Jobs are very hard to get, with 300 or more applicants for each position at some places. It can take years to get your first nursing job. So, if the school is selling you the idea that your going into a "guaranteed" job, your not.
There are thousands and thousands of unemployed new grad licensed nurses who are scrambling to get a job, and the hospitals are upping their standards every day, almost all flat out tell you not to apply if your a new grad, some say if your a new grad only apply if you have a BSN and a 3.5 GPA or better. Almost all positions all the way down the the lowly LTC centers are requiring BSN degrees, and even home health care wont touch you if you don't have 1 year of acute experience, which you cant get unless you have a BSN with a 3.5 average.
If you do not believe what I am saying, then Google "No nursing jobs" and take a look at what people are saying.
That being said, if you still willing to go into nursing, spend years in the most stressful program and then not be able to obtain work when your finished, then god bless you.
Just exactly where do you make 100K/yr as a nurse? NYC/ Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn and LI pay nurses fairly well and I know the starting salary at a hospital for an NP is 83K + benefits and you need a master's degree for that. So, I don't know where you can make 100K as an RN with an ADN or BSN. New grads in lower NY, meaning NYC (5 boroughs) and LI make about 65-74K + benefits to start as of 2010.
As for finding a job within the first year, that may be true in some parts of the country but it's not always the case.
BTW: I certainly can't stop or would attempt to stop someone from following their dreams of becoming a nurse. But, it's certainly not being negative (i.e. being a Debbie Downer) to post factual experiences about personal or colleagues' job hunt experiences where one lives. All it's meant to do is to enlighten what one MIGHT face if they pursue a new grad position in a certain area of the country.
I find your post very offensive. Apparently you think you're the only one that has put any thought process into becoming an RN, and those who are pursuing their nursing degree must be UNINFORMED. Since acceptance into most nursing programs is a complex path in itself, and the time and monetary resources required once accepted into a program are substantial, it seems HIGHLY unlikely anyone would pursue such a path without careful consideration.
Jobs are very hard to get, with 300 or more applicants for each position at some places. It can take years to get your first nursing job. So, if the school is selling you the idea that your going into a "guaranteed" job, your not.
There are thousands and thousands of unemployed new grad licensed nurses who are scrambling to get a job, and the hospitals are upping their standards every day, almost all flat out tell you not to apply if your a new grad, some say if your a new grad only apply if you have a BSN and a 3.5 GPA or better. Almost all positions all the way down the the lowly LTC centers are requiring BSN degrees, and even home health care wont touch you if you don't have 1 year of acute experience, which you cant get unless you have a BSN with a 3.5 average.
If you do not believe what I am saying, then Google "No nursing jobs" and take a look at what people are saying.
That being said, if you still willing to go into nursing, spend years in the most stressful program and then not be able to obtain work when your finished, then god bless you.
Well, thank the GOOD LORD for Central Texas! I was offered three positions within a week of filling out three applications..right out of nursing school. I rejected the PRN and the 12h night position in favor of a full-time position with 8h shifts (5 kids, hubby, baseball:lol2:). I am not special. I was not the most brilliant nursing student, and obviously have zero real-time experience. The hard reality at the time that I had to deal with (a few months ago) was that I would have to work nights until a day position opened. But now I have decided that I like nights because I don't have to get a babysitter for my wee ones as I nap when they do and then catch another nap when my hubby gets off of work in the evenings!
There is hope people! Don't be discouraged.:loveya:
I wish someone had given me a reality check before I started too.
In my area it is the same situation except it is not really about BSN vs ASN but no experience vs experience. But many people do find something eventually.
I also keep seeing these posts but every job resource website and newspaper that I have checked has a ton of positions (maybe in different parts of the country but in FL, which we all know how the overall unemployment rate is here, we have an abundance of nursing jobs. Yes, BSN is starting to become a requirement at some places but I can tell you that I just looked at the job site of the local hospital here and I counted 15 current RN positions that have been posted in the last 10 days. Also, at the largest clinic in the area, they have 8 openings right now for RN which were posted within the last month.
So yes, maybe jobs are scarce in some areas but not in ALL.
Don't get discouraged. If the field turns to BSN as a standard all around, then go get your BSN.
You know I would rather spend years in one of the most stressful and competitive programs to do something that I enjoy as a career. Even if that means waiting a while to find a job. So, if people want to change their major because of this thats fine. But I'm going to stick with mine.
Suck it up and take the horrid shifts till you get some experience. I have never spent three weeks looking for work. Work on your interview skills and tell the truth that an employer wants to hear. Call back for goodness sake. If there are twenty applicants and three call back guess who they are more likely to remember? It is up to you to convince them that you are worth their time. Hang in there the shortage will return in worse numbers and hospitals are gonna have to realize that that they are gonna have to train replacement nurses as this generation of nurses retire and if they treat the replacements horribly then it is going to be very hard to recruit them when they are needed.
I still would like to know what the OP would suggest people do instead of NS. The economy sucks, the job market is in the toilet for EVERYONE, so according to her logic, we need to tell all the current college students, regardless of their major, to just quit?!
You have to keep going. The job market will get better someday and you will have valuable skills and a license that will land you a job.
WE GET IT!!! The job market sucks and you keep writing posts about how hard it is because there are no jobs. Keep your negativity to yourself and don't discourage others from wanting to be a nurse. For all you know in a couple years there could be hundreds of openings. It's cyclical and it will get better, but it takes time. Don't spread your toxic attitude to others.
Toxic attitude to others? I don't know where you live but she is right!!! I spent 5 years and lots of money to become an RN - I graduated in Dec. 09 with a BSN and I am having problems getting a job in the DFW area (TX). We need to warn people to go with another profession. I am writing my governor to stop giving our hard earned money (in the form of taxes) to nursing colleges... I love nursing and I worked hard to obtain this degree but there are no jobs for us in Dallas/Fort Worth.
Toxic attitude to others? I don't know where you live but she is right!!! I spent 5 years and lots of money to become an RN - I graduated in Dec. 09 with a BSN and I am having problems getting a job in the DFW area (TX). We need to warn people to go with another profession. I am writing my governor to stop giving our hard earned money (in the form of taxes) to nursing colleges... I love nursing and I worked hard to obtain this degree but there are no jobs for us in Dallas/Fort Worth.
redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN
1,086 Posts
100K?? What?! Where?