Nursing Shortage= Thousands of Unemployed New Grads?

[Hypnotica]

Hi Everyone,

I'm starting nursing school in April. On this site, I've seen many of you complain about not being able to find work after having graduated. This scares me, especially since I live in CA. I know that there's a significant shortage of nurses all around the nation, so one would think that employers would be begging YOU to work for them. As we all know, that's not the case. It doesn't make sense unless employers simply can't afford to have as many nurses as they need. I'm wondering if you all can enlighten me as to why many are having a more than difficult time finding a job given the shortage. Maybe give me some facts or statistics of where it's easiest to find a nursing job. I already know I live in the worst nursing economy. Would it be easier to find a job in the lesser populated states? I am willing to move after nursing school, but only to Washington (state), Arizona, Florida, or North Carolina. Do any of you know what the competition level is to get a job in those states? Just curious, what is New York's nursing economy like specifically near Manhattan area?

I'm really excited to go through nursing school, but I'm worried because many of you grads are unemployed!

I could have googled it, but I think you guys are a better source.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

It was all over the internet and everyone was talking about it. I read articles saying that it was the best profession to go into because you can find a job anywhere.. I was hoping to set myself apart by specializing, but I guess that's what everyone is doing. Anyway, this is not good news for me:(. Thanks for your post.

Edit: I wanted to add this:

"Demand for Nurses

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics project there will be continued demand in the labor market for nurses."

This is what my nursing school includes in the nursing section.

There is no shortage right now. It may come back....but I don't think it will ever be what it once was. This thread I think will be of interest to you....https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/california-state-nursing/no-jobs-nurses-739596.html#post6584546.....and this thread.......https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/no-nursing-shortage-752411.html as well as this one that a CNN reporter has joined with allnurses and is writing an article about this very thing.....https://allnurses.com/first-year-after/new-grad-nurses-807138.html

Schools continue to advertise this and promote this without releasing/posting the information about how many new grads are employed and how long it take them to find positions. They are very quick to take your money for tuition.....but are reticent to release what the market is reflecting. Many new grads are unable to find acute care positions and many facilities are not hiring new grads without a BSN. Specializing is a great way to secure some positions but all specialties require 1-2 years bedside experience (for the most part) and don't hire new grads into these positions. (another fact nursing schools don't fill you in on.)

It does vary from location to location but the fact remains....it is difficult to find positions. some reports have California nurse unemployment as high as 47%. The areas you have chosen are high destination areas. I suggest you check out those states forums and read about job availability.....but remember you will be a new grad and will have that much more difficulty finding a position. You will also have to apply for licensure in those states for your license dos not automatically transfer.

I can give you just as many articles that say there is no shortage......

Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

Rebecca Hendren, for HealthLeaders Media, August 10, 2010

It's that time of year again. Graduating nursing students are preparing to take the NCLEX and are looking for their first jobs. This year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.

Reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.

These new RNs entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. They were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.

So what happened? Has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?

The short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there.

The recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. Nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. They are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.

Nursing Shortage Is Over in U.S. Until Retirement Glut Hits

A nursing shortage in the U.S. that led to a decade-long push for new hires and more graduates in the field is over, at least until 2020 when a glut of retirees will leave a new gap to fill, researchers said. Nursing Shortage Is Over in U.S. Until Retirement Glut Hits - Bloomberg

The Big Lie? Medscape: Medscape Access requires registration but is free

Without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."In other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a BSN later on. Who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? Whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. The jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.

Nursing shortage largely a myth for job seekers...St paul Minn. — There's There has been a steady stream of reports predicting a dearth of nurses in the coming years. One recent forecast from The American College of Medical Quality projects a national shortage of 300,000 to 1 million nurses in 2020.

So When Marc Anders decided to switch careers from bartending to nursing, he thought he would have it made.

"There There was a perception that you could go into the job and kind of call your shots," said Anders, 42. "I could go in, pick my hours, see how many days I want to work, get benefits, not work weekends and go where I wanted to go."

Anders This partly based that view on the experience of his sister-in-law, who was offered big hiring bonuses, along with multiple job offers, when she graduated from nursing school about a decade ago.

But As Anders started a two-year nursing program at Minneapolis Community & Technical College in 2008, he began hearing that hospitals were tapering off hiring and that and landing a job could be tough.

"I I just knew it was going to take more time," he said.

Anders He did get a job out of nursing school, but was laid off last October when the employer shut down, around the time of his second child's birth

I am not trying to squash your "dream" but Praemonitus praemunitus or forewarned is forearmed ...plan ahead.

I wish you the best.

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

new grad salary in the 70s or 80K? try 50-60K. I make 60K if i work a 40hr week, take home pay is 36-39K after taxes, health benefits, etc. This is one of the higher starting salaries for nurses in NJ/NYC area and among my fellow new grads (many of whom are still looking for work a year after graduation).

I was a new grad in 2012 and my starting salary in the NYC metro area was mid-70s ... so yes, the original post is accurate.

[funfunfun550, BSN, RN]

your poll has a fault ..it did not say not to to respond if say you graduated 30 years ago...we were highly recruited as entire nursing classes for jobs BEFORE we graduated back then...times they are a changin...

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I agree that your poll is flawed unless you are speaking to those who graduated 2009 and later. Also, you have to take into account prior work experience (i.e. CNA work) and location, location, location!

[Hypnotica]

your poll has a fault ..it did not say not to to respond if say you graduated 30 years ago...we were highly recruited as entire nursing classes for jobs BEFORE we graduated back then...times they are a changin...

Sorry about that. I thought it was understood I meant the current times (graduated no more than 8 years ago to the present). I don't care about 30 years ago because it doesn't affect me. I will change it if it will let me.

[Hypnotica]

I agree that your poll is flawed unless you are speaking to those who graduated 2009 and later. Also, you have to take into account prior work experience (i.e. CNA work) and location, location, location!

You are correct, but it was sort of a general poll to just get a feel for how many people were able to become employed shortly after graduation. Thank you for taking the time to point that out to me, though! :]

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Here's my story. . .

I completed a 12-month LPN/LVN program in late 2005, got licensed in early 2006, and secured my first nursing position one day after receiving my temporary license. However, this took place during 2006, which was a true shortage year when the only qualifications for getting hired were a license and a pulse.

The so-called 'nursing shortage' started to disappear in 2008 due in part to the economic meltdown, and the years 2009 and 2010 were really bad for hiring purposes.

Fast forward to 2010. I earned my RN license in 2010 and the only job I could find was a part-time 24-hour per week position at a nursing home with no benefits. In addition, this job was not advertised and the only reason I got it was because I personally knew the manager when I worked with her a couple of years previously.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I've also written extensively about the challenging nursing job market:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-first-job/i-see-lots-745802.html

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/nursing-not-recession-742084.html

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/no-nursing-shortage-752411.html

[Hypnotica]

@TheCommuter

Thank you for posting. I greatly appreciate it!

Thank you to everyone else that posted, too. You've in a way calmed my fears and I'm confident that when I graduate, I'll somehow find a job somewhere. I loved reading all your stories and can't wait to have my own story.

[sixty3dayswithSarah, BSN, CNA, RN]

Still Looking!

This is sad! I seriously feel like a loser. I know this post is fr NG, so I cant say I am experiencing exactly what your feeling - but I was laid off in the March of 2012 and its been so dry since. I did enroll in some grad courses to keep hours, do clinical and I volunteer with the public.

I am now thinking screw this look for some fake job that 200 ppl apply for (and the minority thing CANT have already been warn out? AA, Latino/a's/ NA/ Immigrants/ multiple subcultures of goth, deaf, blind, sick, old, Jewish, you, happy, crazy, male,

Anyone looking at going for a Masters in something outside of nursing yet?

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Sorry about that. I thought it was understood I meant the current times (graduated no more than 8 years ago to the present). I don't care about 30 years ago because it doesn't affect me. I will change it if it will let me.

I didn't see anything to lead me to an 8 year limit, but since it's in the 1st year forum, I Refrained from answering.

30 years ago, there was a small glut, and the hospital hired 25 of the 30 diploma grads who applied for these non-budgeted positions. I was one of the lucky 25.

[stickit34]

There is no nursing shortage, and I live in rural Pennsylvania. All of the hospitals are filled with nurses fresh from the local nursing schools who churn them out faster and faster. While in nursing school, I worked very hard to be marketable. I joined Sigma Theta Tau, I networked the local hospitals and made connections, I was president of the SNA and took every opportunity to be in a leadership position. I also secured a job as a nursing assistant, which ultimately got me my current nursing position. Long story short - it's very hard, but doable. You just have to seek every opportunity and excel at it in any way that you can. Get your ACLS, PALS, etc, get a nursing assistant job while in school. No one said it was easy but it's definitely worth it. :)