Would you commute an hour to a job you wanted?

Nurses General Nursing

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Currently doing 12 hour overnights in a job I'm not very fond of, mostly clock watching. But this job is 15 minutes away. I have been offered a position I'd really enjoy, on the day shift, but requires a one hour commute each way. Live in an area where the winters can be dreadful. Any thoughts?

More times than I wish to count, I have spent over an hour in traffic just to get to a job that was 20 mins away.

If took me an hour to get to my dream job, I would rather do that versus sitting an hour going no where.

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Love it!

I agree! Another way to look at it: I'd rather work 12 good hours and drive 2 bad than work 12 bad hours and drive a good 15 min :)

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I commuted to a hospital for 15 years, it was 45 minutes from my house. Yes I hated the drive, but I'd rather drive long then hate the 12 hours I was there. I also had a job that was 20 minutes away but hated the staff and the workload. If the job is worth it, I would take it.

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I also had a job walking distance from my house which was also horrible with staffing enough nurses and had no help, lasted only a couple weeks. I always wanted to work close but it has no t worked out for me.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

When I first started working, I commuted an hour each way. Most days, anyways. Some days it turned into a one way 3 hour commute because there was only one bridge across the river and some idiot would forget how to drive safely, and leave everyone sitting in traffic waiting for the accident to clear. I ended up relocating several months ahead of my planned schedule because of how many days that commute became so much longer. So yes, I did it, but no, I wouldn't recommend it for a long term scenario.

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

absolutely not. 15-20 minutes at the outside, and that's on my bike! No job is worth giving up that family/personal time IMO.

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absolutely not. 15-20 minutes at the outside, and that's on my bike! No job is worth giving up that family/personal time IMO.

My commute allows me to work one day less a week than I'd be able to work with a short commute due to salary and weekend incentives. So I end up with more time with my daughter.

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I have in the past and would do so again.

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I commute 1.5-2.5 hrs each way with my longest being 3hrs 20 min. I'd say MOST of the time it's worth it

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I commuted from Baltimore to DC (it was a miracle if i could make it in less than an hour, even at 3am) for a non-nursing job in college that opened up so many doors, contacts, and experiences for me, so it was definitely worth it.

Did you ever take the commuter train? Seems like it would have cut your commuting time down, but I'm not an expert on the area.

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It would have to be a really, really good job. And I would immediately start to make plans to move closer.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Transplant.

I probably am a little biased in my answer because I've never been very far at all from work BUT I would only accept an hour-long commute under a few non-negotiable conditions. First, I'd definitely spend some time really shadowing/getting to know the job to make sure I did actually love it and would actually leave on time! Also, I'd make sure that the commute wouldn't be more than an hour long except on a rare basis. As much as I love 12 hr shifts and the flexibility they give, that is a looooong and draining day when a 2-hr commute is added to the mix.

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