I am not an RN graduate yet, but will be soon enough. I am thinking ahead because I forsee a huge challenge as far as finding my first official RN job. I am a single mother, my child will be 7 years old when I plan to take the NCLEX and then start job searching. My child's father is not in the picture, and my family is far and unable to help. I am really on my own. Anyone else in a similar situation worried about employment as a new grad RN?
In a perfect world, I would have loved to do a residency program in a hospital. I am located in Southern California and thats what most of my classmates are going into. However, in my situation I feel these are the 2 options really available to me:
1) Find a clinic job that is M-F 8hr day shifts that is also open to hiring new grads. (Downside, the pay is so low, around $20-25/hr. for new grads. For California thats about the lowest I've seen for pay)
2) Work in a hospital anyways, will likely be asked to do nights and rotating weekends, which would mean I would be relying heavily on a sitter/nanny to watch my child. Finding a sitter who would be willing to put up with my variable schedule would mean probably paying a sitter $15-20/hr at minimum, however if im working in a hospital here in CA I could expect to earn $35-40/hr. Still that means after paying the sitter, I am netting potentially only $15-20/hr...
There are so many RNs out there that are single mothers, have you ever had this dilemma? How did you handle it and still earn enough to support yourself and your kid(s)? I'm at a loss.
