New RN grad moving to Boston area

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2012

Newton is the richest town in the state so I wouldn't exactly expect to find affordable housing there. The average 3 bedroom house costs over $600,000 and the average family of 4 has a household income of close to $200,000. There are almost no jobs for new grads in Boston and hardly any jobs for experienced RNs in the hospitals. I worked at a Boston hospital for 5 years and they have been in the business of driving people away and not replacing them for a good 3-4 years. My old floor has had 12 people leave in the past year and has hired 5. As you said, all hospitals in Boston require BSN for new grads.

The hospitals in this area generally pay well with the union hospitals paying better than the non-union hospitals (a new grad at any of the union hospitals in the city makes more than I was making when I left my job). I do not know how the nursing homes pay but generally think that this area is just saturated with health care professionals making it more difficult to get a job.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 24, 2012

Moved to the MA state forum

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2012

Newton is the richest town in the state so I wouldn't exactly expect to find affordable housing there. The average 3 bedroom house costs over $600,000 and the average family of 4 has a household income of close to $200,000. There are almost no jobs for new grads in Boston and hardly any jobs for experienced RNs in the hospitals. I worked at a Boston hospital for 5 years and they have been in the business of driving people away and not replacing them for a good 3-4 years. My old floor has had 12 people leave in the past year and has hired 5. As you said, all hospitals in Boston require BSN for new grads.
The hospitals in this area generally pay well with the union hospitals paying better than the non-union hospitals (a new grad at any of the union hospitals in the city makes more than I was making when I left my job). I do not know how the nursing homes pay but generally think that this area is just saturated with health care professionals making it more difficult to get a job.

I agree.......There are a couple Long Term Acute Care hospitals (Kindred) that hire regularly and pay pretty well but the staffing is marginal with a huge trun over....and the patients are medically complex and acutely ill.

The area in Boston MA is VERY expensive to live. Cost of living is outrageous until you get about 100 miles off the coast inland. NO bang for you buck here. New Hampshire is better but the job market in general is poorer here as it is in many parts of the country. I have a friend that got laid off when I did and has not been able to find gainful benefited employment since 2009. All per-diem. Pay is pretty good.....for a nurse with 10 years...around $25.00- $30.00/hr...union paying more than non-union.

Yllomia · Jun 24, 2012

Newton is a very nice city to live in. It's very surban and family oriented. I lived there for a year while I was in school. Surprisingly the costs of renting is a little bit less than in Boston proper, especially West Newton. Buying a place is another story.

The job market is challenging, but as long as your not picky and willing to commute you can probably find something. I started out in LTC and then moved out of state for a hospital job. I reccomend to start working on your BSN. It will help open up more doors for you and might be a good way to network in Boston.

Good luck with everything!

mama.RN · Jun 28, 2012

Try community hospitals and nursing homes outside of the city. Google to find the highest rated nursing homes, stay away from Kindred if you can. Very few jobs overall for new nurses in the Boston area. As far as searching for jobs, I like simplyhired.com....you can set it up so it emails you with new job listings according to what you're looking for including location. It searches other websites, hospital, medical practices/groups and nursing home job lists, etc. and compiles them into one list. You'll probably have to be patient though. Took me many months to find a decent job, and the same goes for most of my classmates. Good luck.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2012

Try community hospitals and nursing homes outside of the city. Google to find the highest rated nursing homes, stay away from Kindred if you can. Very few jobs overall for new nurses in the Boston area. As far as searching for jobs, I like simplyhired.com....you can set it up so it emails you with new job listings according to what you're looking for including location. It searches other websites, hospital, medical practices/groups and nursing home job lists, etc. and compiles them into one list. You'll probably have to be patient though. Took me many months to find a decent job, and the same goes for most of my classmates. Good luck.

So you worked at the infamous LTAC as well?

Proverbs 16:3 · Jul 5, 2012

i agree.......there are a couple long term acute care hospitals (kindred) that hire regularly and pay pretty well but the staffing is marginal with a huge trun over....and the patients are medically complex and acutely ill.
the area in boston ma is very expensive to live. cost of living is outrageous until you get about 100 miles off the coast inland. no bang for you buck here. new hampshire is better but the job market in general is poorer here as it is in many parts of the country. i have a friend that got laid off when i did and has not been able to find gainful benefited employment since 2009. all per-diem. pay is pretty good.....for a nurse with 10 years...around $25.00- $30.00/hr...union paying more than non-union.

i think the pay might a be a bit more, especially for someone with 10years. i only have 4 years and i was offered about $34 base pay at a non-union hospital in boston.

op, i also live in md and i'll tell you that your job prospects here in maryland are much better than ma considering the fact that you don't have a bsn. hospitals here hire adns, heck, you can be a manager at some of the hospitals here without a masters degree. in some cases you don't even need a completed bsn, just the fact that you're in a program getting it done.

most hospitals ny and higher will only hire a bsn and even with that, the market is so saturated. years ago, i know few hospitals in a certain part of pa that were only taking bsns.

get some experience here in maryland before moving up north. plus, boston is a very expensive. i can find cheaper housing in nyc and nyc pays more. yes, they're offering me a lot more than i make here in maryland but the cost of living there is quite high and i think maryland has a high cost of living compared to the part of pa where i came from (and pa pays higher, too). what i've learned is that once you've worked somewhere else, you get a higher pay raise when you switch jobs. i've only had a $1 pay raise in the last 4 years (68 cents of that was cost of living raise from 2 years ago). we arean't getting raises anymore. i know the new grads make more than i make so i ain't sitting here for much longer.

don't forget, ma license is $275, it costs more than ny and pa license combined. but you renew every 2 years compared to a maryland license where you have to renew on a yearly basis. and you can find a job in maryland. my hospital hires new grads all the time.

good luck.

umcRN, BSN, RN · Jul 5, 2012

It took a friend of mine 11 months after passing nclex to find a job in Massachusetts, and that was with her 5 years of CNA work at the Brigham (and do you think the brigham would hire her? ha, no). She applied to every doctors office, nursing home, acute care hospital, teaching hospital, community hospital that she could find. She finally got a job at a community hospital, geri-psych unit that she hates but recently accepted a position in North Carolina. I am also from MA but I moved away as soon as I graduated to Virginia and work in DC. In my experience (and what I have heard from friends and old classmates) Mass is not the place to be for nurses, especially new grads...even more so if you don't have a BSN

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 5, 2012

I think the pay might a be a bit more, especially for someone with 10years. I only have 4 years and I was offered about $34 base pay at a non-union hospital in Boston.
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The $25.00-$30.00......That's an average....some will be higher, some will be lower......average. Boston will pay more than the suburbs, (usually), Union more that non-union (usually). I live here and have practiced/managed/hired/negotiated union contracts......$25.00 to $30.00 is AVERAGE.

Smurfette752, BSN · Jul 7, 2012

I just passed my NCLEX in MA....over a year after I graduated, because I simply didn't have the money to pay for my license and the test....since I graduated I have applied for every single job under the sun in MA, CNA, PCA, RN, phlebotomist...I have found nothing. 99% f my classmates have left the state because they can't find jobs here. It SUCKS here. I am now looking elsewhere, and trying to figure out how to move with my son. ugh. I hate Massachusetts...I fear you will be very sorry if you move here.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2012

Yeah....MA is tough.....and expensive! I have a friend, a seasoned nurse, who has been unable to find part time/full time work since 2009. Plenty of casusal. plenty perdiem. No benefits.