Buran09

What are the nurse to patient ratios at your hospital?

Places with very low cost of housing are usually not very attractive to live at. Also cost of living is more than just a cost of the house. Cars, gasoline, travel, electronics, food, clothes, cable, internet, cell phone, etc. cost about the same regardless of the area.

I currently practice in California, and the pay here is pretty good. I just want to estimate how the quality of live (buying power) will change if I move to Melbourne.

I second that. The cost of nursing programs in Boston is outrageous. I don't have a statistical data, but my guess is that a tuition & fees are one of the highest in the country. For example: Regis - $840/credit Laboure - $725/credit. And what's interesting - during the last 5 year many schools is Boston have doubled the price. Unfortunately, nursing salaries did not increase that much. Are you ready to pay that much?

No. There is not.

Thank you, Karenmaire, Talaxandra! Will it be accurate to say that the RN with 4 years of experience earns 75000/year on average? I was looking into military nursing, but it seem like the make about 60000/year. What's the job market look like right now?

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So practically speaking how much a nurse with 4 years of experience earns in Melbourne? What's the job market look like for those in ICU? If you work is a specialty settings (like ICU) do they count all your hospital experience (like med/surge) or just a specialty experience? Can you choose to work nights/weekends or have to rotate through those shifts? Is there a lot of competition among nurses to work nights/weekends/holidays?

Sacramento's median income drops 1.4 percent - Sacramento Business Journal:

I second that. Finish your Bio degree. Then you will have a choice of going for nursing, pharmacy, or physical therapy.

I disagree with you. It's much better to get W and then A, rather than finishing the course with the bad grade. Even on medical school forums people were reporting that W does affect your chances as long as you re-took the class and got a good grade.

I know a person from the Bay Area who graduated last year. She got a job at Mercy Medical Center in Merced. It seems like they have a lot of open positions in the ER.

You JUST passed your NCLEX and you are complaining that you can't find a job?:hhmth: It's really funny how new grads assume that they will go to work on the day 2 after passing NCLEX! Another wrong assumption most new grads make is that they have to work in the big teaching hospitals only.

[sarcasm on] No, you won't survive here on $87000/year. Making $20/hr in the Midwest will be a much better option for you. [sarcasm off]

Can you clarify what pre specialy is?

If I were you I would not apply for OPT until one week before the last day of the class. And I would request a start day to be 3 month from the last day of the class. Passing NCLEX is not enough, you should obtain a license as well and that may take quite some time. You may end up in the situation when your OPT has already started but you have no license.

You fear about the employer offering you less money is irrational. I should say that with only one year of OPT and a current job market situation you should be worried about not getting hired at all. Although being from Canada gives you an advantage over other international students (TN status).

CCU, HD Nurses from Philippines with 1 year of experience get their H-1Bs approved even without CCRN. At least that's what this recruiter claims, unless this is a scam JOBS ABROAD: Nurse (US-RN) H1B Visa So somehow they qualify? I really would like to know how??

Welcome to reality! What can you do after your OPT is over? You can go back to school to maintain your F-1 status, you may try to get H-1B (unlikely), or you can marry a U.S. citizen. P.S. It may be hard to find a job with OPT. I suggest to apply a week or two before graduation and to request the start date to be 3 month from the graduation date. This way you won't waste your OPT time while getting licensed and looking for a job.

In my opinion, California is the best place to live and work. The best pay, best climate, best working conditions (remember, it's the only state with the fixed ratios). I bet that even with the higher cost of living after all my expenses I have more money in my pocket left than a nurse somewhere in Illinois with a similar lifestyle. Remember, although the housing cost may vary from state to state, all other expenses are pretty much the same (cars, travel, food, gas, clothing, electronics, etc.). And with the recent housing market crash owning/renting a house is California got more affordable. I get paid over $42/hr (with the differential) and rent my one bedroom apartment for only $655/month. Love this state!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know Australian government pays to hospitals to train Australian new grads. Now sure if their government will pay for the training of the new grads from other countries or the hospitals will be willing to train someone at their own expense. Also I know that Victoria's BON strongly prefers to see at least one year of experience before granting a RN license to foreign applicants.

Sorry for too many typos in the previous post. Won't post again after working all night long

Perhaps you need to change your job hunting tactics. There are so many small and middle-sized hospitals in small towns in every state. Did you apply to every one in your state? Also many hiring managers won't even talk to you if you don't a license it the state you are applying too. If you applied to every hospital in your home state and got no response, you have to make an educated guess (reading this forum may help) where to go next. Apply for a license in that state, then apply for a job. If they interview you, but won't offer a job right away and there are positions available, but a ticket and get there personally. This way they will know that you are serious about the job and ready to start any time. This tactics worked for me in two different states.

I don't think it's a smart move. As I understand you did not even apply for a license yet. I would suggest to concentrate your efforts on finding a job in the US. If you can't find a job in your area, it does not mean there are no jobs anywhere in the US, you just need to search better. If you can't find a job in California, look in another state. Check in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi. I can't imagine that it will be easier for a new grad to get a job in Australia than in the US.

You are right. You mentioned the word "immigrate" in your post #5. I hope that you can see now that BSN is not a requirement for immigration, especially if one graduates from the nursing school in the US. You probably hold E visa. Although you say it can be renewed indefinitely, you are considered a non-immigrant, and you are a subjects to many restrictions that don't apply to immigrants (permanent residents). I'm done with this topic. Thank you very much everybody.