Huntsville,AL

diamondmeadows, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2010

Which school are you attending? During my last semester, both of those hospitals as well as others in the surrounding areas visited my school and talked to us about pay rate, benefits, etc. Maybe they will do this at your school too and you can talk to the nurse recruiters personally.

I will say that when I graduated, both hospitals were offering the same pay rate to new grads.

If you are going to school in the area, you will probably get lots of clinical time at both hospitals, and you will be able to form your own opinions about them.

As far as whether or not you should move when you graduate, you may want to make that decision according to where you can find a job. Hopefully the market will improve by the time you graduate, but right now it is extremely competitive and difficult for new grads to get hospital jobs. The hospitals are swamped with applications for every posted position. I think most new grads would be thrilled to work at either hospital, because many are having to take less desirable jobs in other settings if they even find anything at all. I graduated in 2009 and many people in my graduating class had to move to find jobs. I think it's a good idea to keep your options open and do things like work as a CNA, volunteer, etc. while in school to make your resume stand out.

Good luck with school!

mrspline · Nov 12, 2010

Thanks, I am at Calhoun right now just getting my core out of the way and will probably transfer to UAB. Right now I am just looking at my options. I do volunteer work at both so I have seen a little bit but was looking for a different perspective. Thank you for your insight

LivinMyLife · Nov 29, 2010

The going rate for a new grad at HH and Crestwood is 18.50.

mrspline · Nov 30, 2010

Thanks for the going rate livinmylife.