Help! I can't stop looking at new RN openings and wanting to jump ship

[Googlenurse]

Hello. I don't know what is wrong with me, but it seems I am always looking on Glassdoor, Linked In, and Indeed and seeing jobs that have better wages and benefits  than the one I am currently at. Then I apply and get the jobs, only to see another  job with even better benefits and pay. So I jump ship and work for a few months or so until an even better one comes along.

This has been happening since 2021 for me, where every job I apply to and work has better benefits and pay than the last one.

I have 19 years experience and stayed at one job for 13 years (and still counting as I work there per diem). The current job I have now I just started in February, but the one I start in two weeks has better benefits and pay and a $10,000 sign on bonus. Prior to starting that job I worked at a facility for 7 months but left for the current job.

Me being me, I saw an  ad yesterday on Indeed offering a $20,000 sign on bonus with even better pay and benefits than the one I start in two weeks. I am so itching to apply and I know for a fact I will get the job. Hence why I am writing this. 

How do you all keep from jumping to job to job?

(I live in NJ but have RN licenses for NY,PA,NJ, and now Delaware. So I am not particularly worried about any of them finding out me doing this, as I live in a major metro area of over 10 million people)

[LaZarca, BSN, RN]

On 5/6/2022 at 3:00 PM, AlwaysTiredNP said:

Sign on bonus of $20K is usually a huge red flag. Why are they offering a sign on bonus? why do they have to pay people that much just to take a job there? What's the turnover rate? These are the kinds of things you should be wondering. The grass is not ALWAYS greener, and eventually someone might ask you why you keep changing jobs so often. 

It might look greener, but it could be hiding some nasty spiders. I signed on for a 10k bonus and learned very quickly why it was so high. I left that job after a few months and had to pay it back. I felt horrible leaving because I really wanted to make it work, but the conditions were so rough.

[Googlenurse, ASN, BSN, RN]

On 5/6/2022 at 4:29 PM, AlwaysTiredNP said:

THIS!! all of it! this is me so much. TO ME, my wellbeing and satisfaction and life OUTSIDE of work is so much more important to me than how much I am making. I have *enough*, I am happy, healthy, etc... there will always be jobs that pay more money. ALWAYS! Nursing was a bad choice if I wanted to chase money anyway. No Starts In My Eyes hit the nail on the head. Find a job where your mental health is good, and you are satisfied with your work. Work is NOT your whole life, that's my opinion. 

I did,and guess what? My mental health started to crumble. First,the crappy health insurance. Then,no raises ever for the entire 10+ years I worked with that agency doing private duty. Meanwhile,inflation is going wild,so my pay was not even covering the basics anymore.

I was not always like this,but after I busted my behind for an employer that could not be bothered to give a 10 cent raise during the pandemic,I started to chase after the money. 

[Googlenurse, ASN, BSN, RN]

On 5/11/2022 at 9:13 AM, Jenny Lee said:

Better wages come with more responsibility, later nights, and stress. I would much rather have a job that doesn't pay as much yet I have down time, peace, flexible scheduling, benefits, one patient, no risk for losing my license, no hospital politics, and an opportunity to pick up overtime. I see you're in home health I'd Stay there personally cause the grass isn't always greener on the other side

You sure about that? I think with PDN,you have an even higher chance of losing your license. 

Also,any nurse in PDN will tell you the benefits AND pay are crappy. 

My sister,a new Lpn, makes $28/hour at a nursing home.

Me, an 18 year RN,makes $31/hour working PDN. 

[Googlenurse, ASN, BSN, RN]

On 5/8/2022 at 8:08 PM, speedynurse said:

Sign on bonuses are never a good sign. 
 

Job hopping may or may not catch up with someone. In all honesty, since Covid, I feel like there is a ton of forgiveness in terms of job hopping out of desperation for finding experienced nurses and not just all new grads. I personally don’t look at other jobs unless I have some level of dissatisfaction in my current job (not boredom) but the need for a better work-life balance, better pay, better insurance, or a better team/management, etc. In addition, as terrible as this sounds, staying at one job for 10 plus years is not always beneficial either. Some employers want to see diversity and different work experience.

I learned that the hard way in 2019 while applying for other specialties.

My skills were not diverse at the time due to working in home care at the time.