nswRN

I am ready to give up on nursing. I graduated from a top ranked nursing school last May. I've been a volunteer EMT for 6 years now, and I worked as a tech on in step down unit at school per diem; but they had a hiring freeze, so I was forced to quit at the end of senior year and move back home because I could not afford to continue living out there. Since then I have applied to numerous hospitals, mostly in NJ, PA, and NY, but also a few in FL, CA, and TX. I chase any lead I get. I have gone, in person to a number of hospitals to attempt to talk to someone in HR, sometimes I do. They just tell me they have a stack of 500 or so New Grad applicants and 0 New Grad positions open. I even attempted to join the millitary as an RN until I told them I have exercise induced asthma, which apparently disqualifies you from service, even the navy. I can't keep going on. I've applied for hundreds of positions that I think might take a new grad with no avail. I'm now applying for tech and EMT positions just to pay for something, but I can't keep going like this. Eventually hospitals are going to look me and see someone who hasn't worked in too long so their skills won't be up to par. In college I did everything that would supposedly help me get a job afterward, and nothing is working. I don't know what more to do. I can only send out so many resumes before feeling like a complete failure. Right now I'm working construction jobs where ever I can, and that's already taking its toll on me physically. How in gods name do you get a job as a nurse after graduating nursing school!