Looking for a new job out of state

[babilidose]

Hi all,

this is my first time actually using the forums. I hope i get some good feedback. I'm a student in Atlanta ga and i graduate in may (FINALLY!!!!!). I have a job as a nurse extern at a large hospital in an ICU. It's fairly certain that i'll get hired after passing my boards. I think this would be a great learning experience and it's a great opportunity... BUT( and there's always a but) I have no desire to stay in Atlanta once school is over. I know the market is tough and it'll be difficult to find a job in another state as a new grad, let alone in an ICU. My question to everyone is should i just suck it up and stay here and keep a pretty good job in an awesome unit, or attempt to find a job in another place where i haven't networked myself. I feel sort of lost about the whole thing. I'm not sure what the conditions of the contract are, i just know yoiu're required to sign a 2 year contract in a critical care area and two years just feels like such a long time! I'd love to pick up and move to seattle or portland ( i'm originally from san diego) but as i look for jobs, i don't think the prospects are very good.

any info or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[llg, PhD, RN]

1. It's really difficult to move to a strange place where you don't know anybody. (I know that because I have done it several times in my life.)

2. The transition from student to staff nurse is usually a difficult one -- often very stressful for the new grad. It is made easier by experiences such as externships, but it is still stressful for most people.

3. Are you emotionally prepared to go through that stress with no friends ... sitting alone in a little apartment at the end of day (or night shift) that made you cry and feel inadequate? (You WILL have such shifts. We ALL do.)

My suggestion is this: If you have another area of the country where you have support family and/or friends -- and want to move there -- then OK, search for a job in that region. However, I would NOT recommend a new grad moving to a region where they would have no source of support or social life. Invest at least another 2 years in making that transition and becoming a competent nurse before you move to an area where you would have no social support.

[RNmeee]

I suggest you do not move. Why? Job market all over the country is BAD. To get a job offer in ICU for a new grad is awesome. You said you want to possibly move to seattle or portland...I am from seattle and I do not have hospital job and yes I came from out of state. There is barely any openings around this area. It is very frustrating. Many new grads are resorting to home health jobs. So I say stay there for couple of years , suck it up, then make your move. All the best to you!

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

If you have family or close friends in Seattle or Portland go for it. Don't settle for Atlanta. The entire time you are there you will be wondering "what if". I know from experience as a second degree student. I picked a nursing school in a city where I did not have friends my age and just knew older people and no family I was close with. It affected me in school. I got really depressed, my key family member who always helped me transition when I moved had past away a year and half before. those things messed up my concentration and I failed a class the first time in my life.

I am actually in a similar situation now. I work at a place and can get a job after I am done in May. Great hospital but my social life will be wack. I have a job interview in another state where my family is within a few hours and I know people in the area. I put that at the top of my list. I do have loans to pay so I am trying to get the heck out of where I am at. I rather not settle again as I learned. If I was to settle I would hate the job.