Experienced RN moving to CA, chances for finding a job here?

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

Hey everybody,

I am a RN with BSN in Kentucky. I have 1.5 year of surgical telemetry and 7 months of Mother/baby (postpartum/nursery) experience. Not a whole lot of experience but definitely not a new grad either.

I am planning to move to San Diego within a few months, and wanting to work preferringly in a NICU. Or Mother/baby if not Nicu. But if the job market is too tight, I could do a different unit to begin with too.

I really have not much clue about the job market. I am still researching. The topics here are mostly about new grads in CA, and they don't really apply for me.

Could anybody give me an idea of how long it could probably take me to find a job there? I am open to suggestions as to which units generally hire faster, or which hospitals to try, etc. Even the living standards for nurses, general cost of living there, etc. I would appreciate just any information. Thanks!

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I'm neither in tele nor NICU. But I know that a lot of the NICUs want a couple of years experience either in NICU or L&D/PP.

The market can be tight as there are a lot of nurses in the area. You're not a new grad and have a BSN, so your odds of landing something here are somewhat better. Agency is also an option for you, though be warned that a lot of agencies don't pay any better than the hospitals do.

The major hospitals are Kaiser, Sharp and Scripps. Start with them. There's also UCSD, Alvarado, Paradise Valley and Palomar.

It took me one month to land something when I moved out here. Then again, I'm in psych.

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Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.

Thank you very much Meriwhen. You sure provided great guidance. I will look into those hospitals.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

No problem. Feel free to post or PM me if you have more questions.

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Specializes in acute care, case management.

Travel nursing ?

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Specializes in ICU.

Are you definitively married to the idea of San Diego? If you have flexibility within CA, you'll find less competitive markets in Central and far Northern California. You'll also find better pay in Northern California than Southern California.

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