Applying for jobs in AZ

[KyMani]

I am planning on moving from Iowa (a compact state) to CA and having my license endorsed there. But, I hear jobs are a little hard to come by. If instead I get offered a job in Arizona how difficult and how long would it take to transfer my license?

If on the other hand I decided just to move from one compact state straight to another, how difficult and time consuming is it to transfer my license?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

[GilbertAzRN]

Job market is tough here for RNs as well. It varies depending on your specialty and your experience.

Arizona is a Compact State. If your Primary State of Residency is in another Compact State (AZ, AR, CO, DE, ID, IA, KY, ME, MD, MO, MS, NE, NH, NM, NC, ND, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI), you should not apply for licensure in AZ unless you are declaring AZ as your Primary State of Residency (www.azbn.gov)

If you move permanently to Arizona this is then your "primary state of residence" and you have to apply for a "License by Endorsement". The application, fingerprint card fee totals $200. My experience is that it'll take about 4-5 weeks for them to do their verifications, etc. You can pay an extra $50 and get a temporary license (if you have practiced as anurse for 960 hours or more in the past five years) and that takes 1-2 weeks.

Here's the link so you can check out more details: http://www.azbn.gov/documents/applications/App%20Packet%20Downloads/RN_LPN%20Endorsement%20Pkt%202009.pdf

Good luck to you! :)