looking to relocate

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Aug 1, 2019

I had two offers as a new grad, both were out of state. All they cared about is you getting your state license and you showing up on your first day of work. We have several openings at the children's hospital: mostly Med/Surg and PICU. We hire primarily from our Summer externs and PCAs that finished nursing school, but I was hired from out of state with no connection to the hospital. So, it is possible to get an out of state job.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Aug 7, 2019

On 8/1/2019 at 7:15 PM, Nicunurselina said:
My first question is- is it worth applying to jobs in different places before I actually move? will hospitals interview over the phone/computer, knowing someone has the intention to move? or is it better to move somewhere and then start looking for and applying to jobs?

Highly, highly, highly advise against moving before you get a job offer. The logistics are ridiculously complicated. You don't want to sign a year-long lease (and may not even be eligible for one without verification of employment) before you have a job figured out. The last thing you want is to be stuck taking a job you hate (likely non-NICU) because you're desperate and have to pay your bills. You could take short-term accommodations, but in that case--what do you do with your stuff? Do you really want to have to move again to permanent housing once you get settled in?

If you want to prove to a hospital that you're serious about moving, go ahead and get your license endorsed in that state. The hospital is going to assume that you're serious about moving to take the job (since applying to jobs is a pain, and most people don't do it unless they're serious about it).

On 8/1/2019 at 7:15 PM, Nicunurselina said:
Where are places that may be hiring for NICU nurses/ special care nursery nurses? I'm willing to look and consider basically anywhere.

The fact that you're willing to relocate will be very advantageous. I've said it again and again on this forum--the easiest way to break into NICU is to cast a wide net. Just keep applying to different jobs and different hospitals until you get an offer.

Honestly, there is no one geographical region where you're likely to get a NICU job. Different NICUs are in different states of flux (overstaffing vs. understaffing) at any given time, and there's no way to know what their needs are. You just have to hope that you happen upon a NICU that is short-staffed enough to be accepting applicants without previous NICU experience; if you send out enough applications, you'll eventually find one.

If I were in your position, I'd figure out a list of places you'd want to move, then start investigating the different hospitals/NICUs and submit applications for there. When I applied as a new grad, I looked up a list of hospitals in the states where I wanted to work, then went one-by-one to each hospital website investigating if they had a NICU, the number of NICU beds, and the overall acuity (level II vs. III vs. IV, ECMO/cooling/nitric capacity, etc.) I made a spreadsheet, then sent out 15+ applications based on what I found.

That said, I'd gently caution you about moving to a new place where you have no family, friends, or connections. During my second year of nursing, I moved to a fabulous new city because through all of my internet research it seemed like an incredible destination. At first I enjoyed the thrills and the sites, but the thrills quickly wore off and it became incredibly lonely. It was an adventure, but in the end it was pretty disruptive (and expensive) to uproot my life and move cross-country just to move back again two years later; in retrospect, I wish I'd waited until I had enough experience and then gone as a travel nurse. Granted, I'm an introvert, so it was hard for me to make a sufficient effort to establish a brand new social network; perhaps it could be more feasible for you than it was for me. To each his own.

Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN · Aug 27, 2019

How much money do you have,because if you move without a job in place,you will need lots of it to survive.There is a lot of good sound advice here take your time and plan your move.

NICUorbust, ADN · Oct 3, 2019

Five openings in Tucson AZ! I came in with nearly a year of med. fragile HH and adult med prior. If interested, PM me ? GREAT UNIT to work on, with a huge team effort. We are never alone, teaching hospital and always someone to lend a hand/help out. Our census has skyrocketed and we need more great nurses!

Nunya, BSN · Oct 25, 2019

Kind of late seeing this but Houston is a good place for NICU nurses; I worked there 6 months in 2013 and was happy with the hospital and the pay!