Getting a job as a new psych RN? Pay?

You are jumping the gun a little bit. You are not quite graduated yet, but are still working on your pre reqs... Sounds like you have a couple years left. The things you have heard about finding jobs as a new grad right now will probably not be a problem when you finish school in 2 or so years. The economy right now has caused a lot of nurses that would be retiring to not retire, and hospitals are cutting new grad programs in attempt to save money to not have to staff 2 RN's to a single patient load during training. As for Psych, I am a new grad, and just finished my 4th day on the job at a lock in behavioral health center. I won't lie, I absolutely LOVE my job so far. I wasn't planning on going into psych, was more interested in ER/ICU type things. Psych is a great place to learn valuable people skills, and how to deal with intense situations. A background in psych will surely serve you in whatever line of work you take your nursing career in the future. The pay is less than most places, but there is often a good opportunity for overtime, which you can really make bank doing. I am in the northern california area, so pay is a bit higher than most other places. I was started at $36.70 hourly, with a +3 dollar PM differential, so it comes out to 39.79 hourly. If you work a double, (16 hour shift) you make 1.5x pay for the first 4 hours of the second shift, and 2x pay in the last 4 hours of the shift. I hope this helps, and good luck with nursing school!

The job market in the greater Northern California area is really tough right now for new grads. Being the highest paying area for nursing, with the recession as it is, any job is a blessing. Psych wasn't my first choice, but I am super happy to have my job. I liked Psych in school, and I gots bills to pay. I have found my job super rewarding so far, and I love hearing interesting stories. Older nurses aren't retiring, because their 401k's just got nailed, and it costs hospitals quite a bit of money to train new grads, instead of hiring new nurses. I probably won't stay in Psych forever, but who knows?