How is the San Diego Job Market?

luckyshamrock22 · Mar 14, 2013

Yes, not all schools in CA cost 150k for a bsn or are "for profit." I just meant that these types of programs are producing RNs at high rate of speed and the graduation rate of RNs is on a record high. I also attended a traditional college 40$ something a unit for ADN with pre reqs and gpa minimum required. These schools however "trade schools" and "private for profit" do not and I am not sure how they incorporate the pre reqs such as Anatomy/physiology, chem, micro and math. I also do not know how their degrees affect magnet status.

Frankie123 · Jun 26, 2013

I graduated in 2009 (BSN). The job market for RN's in San Diego is horrible. At certain points I applied to 20 jobs each day for a year, and only received one interview after 2 years. I took that job obviously and it was not my first choice. I am still hunting and applying with no luck.

New grad programs are impossible to get into unless you are friends with the director or sleeping with someone. The only reason I am stuck in this city is because my husband has a job here. If I knew that the job market was like this I never would have become a nurse, I would have rather done anything else. I am ready to work for free simply to gain experience in acute care at this point. The question remains, how can you get hired for jobs that require 2 years of experience if NO ONE if hiring inexperienced nurses?

The person from Scripps who stated she/he hires 4-5 new-grads weekly --> is exaggerating. There are never that many positions posted!

The positions posted for Scripps require years of experience, or are internal postings for employees of the hospital.

Do not look to move to San Diego if you are looking for a Nursing job- unless you have already been hired somewhere- this is not an open market.

Good Luck!

SailorWifey · Jun 29, 2013

What about agency nursing? I work in DC but we have several travel and agency nurses who say there are lots of openings for agency opportunities in SoCal. Perhaps that'd be a better option.

CaliRN13, BSN · Jun 30, 2013

Unfortunately a lot of agencies still require the 1-2 years of experience in acute care or your desired specialty.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 30, 2013

Ditto the PP. I work agency as a second job and almost no agency here will consider you without experience.

I've heard there are a couple of home health agencies that may consider new grads, but IMO home health is not the best place for a new grad to start out in, so proceed at your own risk.

SailorWifey · Jun 30, 2013

Meriwhen,

When I move to CA I will have 2+ years of PACU experience. Do you know any agencies that are local to SoCal? My husband is in the military so I will only be able to look in that area.

sdwannabe1 · Jul 6, 2013

I might be able to add some insight. I entered a new grad program locally in Oct of 2011 after 10 months of searching and hundreds of applications later. I can attest that the market is getting worse. We rarely hire RN's without experience and many of our current RN's are no where near retirement with maybe 1 out of 55 retiring in the next year. So the comment about RN's retiring soon is untrue as most of our unit has 3 to 15 years experience average. Also, it is very untrue that new grads are hired if they know the director (or are participating in other unsavory acts for employment) as another commenter suggested. A lot of existing nursing assistants turned RN's are hired, but many are not. It takes a lot of persistence and maturity with some luck to land a new grad job in San Diego if you don't already work for a hospital internally. I would suggest as others have, to either volunteer or find employment with a hospital that you did some clinicals at, network with friends who have positions or walk your resume in to meet hiring managers.

CaliRN13, BSN · Jul 6, 2013

I might be able to add some insight. I entered a new grad program locally in Oct of 2011 after 10 months of searching and hundreds of applications later. I can attest that the market is getting worse. We rarely hire RN's without experience and many of our current RN's are no where near retirement with maybe 1 out of 55 retiring in the next year. So the comment about RN's retiring soon is untrue as most of our unit has 3 to 15 years experience average. Also it is very untrue that new grads are hired if they know the director (or are participating in other unsavory acts for employment) as another commenter suggested. A lot of existing nursing assistants turned RN's are hired, but many are not. It takes a lot of persistence and maturity with some luck to land a new grad job in San Diego if you don't already work for a hospital internally. I would suggest as others have, to either volunteer or find employment with a hospital that you did some clinicals at, network with friends who have positions or walk your resume in to meet hiring managers.[/quote']
Thank you so much for this straightforward advice and insight!

sdwannabe1 · Jul 7, 2013

No problem! I get irritated when the 20 something students roll in with their heads in the clouds about the job market...like they are different from everyone else then they sit on the computer all day with no drive or motivation to get the most out of their experience. I have to remind them that we have 4 clinicals rotating on our unit each semester (that's 4 classes of 15 students x 2 or 3 semesters a year!). It's ridiculous how many schools there are out there.

CaliRN13, BSN · Jul 11, 2013

I totally understand! I came from out of state in February knowing it would be a tough road to travel as a new grad in California. Still no luck for me as of yet, but I can't imagine sitting behind a computer and "crossing my fingers" in this new grad job market.. gotta get out there!

gc1010 · Nov 5, 2013

So I am a CSUSMer that graduated in August '13 and I read the facebook page that my cohort used throughout the program and I see a lot of problems getting hired. To get in a new grad spot you NEED to either be working at the facility currently in another position (CNA/tech) or have done an externship. But even the extern doesn't guarantee a spot.

It's not just nursing though. My MIL graduated with a masters in education a few years ago and couldn't find a job is SD. SHe also has JD so she is not under qualified. She had to intern for free and worked her buns off to get great recommendations while mailing thousands of apps all over and finally got an amazing job offer at notre dame. Fast track 3 years and my wife came out around january of last year from SD, quitting her 10 dollar an hour job that we were super grateful for having and moved out to Indiana to also work at Notre Dame. She was a Landscape architect, did some freelance work but never really worked in the field much. 4 months after temping she landed n amazing job at ND.

And now what you have been waiting for I moved to IN immediately and applied to a great hospital in the area. I applied, interview 2 weeks later and got a job offer 2 days after that. First interview sent out maybe 15 apps between two facilities.

Move if you can. Reverse frontiering.

mrs.rn99 · Jan 16, 2014

I appreciate your honesty! So do you have any suggestions for nurses that have moved in the area looking for jobs. I have moved up in the ranks of nursing from CNA, LVN, and now RN. I'm a military spouse so we just moved to the San Diego area. We will be here for the rest of my husbands career (10yrs). So finding work is very important not only for my household, but because I love being a nurse. I know sometimes it's about who you know, not what you know. So your post was a true eye opener. At the end of the day I'm a woman with strong FAITH, and changing careers is not a option. Any tips, or any helpful suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Thank you for your time! Have a great day! GOD BLESS!