Good Cities / States to Find First RN Job

Nurses Job Hunt

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I graduated with my ASN in May, and I obtained my license in June. I am currently in an accelerated BSN program, and if all goes according to plan, I will complete this degree at the end of July. I am wondering where to start looking for my first nursing job. Which cities / states seem to be easier to get a nursing job in, particularly for new graduates?

I live in Georgia now, but I desperately want to move out-of-state. So far, places that have caught my interest include: Charlotte and Raleigh, NC, Boston, MA, and Austin, TX. Have new graduates had success in landing a job in these areas? What are some areas where nurses are in high demand?

I have heard Boston is a difficult area to get a job, but I just wanted to mention it as I really love the city. :)

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I'm from the Boston area and moved to Burlington, VT for my first acute care job. Burlington is a really fun college town with lots to do, but you have to be okay with long winters and cold weather. It's 3 1/2 hours to Boston and less than 2 hrs to Montreal. Fletcher Allen is the major teaching hospital here and there are jobs. It's worth checking out. Good luck!

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Specializes in Psych, corrections.

I have heard it is hard to find a job in metro areas in general. :( Rural facilities may be more likely to hire nurses who do not have BSN. So you could move to one of your top choices and just be willing to commute. I'm in Chicago, and the place is saturated with new grads.

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I'm looking to relocate to Charlotte after finishing my ADN in May in PA. I've been reading on here that it's hard to find a job as an RN there because I'm going to be competing with about 10 other schools full of nursing school graduates. I have an LPN license, should I try to get a job as an LPN until I pass the NCLEX and can find an RN job?

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Specializes in Medical Surgical Orthopedic.

San Antonio is a good place for new grads and about one hour south of Austin.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Austin is an EXTREMELY difficult place for new grads to find jobs. Best to concentrate your search on smaller Texas cities instead. I believe that both Corpus Christi and the Beaumont area continue to hire new grads.

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I'm confused..Are you waiting until you are done with your BSN to start looking for a job? You have your ADN right now right? Why not start looking for a job now? From the sound of your post it sounds like you have your RN, but you're waiting until you have your BSN to start looking...When you have your BSN you won't be considered a "new grad" since you are already a licensed RN, so I would start looking now because the longer you wait from when you passed boards the harder it will be to find a job...

As others have said, the more populated the area the harder it's going to be to find a job. From reading on here it seems like it's near impossible to find a job in the Boston area. Some big cities have 6-7 BSN programs putting out new grads every year, and a ton of ADN programs. Moving to one of those cities and then commuting to a smaller city is an idea though.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I'd be looking around North Dakota. Natural gas boom has the economy humming and creating a mass influx of people.

There are jobs to be had in rural California (which is where I got my start).

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I would try to make a list of every critical-access hospital and focus my search on those... much less competition.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Most markets in metropolitan areas of Texas are very tight with Austin being the worst.

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