Moving from Chicago to Texas (Austin, Houston or Dallas)

vera4130 · Aug 25, 2013

The job market is pretty tough, especially for ADN nurses. CNA experience may or may not help you. The Dallas market is flooded with new grads because there are so many schools in the area. Starting pay for RNs is $22-24 more or less.

With a 5 year old, I would make sure to look at school districts and find a GOOD one.

I think you'll find Texas is a lot more diverse than most people think. :)

allnurses Guide · Aug 25, 2013

The new grad market in Texas is VERY tight in the major metro areas. Most hospitals are only considering BSN educated nurses for their internships. Definitely do NOT make a move here until you have a firm written job offer with salary and start date in hand. I have read many times on here of people moving here without a job lined up thinking it would be easy to get one once here. Not true. Many of them have been stuck with no way to move back to where they are from and no way to support themselves. If you have a child this is triple important to pay attention to.

Internships at this time tend to happen twice a year - June and January start dates. Interviewing and hiring for these happen one to three months or more prior to the start date. Therefore you will need to be looking before graduation even happens. If you wait, you will miss out and everything will be full before you even get a shot at it. Parkland in Dallas at this time will still hire ADNs for their internships. Most of the other hospitals will not. Competition is very fierce with hundreds of applicants for each slot. Make sure you have a great resume with good grammar.

You will have better luck in the smaller towns and remote, rural areas where, to be blunt, nobody really wants to live due to the isolation. Think Texas/Mexico border towns, small one-horse types of towns that may have a small community hospital. You will need to entertain working at rehab centers and nursing homes, as these are far more likely to hire you than the hospitals.

Best of luck with your schooling.

Valnoslo · Sep 1, 2013

Hi-

I just moved to Austin with as a new ADN. The market is tough, especially if you don't have contacts/networking or a BSN (the universities here are pumping out BSN nurses who have done there clinicals at the local hospitals.. which makes competition a bit more fierce). But I did get some interviews with SNF and psych facilities. I also interviewed for the new graduate program at Seton Hospital, although I didn't get an offer (I think this was because I had to interview over the phone and because I lacked CNA experience, which I was told they were looking for). If you are truly interested in working at a hospital through a new grad program, plan on traveling to TX during your last semester of school to interview/go to open houses. This is the only way to get in.

Definitely do some research- but if you are determined, have some good references, a good resume.. Well anything is possible. Just a little harder =)

Best of luck!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Sep 3, 2013

On a priority-ranking of issues that you should be concerned about, the fact that you are AA should be at the bottom... As a PP said, Tx is very diverse. According to 2010 census, Houston is the most diverse city in the nation. If your goal is to work in acute care, the lack of a BSN will prove to be a much more important issue.

Do not make any type of move before you have a confirmed job. Moving away from your support system into an unfamiliar environment will be difficult enough - especially with a small child. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but Tx is not everyone's cup of tea. Please be cautious.