NP advice, specialties and jobs

[nolegirl96]

I am considering NP school and am looking for advice! Are the NP jobs still out there? My fear is that I will complete a few years of schooling and not be able to find a job due to oversaturation. I am leaning toward FNP because I have experience in both Peds and Adult nursing, and I want to have the flexibility in working with both populations. What specialty did you choose and what is your typical day like? Is there any advice you would be willing to share? Thank you so much for your help!

[shibaowner, MSN, RN, NP]

Why do you want to become an NP? Is this really what you want to do or are you just looking for career advancement? If you just want career advancement, there are other options besides NP.

As to saturation, this might be true in some job markets. My advice is to go to the best school possible (no for profit schools); any public college or university NP program is preferable to a for-profit school. US News and World Report publishes rankings. If you go to a good school, have solid RN experience, you should have no trouble getting a job.

However, you must be flexible and realistic. Be prepared to move to another city or rural area if necessary. If you are making $120K a year as an RN, do not expect to make that much on your first NP job.

I got an NP job for top $ within 2 months of graduating, but I was also willing to move to a rural area for 2 years. I also went to Johns Hopkins.