEX-RN exam)

[fil149]

Thanks for the responses. I definately realize that the bay area will be a long shot after reading some posts of people who were searching for jobs for quite a while. I definately hope to get hired somewhere before I move out there since I will pretty much accept any place in the state. Ideally a beach area would be preferred, but I can tough it out somewhere else if the right learning opportunity arises. I've seen many advertisements for nurse residency programs in California. Either way it's exciting, if I do not get a job before my move I guess I'll just take a temporary residency somewhere in the state while I study for the NCLEX and apply for jobs.
Thanks for the input.

[ymm123]

You were asking about ICU. I just graduated and I know from looking that the ICU spots usually want someone who spent their senior preceptorship in an ICU environment. Especially in the bay area.

I also want to warn you about the beaches in the bay area. While some areas can be warm, many are cold most months. lol. Especially San Francisco. And our water up here, is pretty cold even when its hot. (not that i know how beaches are on the east coast)

But it probably wont matter since jobs are harder to get and you want to go whereever youll get a job. Hah, thats how i feel. well good luck to you!

[suzanne4]

Definitely take the NCLEX exam before you consider moving. Always stressful when you move to another city, let alone cross country. There will be so much for you to see and do that you will be putting of your studies.

Also better to try and get a job before you move out, otherwise you may be moving several times. Not all areas hire year round for new grads.

And as the other poster above me mentioned, the beaches in the Bay Area are cold water and require a wetsuit, you can forget about the bathing suits in that water. Way too cold for that. Northern Ca beaches may not be what you are expecting. You may wish to check out Santa Barbara and south for the warmer water beaches.