ATTN: bay area RN new grads.. Were you able to land a new grad job?

CityKat, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2008

Although the post I quoted was written over 2 month ago, I should say that 90 percent of it is not true. At this time hospitals are not able to bring any new hires from the abroad, because the average wait time is about 3-4 years. But even if they could, by the law they should prove that they will pay foreigners the same salary they pay to Americans. So, author, don't write about the things you don't know, or otherwise you make yourself look stupid.

Many times foreign nurses are UNDERPAID and OVERWORKED. They are made promises, but then those are broken; they carry extremely DANGEROUS patient loads in nursing homes and are paid far less in some cases, than an American nurse.

You can search this site for articles about this, they are everywhere. In the majority, the issues remain the same, as above mentioned.

BonnieSc · Dec 9, 2008

That's definitely not the story that Boston new graduates will tell you. I wonder if there's a difference in what recruiters will say is going on, and what you hear when you actually turn in applications. Also, these new grad programs--how big are they? Some "programs" only hire four to ten new nurses, with most of the slots pre-slated for people already working at the hospital. Boston is supposed to be even more difficult than the Bay Area for new nurses to get jobs.

Rianna1 · Dec 9, 2008

NY is NOT on a hiring freeze, that is wrong information. All of the hospitals on the island and in the city are still having their new grad training programs. As I stated before, NYLIJ IS HIRING and they have ER and critical care training programs beginning in March of 2009; they are looking into new graduates right now. HSS is hiring too, NYU, Maimonedes in Brooklyn is hiring, Kingsbrook and MMSK is hiring too; all in NYC. AZ and CO DO pay much less, but the cost of living is far less too.
The hospitals that I checked out in MA when I was thinking of moving there, are still having their new grad programs and are taking resumes for their spring 2009 programs. Maybe it is just in the area you live, but in Boston and up in the Berkshires, they are still having their new graduate programs; at least the hospitals I checked out are and there were four of them; one being level 1 trauma.
Here in SF, we are basically on a hiring freeze throughout. Most of the hospitals are now pushing back their new grad training programs 6 months and some are cancelling them all together. I can understand why people want to move here and work here b/c of the ratios. However, here in the bay area, we have 6 nursing schools within 15 minutes of driving to one another; all graduating DOUBLE the graduates now and the same number of spots are available in the hospital. It's saturated here and it will be trickling down to the rest of the state very soon, if not already. Central Valley included. This to me makes moving look very oportunistic if you want to get a start in your profession.

CityKat: Oh, how I wish I could just pick up and leave and try NY!! Got 2 kids and a mortgage and DH...

Out of curiosity, do you know what the pay out in NY is?

CityKat, BSN, RN · Dec 9, 2008

Then don't move. Persevere on, you know my story and look what happened to me in the end.

To answer your question...depending on where you work, it begins at 60k per year (Harlem Hospital - Level 1 Trauma) and goes up to MMSK, last I heard was 72k per year. This was in 2007 though, I doubt it went up that much, considering the recession. You will make more with a BSN and even more with an MSN, you get a night shift additional which is about $5000 or more in some places and tuition reimbursement.

Kosmonavt · Dec 9, 2008

CityKat: Oh, how I wish I could just pick up and leave and try NY!! Got 2 kids and a mortgage and DH...
Out of curiosity, do you know what the pay out in NY is?

I'm not CityKat, but I know the answer. If we are talking about NYC, new grads start there an about $75,000 per year. NY does not have mandated ratios and therefore be prepared to take a load of 7-8 patients. NY climate sucks too.

Kosmonavt · Dec 9, 2008

That's definitely not the story that Boston new graduates will tell you. I wonder if there's a difference in what recruiters will say is going on, and what you hear when you actually turn in applications. Also, these new grad programs--how big are they? Some "programs" only hire four to ten new nurses, with most of the slots pre-slated for people already working at the hospital. Boston is supposed to be even more difficult than the Bay Area for new nurses to get jobs.

It's not just difficult to a find job in Boston, it's virtually impossible, especially for new grads, and since 2006 it's getting worse and worse. Feel sorry for new grads there.

CityKat, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2008

Rianna,

Please delete some of your inbox and sent messages so I can reply to you; it bounces my messages right back to me until you clear up some space:)

CityKat, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2008

That's definitely not the story that Boston new graduates will tell you. I wonder if there's a difference in what recruiters will say is going on, and what you hear when you actually turn in applications. Also, these new grad programs--how big are they? Some "programs" only hire four to ten new nurses, with most of the slots pre-slated for people already working at the hospital. Boston is supposed to be even more difficult than the Bay Area for new nurses to get jobs.

It's possible. I was told different than what you're saying here. I was told the number of available spaces depends on the needs, obviously. The recruiters I talked with ranged from 12-20 slots, but that's dispersed throughout the units. Each unit has it's own number of slots they're hiring for.

I don't know if I believe that Mass is actually more difficult to get a job than here in SF. I don't know the situation in Mass though. To me, it seems like SF would be more desirable due to: climate, wages, nurse to patient ratios and having the strongest union in the nation.

All of these are some of the MAIN reasons SF is saturated now. Of course not leaving out the DOUBLE number of graduates that are now pushed out each semester w/in a 10 mile radius of dwtn SF, b/c Arnold S. decided to throw money into nursing programs and NOT the hospitals; therefore keeping the spots they have open, the same. The end result is: bottlenecking and saturation and they believe it could last longer than 3 years. Oh and not forgetting the many retired RN's who have come back to work b/c of the recession, but that is all over the nation.

crazyframes · Dec 10, 2008

It's possible. I was told different than what you're saying here. I was told the number of available spaces depends on the needs, obviously. The recruiters I talked with ranged from 12-20 slots, but that's dispersed throughout the units. Each unit has it's own number of slots they're hiring for.
I don't know if I believe that Mass is actually more difficult to get a job than here in SF. I don't know the situation in Mass though. To me, it seems like SF would be more desirable due to: climate, wages, nurse to patient ratios and having the strongest union in the nation.
All of these are some of the MAIN reasons SF is saturated now. Of course not leaving out the DOUBLE number of graduates that are now pushed out each semester w/in a 10 mile radius of dwtn SF, b/c Arnold S. decided to throw money into nursing programs and NOT the hospitals; therefore keeping the spots they have open, the same. The end result is: bottlenecking and saturation and they believe it could last longer than 3 years. Oh and not forgetting the many retired RN's who have come back to work b/c of the recession, but that is all over the nation.

BLERG - Makes me look forward to graduating in 2011! I'll keep my fingers crossed that things have loosened up a bit by then. I also plan on trying to make as many contacts as possible and getting things lined up while I'm in school to make it easier when I graduate. Thanks CityKat for a realistic viewpoint of what's going on in SF and the Bay Area.

For now though, I'll just concentrate on my last final for this week! Two more days and my first quarter of nursing school is under my belt. Seems like a long way to go to reach the finish line . . .

BonnieSc · Dec 10, 2008

This isn't a contest about who's got it worse, of course, but check out the Massachusetts Nursing section for a heads-up. The situation in the Boston area has been going on even longer than in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have a ton of nursing schools there, and many people think Boston is a desirable place to live... I think they also pay pretty well there.

I don't think we can blame the governor, though--I'm sure his advisors have just been telling him "we need more nurses, more nursing professors"--it's like a big secret that new grads can't get jobs. Even in nursing publications, there's hardly ever a mention of the situation. I think everyone wants to believe that nursing is a recession-proof job; the story about the "nursing shortage" is a lot more interesting to report on than a story about a lot of unemployed nurses.

crazyframes · Dec 10, 2008

This isn't a contest about who's got it worse, of course, but check out the Massachusetts Nursing section for a heads-up. The situation in the Boston area has been going on even longer than in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have a ton of nursing schools there, and many people think Boston is a desirable place to live... I think they also pay pretty well there.
I don't think we can blame the governor, though--I'm sure his advisors have just been telling him "we need more nurses, more nursing professors"--it's like a big secret that new grads can't get jobs. Even in nursing publications, there's hardly ever a mention of the situation. I think everyone wants to believe that nursing is a recession-proof job; the story about the "nursing shortage" is a lot more interesting to report on than a story about a lot of unemployed nurses.

I know what you mean about not talking about it. I only know because I frequent allnurses and read, read, read. I've talked to some of my classmates who still labor under the impression it's going to be all sunshine and roses and fistfuls of money after they graduate.

CalNevaMimi, LPN, LVN · Dec 10, 2008

Thank you to everyone who has tried to be positive and helpful on this thread. I start NS next month -- LVN. I'll go back and get my RN when the time is right. For you younger people fresh out of school, I feel your frustration. Because I was married and raising a family while going to college, it took 15 years to graduate and get a teaching credential. My first year teaching, the district laid off all first year teachers. Then, after finding another job, I got laid off again due to lack of senority. That's how the public school system works where I live. Then, two years later, the private school I was very happy with closed. There is currently a huge glut of school teachers here. Sixteen job interviews later, career over. Damage done. Towel thrown in. All of this joy for a job that never paid more than $42K. While I was a teacher I was particularly interested in the kids who were sick and injured or having problems...I wanted to help. It's like I was never meant to be a teacher in the first place. I am so excited to be going to nursing school! I do not expect things to be easy and I do not expect to get my dream job for quite awhile. Anything worth having is not easy to obtain. After reading so many posts on allnurses, the positive ones that actually help people or send them in the right direction mean the most to me. Like many of you, I'm sure, I've had enough doom and gloom. I think the person who started this thread wanted helpful advice. If you have anything postive to say, this would be the time to do it. Thanks again for those encouraging posts. :redpinkhe