Advice about Career

[FlorenceNtheMachine]

I'm in a pickle,

I'd like some advice from experienced nurses who have been in my situation.

I'm a critical care nurse with 1 year of experience (woohoo I made it!). And I mostly enjoy my job. The management is supportive, if somewhat absent at times (I don't blame them at all!). I'm not a squeaky wheel, so I understand they are busy putting out fires.

A few months ago, I experienced some life stress that made me want to quit PMs. I put in a few applications here and there and got job offers. The job I was offered, I wasn't sold on. I knew I had good job, and the managers helped me with my schedule, making NOCs more tolerable. I turned one down and the other one never called me back. Well now I have a job offer that was placed in my lap, even though I had stopped looking since that original freak out.

My pickle, it's such a step down in pay with loads better schedule. I think I'd enjoy the work environment more. I can try to negotiate more, which I'm planning to. But I'm scared. Should I do it? I know I like my job 80.124% of the time, and there is a chance I could hate this new job 100%. It's a large paycut but better hours and no weekends or holidays! It limits my future career goals (it's a clinic). But honestly, I love my family first. The waitlist for days is years long in my department, and I'd still work holidays and weekends.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

If you can do it without it being a real financial hardship and it is important to have that better schedule then do it. I would stay perdiem though in case you find the clinic is not your thing. That way you can show current ICU skills on your resume if you need to look for a different job.

You never know going into a new job if it will work out. It is always a gamble.