...It would be THIS difficult to find a nursing position.
My story..
I decided to pursue nursing about 5 years ago when I felt a great tug on my heart that this is the field where I belong. I'm pretty sure its what I was born to do...I feel it in my bones.
So I did something "courageous" or stupid rather - I quit my fairly good job with the city to attend nursing school.
Ok backing up a bit. At the time I was shopping around for schools, there were great debates about ASN vs BSN and top (name brand) schools vs regular not-so-name-brand schools. So in my pride and my ignorance, I decided that I wanted to go to a reputable institution. One whose name is recognized throughout the country, thinking that this would give me some kind of advantage. WRONG.
So upon acceptance, they recommended that the students should not work during the program. I worked during my first semester because I needed to eat and pay my rent...had no choice. I struggled. So during my second semester and beyond, I didn't work which mean't taking out extra loan money in order to survive.
I graduated! Hallelujah! But nobody told me that:
- the fact that I did not have an externship during school was going to tremendously hurt me and make me undesirable to employers
- male nurses were favored over female nurses (the male students in my class had jobs BEFORE they graduated. I know some of them through school, and I must say that I will not feel comfortable letting them take care of my family members. So the fact that they get hired faster simply because they are male, something is wrong with that picture)
- I would have $100k in student debt - for a Bachelor's degree that means nothing if you have NO EXPERIENCE.
- I would possibly have to move to another state - leaving my life behind - in order to get experience
- The name brand school means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and does more harm $$$ than good.
- There is abolutely NO nursing shortage in my city. If there is, its not that serious or detrimental since the competition for nursing positions are pretty fierce.
- I would be paying $1038.00 per month for 10 years in student debt (unless I find a job that's willing to pay for a portion of it)
To add insult to injury, I failed the NCLEX for the first time (after doing fairly well in school) due to the stress of being unemployed and having every other door shut in my face. I'm now preparing to take classes to take it a second time...it can't get any worse than this.
I don't mean to sound whiny or bitter, but I should have taken the "cheap" route and go for my ASN then work on my BSN while working. However, they're cutting back on the ASN programs in my city (Philadelphia) for several reasons, but this is causing nursing education to be a lot more expensive (that was sort of a side note). I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'm unemployed and it is such a dark place to be in. I'm either over qualified or under qualified for jobs. I'm looking for Tech positions while studying for the NCLEX but I'm even having a hard time with that because of "no experience." Its absolutely ridiculous.
Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated. Yes I've already considered moving to another state as hard as that will be for me...I'm prepared to make that sacrifice. But boy oh boy...a huge part of me regret the last 4 years of my life when it comes to my choices with my education...so whoever's out there reading this, learn from my mistakes.
Gotchya...thanks for the constructive criticism...however, I wasn't blaming anyone. Sometimes when you're young, silly and stepping out on faith, you make bad choices...life smacks ya in the face unexpectedly...it happens...I vented about it and now I'm moving on. Do I wish I had more guidance? Nothing is wrong with that. Where I'm from, that's what people do. They guide the young. However I didn't have that and I'm not angry no one told me, I'm simply angry for not knowing.
Also seeing my male classmates get a job even before they have a license while the females who did do externships and graduated with honors struggle, do make me wonder a bit...just a wee bit. Don't take my post personally if you are a male. The truth stinks sometimes. Sorry if you are frustrated with new grads' frustration and their irresponsibility of not knowing everything when they stepped out to pursue their career. Your attitude shows that you have absolutely no clue what its like to have a hope shut down or doors shut in your face...hence the self-righteousness. You don't understand. I get it.
Anyway..hopefully someone thinking about going to nursing school reads this post and make a better decision than I did.
Also seeing my male classmates get a job even before they have a license while the females who did do externships and graduated with honors struggle, do make me wonder a bit...just a wee bit. Don't take my post personally if you are a male. The truth stinks sometimes. Sorry if you are frustrated with new grads' frustration and their irresponsibility of not knowing everything when they stepped out to pursue their career. Your attitude shows that you have absolutely no clue what its like to have a hope shut down or doors shut in your face...hence the self-righteousness. You don't understand. I get it.
There you go with the sexist ******** again. Let. it. go. I'd like to think my 2 externships, capstone, active involvement in organizations and networking within my hospital got me the job I have today and not what is between my legs. Some of us just know how to play the game better. And I am saying this as my class had close to 100% job offers by the time we all graduated and I was the only guy. Makes you go hmmm. Maybe these "honors" kids are selling a bad product...themselves.
...It would be THIS difficult to find a nursing position.
I decided that I wanted to go to a reputable institution. One whose name is recognized throughout the country, thinking that this would give me some kind of advantage. WRONG.
I graduated! Hallelujah! But nobody told me that:
- the fact that I did not have an externship during school was going to tremendously hurt me and make me undesirable to employers
- male nurses were favored over female nurses (the male students in my class had jobs BEFORE they graduated. I know some of them through school, and I must say that I will not feel comfortable letting them take care of my family members. So the fact that they get hired faster simply because they are male, something is wrong with that picture)
- I would have $100k in student debt - for a Bachelor's degree that means nothing if you have NO EXPERIENCE.
- I would possibly have to move to another state - leaving my life behind - in order to get experience
- The name brand school means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and does more harm $$$ than good.
- There is abolutely NO nursing shortage in my city. If there is, its not that serious or detrimental since the competition for nursing positions are pretty fierce.
- I would be paying $1038.00 per month for 10 years in student debt (unless I find a job that's willing to pay for a portion of it)
I don't mean to sound whiny or bitter,
You do sound whiny AND bitter! Allow me to be blunt, I promise the end of my post will be alot nicer than what I plan to say right now.
Welcome to reality....where you have to look out for yourself. Nobody told you, well you clearly didn't ask the right people (if you even bothered to ask at all) If you had bothered to do the research you would have seen that your prestigious 4 year program was expensive and strongly suggested their students do not work. If you had bothered to network and ask, someone would have told you that doing an externship would be helpful. You chose to take out $100k in student loans. Again, if you had bothered to research, you would have know that snobbery about the school name comes with a higher tuition bill. The most important thing to look at with nursing schools is their NCLEX pass rate. Did you even bother to look at the pass rate for your school. Not to beat a dead horse, but if you had done some research about your "Brand name" school.......
Finally, if you had bothered to research the job market at any time in your 4 years of school you would have found that there is no nursing shortage.
(Now enough of the blunt and harsh commentary)
Reality bites. Learn from this experience. Research!!!!! Don't expect that because you are paying outrageous sums of money to a school that it is going to tell you anything other than what is required. It would have been great if the faculty bothered to tell you and your fellow students that externships would be helpful, or that it is a really tough job market. They didn't tell you. They let you wander right into the storm without a warning.
Learn from this!! The one person you know you can alway count on is yourself. You know how smart you are, so use those smarts. Research!!!!!
I truly wish you the best of luck with your second NCLEX attempt and with your job search. Keep your chin up because you will make it though!
Your story is so sad. I really feel for you because I was in the exact same boat. Full-time dedicated BSN student in a top NS with good grades = guaranteed GN offer from major teaching hospital upon graduation, right? Thankfully for me I saw the light and got a PCT job a year before graduation which became the major reason why I got a GN job after graduation. I really don't know what to tell you except to thank you for posting the painful lesson that you learned, which I think it is that direct patient care experience is key to landing a job after graduation. I hope all the nursing students out there will pay heed.
It really does matter where you look for information.You still see it in the media "become a nurse! make a fortune! lots of jobs!" Very misleading. And of course a big name school will tell you that going there will get you a job.Best of luck.I hope you find something soon.
Thank you for recognizing the point of the post. Although I am frustrated I wasn't aware of certain things, the point was so that someone out there would read it and learn from my mistakes. That's how reality works - either someone tells you or you learn the hard way. People keep saying I didn't do research. You can research all you want on how to be a parent, but some things just come through good old fashion advice or trial and error. I love nursing. And as frustrated as I am, I know this is something that will make me stronger or more compassionate. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. I'm not going to give up!
Sir...I think its impossible for you to see my point because you are taking what I say personally. This is not about you. Let me attempt to use another example that's not so "sexist."
A fellow classmate of mine was worried that I would get a job faster than her simply because I'm West Indian (from the Caribbean). I didn't get offended because there is truth to what she was implying. She wasn't saying that someone was going to hand me a job because of my nationality, she was implying that because hospitals desire diversity on their floors, it is more likely for them to hire someone of another nationality. Its the same thing with males. How many males are on your floor? Take a walk on other hospital floors and see how many males you can count on one hand. I'm not saying that your awesomness didn't land you your job, I'm saying that hospitals want diversity. They want more men. They NEED more men. Diveristy is something that we also learned in school. It is a FACT...not an attack on your personal experience. The chances of a man getting hired faster than a woman is something that is very obvious because of the need. Now is it fair to just hire someone because they are a man or because of their nationality? No. Because not all men are fit for the job. Get it now? Because that was my final attempt to explain myself. Change your lens and relax a bit.
That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B
3,421 Posts
Edit: Nevermind.