Nursing Student reading the hard to find a job after grad posts

[amberbay_19]

Hello All,

So I visit this site often just trying to get a feel of what nurses go through, the starting salary in my area/surrounding area and just basically what to expect as a nurse now a days. I know everyone's experiences will be different but is it really that difficult to find job opportunities in being a new grad? I am a student starting in the Fall in an ADN program and I can't lie, even though I am not close by any means to finishing my nursing degree it does scare me a little to see a lot of you work your butts off and have such a difficult time finding jobs. I do take into account the state everyone is in as well but I just wanted to say to those of you keep pushing, your breakthrough is coming!

-Amber

[BeccaBSN]

I literally just received my offer yesterday! So pending my background/references I start in May. I live in northern NJ, the program I went to was in central NJ, and the hospital that hired me is in northern NJ. The good thing is there's a ton of hospitals in NJ and they're not all part of the same system so you can move around until you find somewhere you like :)

[amberbay_19]

I hear that! And congrats! I went to William Paterson univ for undergrad but my family is from south jersey so ill be living there and going to nursing school in philly. I def wanna move around, hope to be a travel nurse at some point :)

[meeta404]

Beccabsn, which hospital were you hired at?

[meeta404]

HI

Im an adn graduate, just took nclex june 23rd and was offered a hospital position, full time, yesterday in nj. I agree, I worked as an ED PCT, and also did a summer nurse externship. I didnt end up staying at the hospital where I had these experiences, but because I had them on my resume I was considered. Best of luck on your endeavors!!

[RunBabyRN]

One thing to consider is that you need to think outside the box. I am starting a position working corporate health fairs, I have a phone interview next week for a position as an infusion nurse, and I've applied to hundreds of other off-the-wall positions. These aren't in my desired area of nursing (ultimate goal is nurse midwifery), but they pay and they give me some experience. If the CNA to RN thing doesn't work out (and it may not- none of my classmates who worked as CNAs were offered RN positions, and we're BSNs), this is another path to consider. Also remember that when you START somewhere, they may be hiring ADNs, but things change, and they may change in the time that you work there. Never put all of your eggs in one basket.

Good luck!