What state is currently hiring RNs

krisiepoo · May 14, 2014

Both the Dakota's are hiring...

nur18 · May 16, 2014

Ok thank you. Can anyone else offer any input.

calivianya, BSN, RN · May 16, 2014

A lot of rural areas in the South hire new grads in any specialty you could possibly want - if you're willing to live there, which is more of a hardship than you might think. Look in places like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, etc.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 16, 2014

Here in TX but don't move to a big city (ie: Austin, Houston, San Antonio or Dallas). Like the PP said, stay rural.

allnurses Guide · May 16, 2014

If you are experienced (2-5 years or more) there is work in DFW. Of you are a new grad not so much.

Concerto_in_C, BSN, RN · May 17, 2014

Do you have a BSN?

In the biggest cities every bum now has a BSN, and the market is saturated with them. Now they are moving to the nurse practitioner market where practitioners are in highest demand because they are still relatively few compared to cheaper degrees/diplomas.

In rural areas your average hospital nurse has, at the most, an associate degree. This makes BSNs much more valuable and they are more likely to call you, but you could end up living in the middle of nowhere with horses and cows grazing behind your house.

Rural America lags behind the rest of the country in educational achievement. In the area where I live (northern Illinois) if you have a high school diploma, you are considered "well educated". Many people don't even get that far because high school dropout rates are tremendous.

On the positive side, for 160-180K you can buy a beautiful, unique country home here (see photos below), and most of the nurses I work with own very attractive homes, whereas your friends in New York City will live in crappy studios and apartments because they can't afford anything nicer.

So New York City is a revolver that shoots you with two bullets:

Too much competition for jobs, which forces you to lower your standards so you can work at all. This includes intense competition from people who are not even American citizens, but they can practice in USA because of the kind of visa they have
Very high cost of living so a nurse can't afford much, especially real estate.

The home below is in Oregon, which is one of the cuter towns in this area.

bisson · May 19, 2014

Norfolk/ VA Beach, Virginia.only 6hr drive from NYC

This is a military area so nurses don't stay longer than a few years, creating a lot of vacancies. Which in return equals low pay ($20's/hr) but they're recruiting grads into ICU's. So you can get your experience and get out if you don't like it.

The hospitals are nice, all private rooms, not like in N.Y. where you have 4 people in one room, so on top of being a nurse, you have to play the referee. Computerized charting, med scanning. Everyone is nicer too.

nur18 · May 20, 2014

Thank you everyone

I have started to apply all over the country. I had tried this before without success due to having an ADN. I will finish my BSN in August and will be willing to move for the experience as I graduated 3 years ago without any acute care experience. Crossing my fingers for some call back.

Concerto_in_C, BSN, RN · May 20, 2014

Thank you everyone
I have started to apply all over the country. I had tried this before without success due to having an ADN. I will finish my BSN in August and will be willing to move for the experience as I graduated 3 years ago without any acute care experience. Crossing my fingers for some call back.

Don't apply all over the country. A move even halfway across the country could cost you several thousand dollars, the more furniture you have, the costlier it gets.

You don't have to move half way across the country, 2 hour drive from NYC it's a completely different job market.

If NYC expects you to jump through flaming hoops just to get a job in a med-surg unit (entry level job) then consider other options. You have a whole country of opportunities to chose from and you don't have to jump through flaming hoops in NYC so you can then have the same standard of living as a McDonald's employee in that city due to the cost of living and you can pretty much forget about owning a house there, unless it's in a trailer park.

scifispam · May 20, 2014

If you are experienced (2-5 years or more) there is work in DFW. Of you are a new grad not so much.

Definitely not. I've job searched recently with 4 years experience in a variety of areas and are getting no calls.

BeccaBSN · May 20, 2014

Can you drive? Is NJ a possibility for you? I'm a recent (January 2014) graduate; I and many of my fellow new BSN's have found hospital positions in NJ. If you have any connections at all I suggest working them once your BSN is completed. Even without connections I know two people who got hired out of the blue at a large, well known urban hospital after just applying online. Good luck!