Sacramento Job Market

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Apr 27, 2016

Best benefits: uc Davis medical center, but worst pay, probably still significantly more than you are used to though.

Best pay: kaiser, but very hard to get into

You have the bachelors, the experience is lacking, but I'd start applying soon because when I was moving here I started apps in August and didn't start a job until November. Most places want one to 2 years though. CCRn would get you noticed to, but I think you need a year exp in order to apply to take it.

Id first prioritize getting your California nursing license...that process takes 3 months or more and we are not a compact state.

Maevish, ASN, RN · May 11, 2016

Yeah, most places want 2 years acute care experience, but it doesn't hurt to start filling out applications. It's extremely hard to get a job here (in my experience), which is silly. I figured once I had experience it would be easy, especially considering the "shortage" that people continue to b*tch and moan about, but I guess it just depends on who you can get in with. Kaiser IS notoriously difficult. No matter what I do, it won't let me submit my resume online, even with trying different computers/browsers so I think I'm just cursed lol

Maybe since you're still new, they'll look at your lack of experience as a good thing and want to train you their way (wherever "that" may be). Good luck and sorry about having to move to Sac. Our unofficial motto is, " It's a great place to leave!" :sarcastic:

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · May 11, 2016

While I cannot speak to the job market too much in Sacramento (I haven't been looking in a while), I must reiterate what others here have said. My sense is that it's still pretty tough to get a job here if you have experience and very tough if you don't. I'm a local and I had to look well outside the area to find my first RN job in the ED. Many of my classmates are employed locally and are doing well, but only a small handful are ICU or ER nurses here. First and foremost, if the move is 100% going to happen and you want an RN job here, you must get going NOW on getting your license endorsed into California. There is a process that needs to be followed and some paperwork involved (including gathering of transcripts) and the process takes time.

In the local market, I do know that UC Davis Medical Center does pay the least but it's still nothing to sneeze at. Kaiser does have the highest hourly pay. There are two other relatively large systems here as well: Dignity Health and Sutter. Between these 4 entities, they run all the acute care hospitals in Sacramento County and most of the acute care hospitals in neighboring counties as well.

Once you have your RN license in hand (or are very certain you'll be issued a license) you should start applying as the process can take a couple months. Occasionally the process is faster than that, but figure at least a few months to go from application to first day. The applications are all computer-based so you could start applying before you even have established a residence in California.

sergel02, BSN · May 15, 2016

Yeah, most places want 2 years acute care experience, but it doesn't hurt to start filling out applications. It's extremely hard to get a job here (in my experience), which is silly. I figured once I had experience it would be easy, especially considering the "shortage" that people continue to b*tch and moan about, but I guess it just depends on who you can get in with. Kaiser IS notoriously difficult. No matter what I do, it won't let me submit my resume online, even with trying different computers/browsers so I think I'm just cursed lol
Maybe since you're still new, they'll look at your lack of experience as a good thing and want to train you their way (wherever "that" may be). Good luck and sorry about having to move to Sac. Our unofficial motto is, " It's a great place to leave!"

i don't really get why it seems like folks living in sac seem to hate it so much. They often act like they're living in the worst city in the world. Which I guess is a testament to how many people who live in sac have lived their their whole lives, they haven't really gotten to see much else.

as far as nursing goes, the job market is picking up, but yeah, don't expect to necessarily get the exact unit you wanted. I heard of us Davis opening up more units soon due to too many patients.