Nursing job prospects??

STL2008, RN · May 26, 2011

The job market is tight right now not with just nursing. I'm pretty sure they aren't being picky.

Vtfairy · May 26, 2011

Thanks. Gosh I hope people don't take offense to my "picky" comment...!! It just seems that many nurse graduates I have spoken too don't want to work in nursing homes and that's where the job openings seem to be which made me wonder if they were being too picky?

Jules A, MSN · May 26, 2011

Hi Nadine,

Much of it depends on the market in your area. Things are tighter everywhere than they have been in the past but many new grads are finding work and as you noted they may need to take whatever they can find until they have some experience or the economy recovers a bit. The best suggestion I can offer is to consider every clinical experience during school as if it were a job interview. Make contacts, go that extra mile to help the nurse you are working with, be willing to try anything with their support/guidance and let it be known that you would love to join their team. Even for experienced nurses the sweet jobs are often filled via word of mouth so imo forging those connections early is invaluable.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 26, 2011

Yeah, I'd say the market is tight . . .

Most of the class that I graduated with last year have not been able to find nursing jobs - either at hospitals or nursing homes. While nursing home jobs in the past may have been viewed as less desirable, that's no longer the case. In fact, in my part of the world nearly all the RN job openings at LTC's are now "experience required" with very few, if any new grads being hired.

Of those of my fellow graduates who are presently working as RN's, the overwhelming majority were already employed as techs or CNA's by the hospitals or nursing homes that eventually hired them as nurses. Looks to me like a very good strategy to maximize your chance for a job.

NAURN · May 26, 2011

There is still a nursing shortage here in GA.... I could go anywhere around me and pick a place. I just happen to like where I work. :)

As far as your goal for CNM... I am currently at that point in my career where I am ready to advance, and had I known then that I would want to advance, I would have done things a little bit differently. #1 I would have done my BSN right from the start. There are programs out there where you can get in a bridge program, but they are limited. I found one I like but if I don't get in, I will be stuck scrambling to get my BSN completed before I can get into grad school. (I don't even know what kind of program you are in, but just thought I would throw that out there.) Life gets away from you when you get out of nursing school, and you start your first job, have kids, etc etc etc and I think it would have been easier for me to just do that upfront. Also I found out the hard way that all associate degrees are not all equal. I have an associate's in applied science. I did not realize this is the worst degree to get if you are going to go back to school. If I don't get into this bridge program, I will have to take at least a whole year of general ed to equate my degree to basically an associate's in arts.... Yes, I got thru my pre reqs and nursing program in 3 years total, but I wish I had known, I might have made a different choice.

If the job market in your area is tight, take whatever you can get but always be looking for L&D jobs... though a lot of programs do not require this to be admitted, I would think it would help tremendously when going thru the program to have that L&D experience. Always think about what you want for future when you are making choices for today. If that makes any sense.

diva rn, BSN, RN · May 27, 2011

hi all
just joined the forum a few minutes ago as i have a question? i live here in vt and will be attending nursing school this fall. i have had a couple of friends who just graduated and they are having a tough time finding jobs.
are there just not nursing jobs out there or are graduates being too picky about which department they want to work in? some insight would be helpful and so would some tips about anything to do with school!
(pretty much just not nursing jobs out there)
my long term goal is to become a cnm or anything in the maternal/child area but i'm willing to start wherever to get experience!
have a wonderful day everyone:)
nadine

welcome,

take a few minutes and scan some of the threads, there have been many posts recently dealing with this issue. the job market is very tight now, some areas are worse than others but it is pretty much nation wide. i have posted probabley 6 times in the last 2 weeks regarding this. i live in south florida and it's flooded with new nurses. i know several rn's that graduated in dec of 2010 and still haven't found a thing. it is especially brutal for new grads. but it is also affecting experienced nurses as well. if you are willing to relocate, there are areas of the country where it isn't so tight, but there is no longer a nursing shortage...i go nuts when i hear that phrase.

it is not impossible, but it takes time, patience and persistence to get a nursing job now.

it really isn't like the "old days" when you could walk out of nursing school with your license in hand and right into the hospital--i was working as a "graduate nurse" before i got my nclex results (that was before it was computerized-do the math-a long time ago-and i had 3 job offers)...maybe the pendulum will swing the other way again, but right now it's tough.

but--don't give up...you will get a job...if this is really what you want to do!