Full-time vs. Part time

[m3091]

Hi there,

I am a fourth year nursing student preparing to finish school and start my career. I've started applying for jobs in the general area I was interested in and have come to find myself in a bit of dilemma. Although I know it is ultimately my decision, I am looking for a bit of objective advice. So here it is.

I've applied to two places up north, the small town where I grew up and the closest city about an hour away (my boyfriend has an apprenticeship in my hometown, so I wanted to stay close by). I ended up getting an interview with both places. I really did not want to return to my hometown, it is very small and I felt I would not enjoy working there. However, I did not want to end up not getting a job anywhere near my boyfriend, so I applied. The city is much bigger than my hometown, somewhere where I feel I could keep busy while my boyfriend is away (he travels for work) and I like the fact that I would not be working with people I know (especially since im still learning). So the choice would seem obvious. However, my hometown offered me a new grad initiative, a full time position with benefits and the tuition rebate, whereas the other place offered me a part time position. So now I am completely torn. I'm not sure if i'll get many extra hours with part time work, so I don't know if I should go where I want and not have as much money (I do have plans to travel and get married in the next few years), or go to my hometown, suck it up and have a lot more money to do the things we want to do?

Anyway, any feedback is much appreciated! Need some insight.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I'd vote for the small town. As a new grad, you need to get your career off to a solid start ... with good experience in an environment that will nurture you and give you the support (and experience) you need to transition successfully from student to practicing professional. It sounds like the small town hospital is prepared to do that. It sounds like the city hospital is not. You will not get full time hours -- which may not give you enough continuous practice to get really comfortable with it for a long time.

And remember, your not making a committment for the rest of your life. You are looking for the best place to START your nursing career. After you boyfriend finishes his apprenticeship -- and you are a seasoned, competent nurse -- you can move elsewhere if you choose.

As for finding stuff to do in your hometown ... that may be a challenge. But get cable TV with a few premium channels and a good internet connection. Use your downtime to rest and save your energy to do your best at work. Get regular exercise. Read some books for fun. Learn a new hobby. Etc. In other words, use your free time constructively and you will be better off in the long run. You'll be working more hours and earning money that you can SAVE during that time. Use it to pay off any student loans and save up to finance more schooling, a house, car, etc. In a couple of years, you will be glad you did that -- rather than going to the city and being poor with only a part time job and little professional support for your transition.

But good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[frenchtoastwaffles, BSN, RN]

However, my hometown offered me a new grad initiative, a full time position with benefits and the tuition rebate, whereas the other place offered me a part time position.

I know you don't really want to go back to your hometown, but girl! This sounds like a NO BRAINER to me! This is an amazing opportunity for you! Full time with benefits AND you don't even have to spend all of your income on student loans?? You want to travel and you want to get married. A part time job in a city will not let you pay for that or afford you the time to take off for vacationing (usually no PTO for part timers!)

I would bite the bullet and take the full time job so you can really plant your career roots. You won't have to spend your entire career there, but who knows... you might just love it :)

Congratulations on the offer though, I would snatch it up before they offer it to someone else!

Edit: I just wanted to add to your keeping yourself distracted dilemma- you don't live in the city where the part time job is, right? Do you know anyone there? I don't think moving into a city versus a small town is really going to stave off any feelings of loneliness. Unfortunately, being surrounded by people can make you feel so much more lonely! Just having a lot of things to do but no one to do them with is not great. Do you still know people from your hometown? It's surprisingly easy to rekindle old friendships, if you're on good terms with your family you can be closer to them, you might be able to get a place with a yard so you can keep a dog or something that you can go for runs with... There are plenty of things to do in small towns and I don't think moving to a city will really help. I say this from experience, I moved from a very small town to a very (very) large city, and quite honestly, I feel more "idle handed" since I moved here. I miss so many things about small town life, and it took me over 6 years to learn that I will always be a small town girl.

[m3091]

Thank you both for the advice! It was really helpful.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

I would also select the full-time position with benefits. As llg stated, you want to get your career off to a good start. Typically when employees get put on call (or called off), they select the PRN employees first, then the PT's and then the FT's. They also (typically) have a list that they are supposed to rotate through, too, to make it fair. But with that said, if you took a part-time position, you have more of a chance of losing out on hours AND you won't get the extra benefits that is offered from the other full-time position.