Sending out the AN beacon to all of you experienced nurses out there.
I've probably spent hundreds of hours comparing cost of living, quality of living, nursing salary relative to cost of living, weather, culture, and access to graduate nursing programs in about 500 cities around the US.
For most of these points, Nor Cal, with the exception of San Fran/San Jose, comes out on top. It seems that due to the efforts of the California Nurses Association (union), Nor Cal nurses outside of the Bay area make the best salary in the nation relative to cost of living, and have excellent mandatory patient ratios. This puts moderately-sized Cali cities in the upper 2/3rds of the state on top: Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno, Bakersfield, etc. I've read that the nurses who work in these cities do not feel inclined to travel because their jobs are so cushy and well-paid relative to the other hospital positions out there.
Is this true? Or all just an illusion? What do you love (or hate) about working in Nor Cal? It seems like these cities lack some of the elements that make other cities with lower relative salaries awesome (i.e. weather in So Cal, nature in Colorado, culture in San Fran and Seattle, etc.)
I know that getting a job in Cali is damned-near impossible, but for an experienced nurse with a job in hand, would it be the panacea that it's made out to be?
It is a bit late, but congrats on passing the boards and getting a job! I had thought you were still in school.
Starting pay and 5 year pay is important if you are looking for a permanent job and considering, for example, several local jobs. Apparently that is not your long term plan but it is for most and I was speaking generically. 3 plus million nurses have staff jobs, only 30,000 have travel jobs.
You know what eBay is right? An auction site that allows you to place bids. Some hospitals have instituted similar tech internally that allows staff to bid on unfilled shift needs. Lowest bidder wins. Both parties win!
NedRN
1 Article; 5,785 Posts
It is a bit late, but congrats on passing the boards and getting a job! I had thought you were still in school.
Starting pay and 5 year pay is important if you are looking for a permanent job and considering, for example, several local jobs. Apparently that is not your long term plan but it is for most and I was speaking generically. 3 plus million nurses have staff jobs, only 30,000 have travel jobs.
You know what eBay is right? An auction site that allows you to place bids. Some hospitals have instituted similar tech internally that allows staff to bid on unfilled shift needs. Lowest bidder wins. Both parties win!