New Grad Jobs

Ruby Vee, BSN · May 4, 2017

I would love advice from current nurses, especially if you are in the Boston area.
What is the market like for a new grad with a BS? Schools tell everyone that jobs are virtually guaranteed, but I don't know if I should drink that Kool-Aid.
I am currently at stay at home mom of 4 kids, and I would prefer to find a part-time job after graduation. Is that possible, or do you need to work full-time to 'put in your time' before you can go part-time? Are there jobs that would make it possible to scale back hours in the summer to be home with my kids more?
I think I would prefer to work in a hospital, but would there be more flexible options that still provide good experience for a new grad?
I appreciate any input and advice!

I'm not in Boston, so I won't speak to that. What I will say is that if you choose to work in a hospital (and it's a great place to start your nursing career and develop basic nursing skills that you will draw upon no matter where you go later on), most employers want you to work full time for the first year while you're learning the job. After that, they're usually more flexible with their requirements and per diem is the most flexible of all.

snowflower2016 · May 4, 2017

I was thinking of working only part-time when I graduated.....a friend who is a nurse manager (and who has been a nurse for 20+ years) told me that no hospital will hire a new grad part-time. Her advice to me was to work full-time for at least 6 months and then ask my manager if I could go part-time. Here I am now at the 6 month mark and I have no intention of going part-time. 3 12s is very manageable for me even as a single mom of 2 teens and I love that my health insurance premiums are lower with my full-time status.

law2mom2nurse · May 5, 2017

Thanks for the feedback. It sounds like I should make plans to go full-time and then see where that takes me. I am glad you find it so manageable. Do you have to work nights? What shifts have you found most manageable with kids?

snowflower2016 · May 18, 2017

Most new grads work nights and I was originally hired to work overnights. There was an opportunity to work day shift while I was still on orientation and I accepted it. I'm a single mom so the overnight shift was going to mean finding an adult to stay overnight with my kids....finding care during the day is much easier so I was overjoyed with the day shift opportunity. It seems like most new grads I know like to work nights because it's a little less hectic and I've known people to switch back to nights after working the day shift.

I don't think you can be too picky as a new grad. Depending on what specialty you are interested in it may be YEARS before you could move to days. I have a new grad friend in NICU where the waiting list for day shift is ~7 years! It's probably similar for L&D.