Should I give nursing another try?

almostmadeit · May 23, 2012

The richest? Really? IF you can find a job.
I have been a nurse for 33 almost 34 years. I am not, nor have I ever been, considered the "richest"of anything except having the love of my family. The recession has not been kind to nursing either....nurses are graduating every day and not finding jobs. Hospitals are laying off and there are hiring freezes. Some new grads have been unemployed for over 14 months and that is IF they passed their boards.
The Big Lie?

Without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."In other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a BSN later on. Who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? Whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. The jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.
Will Work for Experience

The strongest motivator for the working population is money, but for some newly licensed registered nurses, getting valuable clinical experience seems to be taking precedence over the paycheck. Without that experience, the financial future of these nurses will remain precarious because they will be unable to find jobs.
"I am willing to take a 50% pay cut or even work for free so I can get the darned experience," said one frustrated new graduate who has been unable to break out of the unending cycle of "no job without experience, and no experience without a job."
She was not alone. Other readers wrote.......
The rest of the article can be read Medscape: Medscape Access it requires registration but it is free.
Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

It's that time of year again. Graduating nursing students are preparing to take the NCLEX and are looking for their first jobs. This year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.
Reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.
These new RNs entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. They were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.
So what happened? Has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?
The short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there.
The recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. Nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. They are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.
Many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. Some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.
In addition, many hospitals are not hiring. The recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. Help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in July, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.

To view the rest of the article...Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

this sounds bleak my mother is taking her nclex next week. I hope she will find a job

almostmadeit · May 23, 2012

Firstly, what state are you in and where did you get that data? Remember that average salary reports are an *average* of all reports. So cities with higher cost of living and therefore higher paychecks pull the average up, but those nurses still don't have tons of play money due to the cost of living in their city.
Secondly, I hate to break your bubble, but there are few jobs that require minimal effort and pay amazing right out of the box. Well, legal ones that is.
Third(ly?), most people eventually figure out that even the most well intentioned loved ones give advice that isn't the best. Sometimes it's that they are projecting onto you, other times they don't know you as well as they think, or any other number of reasons. You need to make choices for you and no one else.
Best of luck.

I kive in florida. I asked a nurse at clinicals how much starting rate is

allnurses Guide · May 23, 2012

The sequence of events you relate is a little confusing. You live at home, you left nursing school in your last semester and began to study with the thought of being a magazine editor? Didn't they notice the stuff you were bringing home had changed quite a bit?

Anyway, there are many resources on the net that will give you the information you need, but I would avoid using the phrase about "making money quick". It tends to put people off right away.. Here is a link to get you started. There are some good tools on the bottom of the page and you know you won't get a sales pitch. Just a caution - they may still be using nursing statistics that paint a rosier scenario about the demand for nurses.

http://www.bls.gov/audience/jobseekers.htm

Hope you learn from this painful episode and avoid sabotaging yourself again. Best wishes!

Stephalump · May 23, 2012

Go get a job at Starbucks. I'm sorry, but you seriously need to step away from everything for a while and grow up a bit. Before you completely screw up your transcript with half hearted money motivated attempts at quick money.

Or go to ITT Tech. I here medical assisting is a lucrative profession where you save lives and wear cute scrubs.

almostmadeit · May 23, 2012

Go get a job at Starbucks. I'm sorry, but you seriously need to step away from everything for a while and grow up a bit. Before you completely screw up your transcript with half hearted money motivated attempts at quick money.
Or go to ITT Tech. I here medical assisting is a lucrative profession where you save lives and wear cute scrubs.

In life, we all have to make a living. Lets say I love to sing and I want to become a rock star. Only VERY few people make it as rock stars. We all need to eat and shelter

Stephalump · May 23, 2012

In life, we all have to make a living. Lets say I love to sing and I want to become a rock star. Only VERY few people make it as rock stars. We all need to eat and shelter

We do. So go make a living.

I don't need the lecture. I have adequate food and shelter, thanks to hard work and planning by my husband and I. As the person in the conversation who's about to be homeless, perhaps you should be taking the advice of others.

And, btw, Starbucks does pay you with actual. Money. The stuff that buys food and shelter.

PMFB-RN, RN · May 24, 2012

RN's in my state start at 50,000. Entry level nurses are the richest proffesion in the world!

$50K isn't much when one considers the responsibiliety, stress, and pure hard labor involved in being an RN. Have you thought about joining the military? Not a sure thing as I understand they are being very picky these days but might be worth looking into. The army pays best for enlisted for most 4 year enlistees. They have their own LPN programs too.

allnurses Guide · May 24, 2012

I am confused by your blustering. Even if you got back into nursing school right this second you would have over a year of work to do before you can take NCLEX and then as much as as year before you find your first job. Longer if you think you will make 50K or more. And given that you failed out, getting back in is going to take time as well. You have 2.5 to 3 years before you get anywhere near the assumptions you are making being even a half reality.

Get a job. Stabilize your life and then go forward with thoughtfulness and responsibility, not frantic insanity based on outside pressures and half truths.

You sound young, immature, terrified and wanting a quick and easy way out. There isn't one. Get to work.

PMFB-RN, RN · May 25, 2012

Here you go. Very high pay, on the job training, no college degree required. Relocation required. I don't recomend it but it does seem to offer everything you are looking for.

Moonlite BunnyRanch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CherylRNBSN · Jun 5, 2012

Wow. Just wow.

I am a passionate RN who started out as a junior volunteer at hospital at age of 14. Nurse tech during high school. Then, LPN. Then ADN. Then BSN.

I DO NOT want to be harsh and am not really speaking to you in particular, but to nursing in general.

To all of you who thought it was quick path to guaranteed 50K job, you do not understand what nursing is, or what it requires. You really are doing the PROFESSION a disservice.

I would certainly not want my child to have a teacher who became a teacher b/c he/she couldn't figure out what else to major in!! Passion is a REQUIREMENT for being good at what you do!!

Nursing is obviously NOT your calling. Please go find it, and leave nursing to people who are passionate about being patient advocates!

You will NOT be a successful nurse on any meaningful level if you are looking for $$$. Or should I say $?

CherylRNBSN · Jun 5, 2012

Please do not take what I said personally. You are very young, and struggling. (I have been there in my own way.) My comments really were addressed to those considering making your mistake.

But to you...I wish you the best of luck. You are young. Take some time to really THINK about what you want to do, and find what MAKES YOU HAPPY. The money will follow. All 50K of it, and possibly much more. Nursing is hard, and 50k is about the most you will make without serious dedication and excelling at what you do.

futurenurseOB · Jun 12, 2012

We do. So go make a living.
I don't need the lecture. I have adequate food and shelter, thanks to hard work and planning by my husband and I. As the person in the conversation who's about to be homeless, perhaps you should be taking the advice of others.
And, btw, Starbucks does pay you with actual. Money. The stuff that buys food and shelter.

I think that's a bit much and a little unfair. Everyone was young before. I'm sure no one has mocked you when you asked for advice from potential mentors about life decisions. No one is born rich or knowing how their life will plan out. She is 22. I'm sure you are much older. Everyone deserves a chance and respectful advice and constructive criticism. I don't know if yours is constructive or just plain mean. You didn't have to respond. Especially so personal when I didn't see any reason for your response being the way it was.

You could've sent the same message in different wording and it wouldn't have sounded so harsh