Is it harder to find a job as an RN with an ADN only than with a BSN? (San Francisco)

[guevarrar]

I want to get my associate's degree from the community college that I am currently attending. I live in San Francisco, CA and almost all the nursing school's near SF are highly impacted. But if I do get into the ADN program and earn my ADN and become an RN, will it be harder to find an ADN-RN job than an RN-BSN? Do places require than RN's have BSNs only? I would love to get my BSN but all the schools that offer BSN programs are highly impacted and super competitive. My plan right now is to go for my ADN then maybe get my BSN online, is that a good plan? Has anyone ever done that, get their BSN online? How much is the pay difference between an ADN and BSN?

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

It's hard for experienced nurses with a BSN to get a job in the Bay Area....I finished my ADN in the bay area, and returned home to Southern California. I was the only one who had a job fairly quickly after graduation. My classmates took jobs as case managers, home health, continued working at their nursing homes or hospitals as LVNs....most of them it took an average of a year or longer to find hospital employment. These were all LVNs with many years of hospital experience.

So yes, it's VERY hard to find a job as an ADN RN in the bay area. You may get lucky, but realize you are competing with nurses from all over the country who want to live in the bay area, and many of them have more education and more experience. The reason the area is so impacted is it is probably the highest paying area for nurses in the entire country. Yes, cost of living is expensive, but when you compare it to us nurses in Orange County or other parts of the country, the cost of living is not much different, but the salary is still a good 25 bucks more an hour.

Hope that gives you a little insight.