I feel truly sorry for new grads

Nurses Job Hunt

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Just wanted to say that. I've been a nurse since 2008 and did ok, first in sub-acute rehab and now in med-surg, did not experience any unemployment and had very stable finances that whole time. I guess I got lucky because I graduated just as the industry was going down the toilet.

I just want to share my observation that this is no longer the industry of opportunities it once was, it has really changed for the worse, the attitude of employers has changed for the worse, and opportunities for young people have disappeared.

This industry has never been about making x or y amount of money, but it's been about opportunities for young people. Now the opportunities are in jeopardy.

Young talented BSNs can't even find work in med-surg nowadays because new grads are not welcome.

If you can't at least do med-surg because new grads are not welcome, you are setting yourself up for failure in later career because something like med-surg is the foundation, and they're denying you even the foundation you need to get started.

My advice for young people interested in a career in health care is to stay clear of nursing but do something like physical therapy. A PT degree may require 3 years more in school (because it's a PhD or a Masters) but the extra 3 years will be worth it because everywhere you go employers will accept you, nobody will give you a hard time because you're a new grad, and companies will be glad to take you under their wings and train you.

I got back from the website for the Norther Illinois University PT program and their employment rate for new PT grads is 100% (this means 100% of new grads are welcome in physical therapy).

Just my 2 cents.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
The problem is that Nursing was in great demand. I can recall $10,000 sign-on bonuses just about 10 years ago. Then right about 2008 the market dropped off, causing a general slump in all sectors. The instability caused big drops in retirement plan values to plummet as well. I would imagine that lots of nurses that were planning to retire decided not to... and won't until they feel stable enough to.

Folks, this is very cyclical. It's happened before and it will happen again, and it's not just in this industry! Eventually the older nurses will have to retire and when they do, there'll suddenly be a need for a HUGE number of nurses. Yes, this is coming... it's a question of when, not if.

THIS... :yes:

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As a new grad in the top of a 1 year accelerated nursing program for 2nd degree BSN students I have to say it's all about location! Many of my classmates that stayed in a mid-sized TX city had jobs before they graduated whereas I moved to a different state with a prestigious Hospital, Medical School, and Nursing School in my back yard with 5-6 different hospital systems in an 1 hour driving distance and still can't get hired in the hospital setting. After 2.5 months yes I found a job in home health care. Is it the dream job? The position yes, the agency I'm with no. Has it stopped me from applying to positions and still networking? No. I think that right now it's important for new nurses to get experience however they can. The big problem seems to be that hospitals don't want to hire new grad, pay to train them, and then watch them walk out the door once they have enough experience. A compromise should be reached between hospitals and new nurses through their residency programs that if a) we train you you owe us X amount of months.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU/Trauma/Emergency.

Post like these are intended to discourage subconciously or consiciously for the benefit of the OP. Because you know some individuals who are not able to find work, does not mean that's the market for the entire system. Nursing is and will be a in demand career path. The true reasoning behind the unemployment rate for new grads is not the lack of jobs, but the lack of skill set many have graduated with. The majority of unemployed nurses chose this career with money and a particular field in mind. If you are not able to adapt and make the necessary adjustments to your dreams for the immediate, you will not gain that coveted position in the future. Also, not to bash many of the older new grads, but majority of the unemployed new grads are also middle age. In this economy employers are opting to go with the 20 something year olds for the longevity; this is the hard truth.

Do not discourage new graduates to eliminate the competition for yourself!

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I can totally relate to this article and attest to the fact that the employment opportunities for new graduate nurses are close to nonexistent. I graduated in 2009 with a BS in Biology from Boston College and decided immediately after to pursue an accelerated 2nd degree BSN program. I enrolled in NYU's 15 month program in Jan 2010, graduated in spring of 2011 and decided to move home to Boston. After passing my nclex I searched high and low for med-surg positions but was turned down everywhere I went...actually I never got any call backs to be precise. And everyone I asked told me I had to pay my dues and start off in a SNF/LTC setting. Coincidentally at that time I came across a lucrative opportunity as a private nurse and went for it because I had 100k in student loans from both BC and NYU and repayment had started. Two super expensive private universities and two degrees later...and still "no real nursing experience". It's been over two years and I've been doing private nursing/home care since. I'm trying so hard to transition into acute care and even with two years of home care experience there are virtually no hospitals that are willing to take on a "new grad" here. I've started applying to positions out of state and am just hoping for a break so I can really get my career started. I never imagined it would be this difficult but I told myself this is my passion and I have to remain hopeful that somehow someway I'll find something.

If I could give any advice to nursing students it would be to:

1) network network network and make those connections during clinicals

2) as stressful as school can be, make it your mission to work part-time as a CNA to get your foot through the door; often after passing the nclex and a position opens up you will get first dibs before anyone on the outside stands a chance (prob my biggest mistake;( I concentrated on my academics ended up with a 3.69 GPA but no connections)

3) if you can do a summer externship during your program or immediately after...grab that chance (I had classes in the summer as it was an accelerated program so this wasn't a viable option and I also moved back to Boston immediately after which meant none of my New York connections made a difference)

Well that's my $0.02.

Good luck to all new grads across the country. At least we're not alone.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.
I got back from the website for the Norther Illinois University PT program and their employment rate for new PT grads is 100% (this means 100% of new grads are welcome in physical therapy).

It more likely means that 100% of PT new grads had jobs soon after graduation. How many of those jobs were in PT?

I had a job the day I graduated from nursing school; the same job I had before I started nursing school.

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while I feel for new grads who are reporting the inability to get jobs, if you are young and not tied down, then move…I'm in NE PA - I had 2 job offers before I graduated and got a 3rd in the hospital I REALLY wanted to work in (and switched hospitals to do so). Out of 48 new grads in my class, greater than 50% got hired by the same hospital system, and 75% that wanted jobs as soon as we graduated had them - the other 25% were taking the summer off, a few got married, and a few moved out of state to be with their spouses. You just gotta know where to look!

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Specializes in School nursing.

I think it depends on what area of nursing you want to be in. Heck, I'm a new grad from this past December, passed my NCLEX in late January. I did my preceptorship in a large Boston hospital and while I learned soooo much, it taught me that I didn't want to work in the hospital! Through my husband (NOT in the medical field) and his piano student, I started subbing in a public school district and loved it. Moved my Job Search to school nursing and got hired as a full time school nurse in April. Sure, after a year the hospitals will not consider my job "experience" (though some of them would probably flounder trying to do my job for a day and vice versa), but hospital nursing isn't my forte. Community is.

Connections you make are key. The ones in nursing school through your clinicals, but also consider other connections. My husband works for a church and they love him and in turn me when we got married this past January :). Several of them work in health care or have connections in health care and were singing my graces and hadn't even seen me work, lol. It was humbling and so helpful! My husband's piano student was a teacher in the school district I subbed in; the day I started there she was taking me around and taking me up.

It can be disheartening and it is important to be realistic - I had come to terms with both of these things in my job search. I'm also in the Boston area and it is saturated with new nurses! But I will also say that most of my friends who passed the NCLEX in Jan/Feb had jobs by April/May. Some were even in a couple of big Boston hospitals! Those friends made good friends with preceptors and were persistent. Others are working in acute rehab; a couple in home health, and a few like myself in community health.

(I also have some friends in OT; they did find jobs easily after graduation, but they were usually through their full-time, non-paid, six-month externship, which is a extremely valuable resource and again - connections...)

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Compared to other degrees, nursing is more of a "sure thing" than most.

With enough persistence, you will eventually land a job that pays more than the average new grad who is working for whatever they can find in a job that doesn't require a degree.

The world is changing. The stable middle-class jobs that sustained people are shrinking. I remember a time when there was plenty of work available for the journalists, travel agents, receptionists, secretaries and union manufacture jobs.

A college degree doesn't have the return on investment it once did unless you choose specific majors.

A degree in engineering or nursing has the better potential to lead you to a well-paying, stable job.

My community college nursing class was full of communication, sociology, and English majors.

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You are corret. I was a BSN new grad in Dec 2012 and never landed a job in the hospital. I needed to pay my bills STAT so I accept the ONLY job that was offere to me - School Nurse. I have lost most of the nursing skills we learned in school, and don't even ask me to insert an IV or chang out trach straps. The dreams i had of becoming a big shot expert RN are down the drain because no hospital will hire me now due to my "lack of clinical experience"

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***correct

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When I was entering Nursing school in the 70"s I was told good luck in finding a job.

I graduated. Many friends went to the States for jobs. They moved to find jobs. I kept had it and found a job at home.

Year later found another job which I wanted and have been at this job greater than 35 years.

Yes, the job market is unpredictable. It has always been and will forever.

I guess this topic will repeat itself through the ages.

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The problem is that Nursing was in great demand. I can recall $10,000 sign-on bonuses just about 10 years ago. Then right about 2008 the market dropped off, causing a general slump in all sectors. The instability caused big drops in retirement plan values to plummet as well. I would imagine that lots of nurses that were planning to retire decided not to... and won't until they feel stable enough to.

Folks, this is very cyclical. It's happened before and it will happen again, and it's not just in this industry! Eventually the older nurses will have to retire and when they do, there'll suddenly be a need for a HUGE number of nurses. Yes, this is coming... it's a question of when, not if.

Nursing employment has been cyclical, you are right. But what is different this time is the number of nursing school graduates. Look it up, twice as many people graduate from nursing schools today than 10 years ago. 5,178 people graduated from nursing school in California in 2000-2001. In 2008-2009, that number was 10,570 (The BRN school report shows more nurses graduating from California nursing programs. | Samuel Merritt University). That is 100% increase! In the same period, the population in California increased by only 10% (California's Population (PPIC Publication)). You have a tenfold increase in nursing graduates versus population growth. This is unsustainable. I bet this is the picture elsewhere in the country, with the exception maybe of North Dakota. Yes, the economy is in the tanks and older nurses won't retire, but is is this unchecked growth in nursing school graduates without regard for demand and population growth that has led to the sorry state of nursing we have today, with low wages, low moral and poor working conditions. It is destroying nursing.

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