Real scoop on job market

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 18, 2005

I live in southern California with little flexibility as far as moving somehwere else. There are several nursing programs close to me. I currently have a BA in psych and an ADN. I have always wanted to teach and felt a calling when I was going to nursing school. I had wonderful instructors for the most part and would like to return the favor so to speak.
I am looking into doing an MSN program at Cal State Dominguez Hills as they will work with me as far as giving me some credit for work completed instead of starting over at the baccalaureate level. They have an educator program that looks good.
My question is this: Are there really jobs out there?? I keep hearing how the age of faculty means that there will be few instructors left soon, but is that the case in reality? How hard was it to get a job and get into a tenured position? Thanks!

Hello, Janey,:balloons:

Yes, there is a cry for educators everywhere. But, the poor pay and long hours do turn most away from this profession.

I admire you for wanting to teach our nurses of the future. It is a most rewarding experience.

Shane_in_Arizona · Oct 28, 2005

Hi Janey,

There absolutely are jobs out there and more will be available each year. A survey done by the AACN in 2004 of over 700 nursing schools found that they had an average of 2.9 faculty vacancies per school. If you take some liberty with the statistic and extrapolate to the more than 2,000 nursing schools in the U.S., you can see that there are a lot of jobs available! You mention the "graying" of current faculty, and you're right, that is projected to result in even more openings over the next ten years as they start to retire.

I hope you'll continue with your plans - we need more nurses like you.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 28, 2005

The job market for faculty jobs is not as good as some people like to say it is. Yes, there are jobs out there (though I can't speak to your specific geographic region), but those jobs often come with some serious problems. That's why schools have trouble filling them.

For example ... some schools are only looking for adjuct instructors and not tenure track positions. And in many schools, the pay/benefits/hours/etc. for adjuct instructors is terrible. Plus, as an adjunct, you have very little job security.

Another example ... you may be hired to teach in one specialty and then required to teach in another, one in which you have no experience. That happened to me after I had moved across the country to take a tenure track position. I've seen it happen to other people as well.

A school may only be interested in hiring you if you fill the particular "hole" they have in their faculty. So, while they may have 3 vacancies, they may all be for a specialty for which you are not qualified to teach and/or require experience/credentials that you don't have.

So ... if you are limited in your ability to move out of your current geographic location, you might want to talk with the local schools to find out the particulars of your job market. You may also want to stay as flexible as possible in the type of job you are looking for and in the type of education (and clinical specialty) you get in preparation for teaching. You also might want to to consider Staff Development Education roles. Teaching people who are already nurses can also be rewarding. That's where I have spent much of my career.

Good luck,

llg

JaneyW · Oct 28, 2005

Thanks for the honest answer, llg. That's kind of what I thought. I also took a stroll through the want-ads for the local community colleges. There were some tenure trac positions, but mostly for adjunct. I am definitely going to pursue an MSN. I am just trying to decide between FNP or Educator. I would love to have some of the educator classes under my belt, but I think that the FNP will give me more flexibility. It will also give me good preparation for teaching any aspect of nursing across the age continuum.

I can always take the educator classes as a bonus. My husband is planning to retire when I am ready to work full-time, so we will need the health insurance. My specialty is L&D, so I always have the option of floor nursing (the shortage is very real here in California). I really want to try teaching, though. We'll see what pans out!