EVERYONE is going for NP these days

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I'm hearing a lot about how saturated the market for NPs is getting, and it is becoming as difficult for an NP to get a job as a new grad RN, especially without experience.

In your area is there an oversaturation of NPs?

would you mind to share which part in Texas? I will graduate in May, and I am very interested in dallas and huston. I don't know if there is any luck in those areas.

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Yes. Many unemployed RNs, LPNs and many in NP school with no hope for a position locally. I'm moving 2000 miles away for a job next fall. Let everyone else fight over the scraps, the grass is greener someplace else!

I agree. Move to where the jobs are. I am in the Southeast right now and the area is saturated or the pay is poor.

That is not the case in other places in the country. I might beat you by a few hundred miles on that move linearthinker.

Good luck to everyone.

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Anyone know how the Northwest and the Northeast are?

Portland / Seatle area and also New Hampshire, Vermont, Conneticut, Rhode Island, etc.

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Specializes in CTICU.
With the new requirements of needing a doctorate degree after 2015 to become an NP there will be less and less RN's becoming NP's especially if it means another 4 years post BSN and tons more tutition.

The DNP by 2015 thing is a recommendation, not a requirement.

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would you mind to share which part in Texas? I will graduate in May, and I am very interested in dallas and huston. I don't know if there is any luck in those areas.

All of the Dallas/Ft. Worth, North Texas area. Those working outside of the metroplex region have reported even higher starting salaries...more towards $55.00 an hour.

I don't know about Houston other than I refer to that city as the "armpit of Texas." Nasty humidity, one big sprawling metro area, horrible traffic.........ick.

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Specializes in Nurse Practitioner-Emergency Room.

I live in a rural area, and around here, there are plenty of jobs for NPs. Every job that I was offered was overy 80k starting salary, many at or above 6 figures, and the job I took was in an ED which was between those two. I actually had 4 offers before I ever graduated, and every person I graduated with had a job fairly quickly, and the pay was good. I actually turned down one job that paid over 60 bucks an hour, which by all accounts is pretty good for new grads. Being an NP seems to be one of thsoe rare jobs where it seems the opportunities and possibly even the pay is better in the rural areas because we are kind of lacking in the overall provider department. I took a full time job, and am looking at working at another facility prn to make some extra cash to get my loans paid off quicker. Also, my education was expensive, but it wasn't 90k either. There is a big difference in what nurses and NPs get paid here as well. I made a decent living as a nurse, but a little less than half of my starting hourly rate/salary as an NP. the job I have pays hourly, but I'm guaranteed so many hours a month by contract, and anything I work over that I don't get paid overitme, but my hourly rate is pretty good, so I don't even care. If they really, really need coverage they will sometimes offer extra pay for shifts, so that's another way to make money. It's unfortunate that in some areas there is an oversaturation of NPs, but that doesn't seem to be the case in many rural areas. Because our are doesn't have enough primary care providers, there is also room for NPs to open their own offices/clinics, and my state is relatively NP friendly as well, so I feel like becoming an NP was a wonderful career choice for me. Like I said, maybe those that live in the big city areas should consider looking in nearby small rural areas/hospitals? I'm glad that I haven't faced these problems. I went to school with a certain job in mind, and was lucky enough to get that job, with better pay than I was expecting!

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Wow, not here in Texas! All of my classmates found work within 4-6 months of graduation and I would say the average starting salary was $87-92K with probably a good number of us making the equivalent of $95K (some are working just part-time so that would be an hourly equivalent).

Sounds like it is really geographically based.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the regulations of NP's in Texas fairly strict?

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the regulations of NP's in Texas fairly strict?

I go to work, see patients all day independently, write prescriptions and orders and then evaluate results. If I have a question or need to consult with with the physician I practice with, then I do and let me tell you, it is GREAT to have another brain to bounce things off of! I don't feel restricted at all. We are required to have a collaborating physician and the physician is required to register us on the TMB website as prescribers in their office (required for PA's too).

So no, I've never felt it restricted. I guess if I was just burning to get out there and find my own office, pay rent every month, buy my own equipment, hire coworkers and then be a sole practitioner, take call, deal with insurance and payroll hassles....then yeah, I might be restricted! NOT having all that to deal with makes me feel FREE, not restricted, LOL! :yeah::lol2:

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Kyboyrn... what state do you work in?

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Hi there,

please cheer up and have patience!!!!

There ARE jobs out there for NPs!

When I got my RN in the mid 90s, there was a terrible downsizing in my area and many of my "wise" classmates told me to shelve my RN license.

However, I do not like to listen to pessimists and I do not like to give up, so after 6 month of full time search I launched my nursing career.

Do not give up! There is some hope! AND health care field looks a lot better than other ares of the job market!

Good luck!

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing, Critical Care Nursing.

I live in the Southeast (Alabama, more specifically), and I am currently working alongside 3 NPs in my CCU. There are a couple out on the floors. In this area, the market for NPs is saturated, and they are having to look countrywide for jobs. Also, the general practitioner MDs in this area (as someone mentioned earlier in this thread) are taking fellowships for specialties to make their services more sought after and unique.

This is a great thread...I wondered if I was the only one that wondered if NP school would be worth it. At the end of the day, I would also like to teach, so if nothing else I would have job flexibility with a Masters' degree. Not to mention, I plan to pursue my DNP in order to make myself more marketable for both ends.

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I live in the Southeast (Alabama, more specifically), and I am currently working alongside 3 NPs in my CCU. There are a couple out on the floors. In this area, the market for NPs is saturated, and they are having to look countrywide for jobs. Also, the general practitioner MDs in this area (as someone mentioned earlier in this thread) are taking fellowships for specialties to make their services more sought after and unique.

This is a great thread...I wondered if I was the only one that wondered if NP school would be worth it. At the end of the day, I would also like to teach, so if nothing else I would have job flexibility with a Masters' degree. Not to mention, I plan to pursue my DNP in order to make myself more marketable for both ends.

If you really want to teach nursing go for the PhD. When seeking opportunity as a faculty member a PhD will be selected over a DNP almost every time (may be a rare exception). Look at the faculty trends; we have a current shortage and even greater shortage predicted. Academics love NPs with PhDs!

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