posibility of landing my first RN job in the big city?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey guys, so I'm going to graduate with an associates in nursing, and be a certified RN in about a year and a half. It's been my goal, and somewhat a dream of mine to move to downtown san francisco (from NC) once I graduate, get a somewhat decent apartment downtown and settle into a nice nursing job that pays at least 60 grand a year (according to google this is below the lower income of nursing there).

So here's the thin, I want to know how practical this is. The more research I'm doing the more I'm seeing that every job that's posted online requires a minimal of a years experience in that particular field, some require a bachelors, and the more I think about it - there has got to be a lot of competition in a downtown metropolitan area like San Francisco.

So am I wishing on something too soon? I want to move out there quickly, but not stupidly. So if it means spending another year gaining experience and working on my bachelors I can do that (grudgingly :p), but I'm just wondering if anyone has insight on this matter.

Thanks guys :)

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Specializes in Trauma, Burn, Crticial Care.

Secure an internship before moving otherwise you may not find anything. Consider other area's to such as Baltimore and Washington, DC (big cities) or even Houston, TX has opportunities.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

I second considering Washington D.C. However, unless you go to California or NYC, you are probably going to start out less than $60,000. I'm an experienced nurse in D.C. and I make good money compared to my previous mid-western place of employment, but I do not make that much. You may want to look at forums for specific states to try to gauge salaries for various areas.

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With all the love and compassion in the world (I truly want you and I both to get jobs in the bay area, but) with an associates and no experience, there is no way you will get hired as an RN in SF, now or any time with in the next 5 years.

all the best

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Hey thanks for the quick and honest replies :).

Unfortunately I'm not interested in other big cities ha, just SF. Iccuci thanks for the honest reply, if it means I have to spend an extra year gaining experience and more education than so be it, that's life right? Always one extra obstacle.

But this does lead me to two more questions -

does working as a vet-tech count as experience? In NC there is no law that you have to have any cirtification to work as a vet tech. I make just above minimal wage to work with animals. I, daily, draw blood, give sub-q injections, give fluids, take x-rays, aid in surgeries, aiding in the monitoring of heart rates during surgeries - and several other things that are arguably harder to do on an animal than a person. So does this count as decent experience when applying for my first nursing job?

And how about the Sacramento area, is that better? I have friends out there I could stay with while looking for a job. I realize there is another topic identical to this question except for experience, so feel free to ignore this ha.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU.

Sadly, I think that your dream is quite unrealistic at the moment. I work in San Francisco. Local nursing schools are practically spewing new grads (most of them with BSNs), but hospitals in this area are for the most part no longer hiring anyone without nursing experience. The students I've kept in touch with who have precepted on my unit have all had to leave the state to find work. These students were awesome and would have been welcomed gladly as co-workers by the nurses who precepted them, but the Powers That Be will not hire new grads when there are so many experienced nurses looking for work.

Please do no move to San Francisco if you don't have a job lined up before you get here. This is not a cheap city. Rent is high, and landlords require first, last, and security deposit along with references and a credit check most of the time. Almost everything costs more than it does anywhere else.

The best way to achieve your dream of living and working as a nurse in SF is to get at least a year's experience working where you live now. Then you should apply to be a travel nurse and have your agency send you to SF. If you like the hospital where you are sent to work, and they like you, it is not usually hard to get hired on permanently.

Also, I don't think it is much easier to get new grad jobs in Sacto than in SF, mostly because a lot of SF new grads are looking for work there too! And fyi, as useful as your vet tech experience will be to you in your nursing practice, nobody who interviews you is going to count it toward your years of nursing experience.

Good luck. Stay focused on your dream. Maybe we'll be working together in SF one day.

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Specializes in Critical Care/Coronary Care Unit,.

The nursing job market is tough right now even for experienced nurses. I know it's your dream to move to SF, but you also want to be a realist. Go ahead and apply and if you somehow secure a decent paying job, go for it. However, in my opinion, you'll be better off...if you get your experience close to home first and then move where you want to go. Try to secure a job at home first if you can...when you first start as a nurse, you're not going to like it...and you're going to need that familial/friend support system. When you go to a new job w/experience, your pay will be much better. So still go for your dream...although you may need to put it on hold for a bit. Good luck.

PS. Your vet tech experience is work experience...but not nursing experience. However, I don't see it hurting you on a resume.

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Sadly, I think that your dream is quite unrealistic at the moment. I work in San Francisco. Local nursing schools are practically spewing new grads (most of them with BSNs), but hospitals in this area are for the most part no longer hiring anyone without nursing experience. The students I've kept in touch with who have precepted on my unit have all had to leave the state to find work. These students were awesome and would have been welcomed gladly as co-workers by the nurses who precepted them, but the Powers That Be will not hire new grads when there are so many experienced nurses looking for work.

Please do no move to San Francisco if you don't have a job lined up before you get here. This is not a cheap city. Rent is high, and landlords require first, last, and security deposit along with references and a credit check most of the time. Almost everything costs more than it does anywhere else.

The best way to achieve your dream of living and working as a nurse in SF is to get at least a year's experience working where you live now. Then you should apply to be a travel nurse and have your agency send you to SF. If you like the hospital where you are sent to work, and they like you, it is not usually hard to get hired on permanently.

Also, I don't think it is much easier to get new grad jobs in Sacto than in SF, mostly because a lot of SF new grads are looking for work there too! And fyi, as useful as your vet tech experience will be to you in your nursing practice, nobody who interviews you is going to count it toward your years of nursing experience.

Good luck. Stay focused on your dream. Maybe we'll be working together in SF one day.

Yea I thought I might be stretching my vet-tech stuff too much.

So I'll focus on the other areas of nursing that really interest me at the moment first :). I'm not big on rushing life, since it's not smart to spend years hoping for something, when life has never once given me exactly what I asked for in the exact way I asked for it, but ultimately everything comes together and many times in better ways than I could have imagined. It is what it is. In the meantime I'll gain experience here in NC, get some entry level nursing work, go ahead and sign up for something else I always wanted to do - overseas nursing, specifically in the middle east, (which I figure would be great resume material for any job), and then... eventually, I'll end up where I'm supposed to be.

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Save about 10 grand, and have your credit in tip top shape too...probably more expensive than NYC even.

Theres also the option of Silicon Valley hospitals which in my opinion have better weather. The big city SF is VERY foggy, and summer can be very raw and cold.

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Save about 10 grand, and have your credit in tip top shape too...probably more expensive than NYC even.

Theres also the option of Silicon Valley hospitals which in my opinion have better weather. The big city SF is VERY foggy, and summer can be very raw and cold.

That's actually one of the reasons I really like SF :p, every time I'm up there it's the perfect temp. From what I understand, it's a lot like Monterrey where the temp doesn't really fluctuate year round, it stays a cool damp 50 degrees except for the rare rain and occasional warm sun.

My credit score right now is around 655, my goal is to have it in the 700s before graduation which is doable. By the time I graduate all my dings from my stupid early adult life will be at their 5 year mark (so not off my record, but not making as big of an impact). And from what research I've done, it's actually a bit cheaper (apartment rental wise) than manhatten, actually significantly cheaper. For a nice studio in SF I'm looking at 1,500 a month (based on google searches :p) as compared to that same amount in Manhattan, I'm looking at a dump studio where I'll likely be mugged and raped leaving my apartment. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I am not speaking from personal experience :).

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SF is slightly less expensive these days...part of that is the economy in CA which is AWFUL.

Beware California it is volatile state these days economically. The state is basically bankrupt.

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Sorry to be a downer, but this sounds like a bad idea for any number of reasons.

We all know the job market for new grads is soft, so I won't beat that horse. Let's assume you get this job making $60k/year. It might sound like a lot of money to you now, but what your posting seems like you might not have a lot of real world experience with budgeting and being responsible for all your living expenses.

$60k works out to $5k a month. That is before taxes, insurance, 401k, etc. Realistically you'll probably be looking closer to $3k after taking those things into account. You are willing to rent an apartment for $1500/month. That is HALF your take home pay. Sure, you can do it if you don't want to do much of anything else besides live in SF, but it isn't smart. What happens if you lose that job? Not to mention you are going to need to put a lot of money down on that apt. before you even have been working long enough to save up. Not trying to be rude, but to be honest your credit score is not good. That is an indicator of not making wise financial decisions. The information you laid out seems to dovetail with that assessment as well.

My suggestion would be to get a job where the cost of living is reasonable. Save your money. Work to improve your credit. Once you have done these things, your prospects in SF would be much better. SF likely isn't going to fall into the ocean any time soon. It will be there when you are really ready.

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