How long did you stay at your 1st job?

[01dayatatime]

Some of my fellow new nurse friends and I were talking the other day and were curious to hear from more experienced people...

How long did you stay at your first job? Do you feel it is unprofessional to leave after only a year?

[Warpster]

I managed to hang in there for two years in a VA hospital but only because my rheumatologist wrote a note to my charge nurse that rotating shifts were making me much sicker and that I needed a permanent assignment. So I got put on permanent nights in a sister unit and that was just fine with me. Since raises for VA nurses have to go through Congress and Reagan was in office and supremely uninterested in signing things like raises for government employees and my rent kept going up, I quit after two years and went agency.

I learned one hell of a lot at that job, the in house educational benefits were outstanding. I'm glad I clung to it for the full two years. I'm also glad I left when I did since agency money allowed me to sock away quite a bit in the bank that came in very handy years down the road.

[Happy Life, BSN, RN]

I hope some of you can see this topic again and put some insights. I'm a new grad and wanna hear your stories. Thanks!!