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Discussion

Torn....what would you do if you were in my shoes?

Hello all!

I am a new grad, just graduated on May 16th. I've been looking for RN jobs since February and been on 4 interviews and have not been job offered. After hearing "we are not hiring any new grads" time and time again, I became very discourged and tried to apply for tech jobs, and heard I was "too qualified" for those positions. I have just about given up.

In the meantime, I'm a single mother with a mortgage and a car payment. My savings ran out mid May and I am almost 2 months behind on my mortgage.

I will sit for boards in early July, as I am waiting on my ATT. Hopefully, I'll get it via e-mail by tomorrow. The BON had an issue with my name and I had to get it corrected. In the meantime, I've been looking for jobs in nursing as well as outside of nursing. My main concern was trying to keep a roof over my head.

I left a very stable career to attend nursing school full time. I have a good work ethic and a corporate background, so I was applying for jobs in the corporate setting as well.

Here is the issue: I've been granted an interview with a prestigous Railroad company and the pay is damn good, possibly more than starting off as a new grad. This is a very hard company to get hired on, and it's usually by word of mouth. The good thing was this railroad was advertising to the public for the first time in a long time and I submitted my resume not thinking much of it. Low and behold, they are VERY interested in my corporate skills and it didnt hurt that I have a BSN. One side of me see this as an opportunity to get my financial house back in order, but the other side of me is torn, since I know the corporate world is NOT my passion. I'm basically doing what I have to to, to get where I need to be. But this is once in a lifetime chance, and I'm scared it may not come around again. Then I'm afraid if a new grad position does come up, I will probably be too "comfortable" in the money I'll be possibly making with the Railroad, which is the main reason why I stayed in corporate for so long in the first place, but not fufilled.

If I do take this job, how can I keep my license current? Would taking an ACLS class or getting other certifications help? Or should I turn this job down and "wait" on nursing to come back around? In the meantime, I may be on the verge of losing my home.

It's clear what I NEED to do, but I guess I need confirmation that I'm doing the right thing.

*sigh*

Featured Replies

I would go for the corporate job. Keep your license current and catch up on your bills, keep your eye on the job market, and thank your lucky stars that you are so marketable in lean times!

  • Experts

Take the job. Pay your mortgage. You can keep your license by only doing your CEUs every two years and paying your fee, unless you live in a state that requires paid nursing. Find out about that by inquiring with your Board so that you know. To get going and keep up with nursing, I would recommend signing on with a home health agency that is willing to hire you without experience (there are some out there if you look). Make certain that you get a good orientation. Then work one shift a month or two shifts a month. It won't be much but it will be something. A nurse who works with my daughter puts in one shift per month with a home health agency and works a corporate job. It doesn't bother her. I would recommend doing this at least until you have your emergency fund or a few years worth of mortgage payments saved up. Don't let this opportunity slip by.

Survival's an honorable goal. Do what you have to to survive.

Take that railroad job, and make that "comfortable money". Why would you pass up a "once in a lifetime" job doing something else so that you can't do nursing anywhere because NO ONE IS HIRING? If you can't get a nursing job now, how many years do you think it might be before you get a "once in a lifetime" nursing job? (Maybe not in this lifetime.) You have to take care of yourself and your babies now. You can't wait until the economy comes back, and nurses start getting jobs agian.

  • Experts

For what it is worth, when I got laid off from my nursing job, my former employer did not care about my mortgage or my daughter having food and shelter. None of the civilian employers who refused to hire me cared either, nor did the nursing employers who wouldn't hire me. I eventually lost my mortgaged home, and when I got tired of living in my car, nobody cared to hire me still. So if I had a career opportunity like you describe, do you think I would have taken it? I tell people that the only reason I came back to nursing is because finally someone hired me, otherwise I was gone for good. A roof over your family's heads and food on the table trump any kind of "job satisfaction" you think you might be missing. Good luck.

  • Author

Thanks everyone for your posts! Yeah, I know that I need to take that railroad job and I'm sure enough going to. I was feeling like I needed some type of confirmation about doing what I needed to do instead of looking at the "big picture". Thing is, I've been looking at the "big picture" for the last two years and it's starting to look smaller and smaller by the day.

I will sure enough look into home health where I can work PRN or one weekend or month or something like that. Nursing is my heart, but right now, it's about survival. I got a young son depending on me and I have to do what I need to do.

  • Experts

Good that you are seeing the real picture soon instead of realizing it when the mortgage company serves you with foreclosure papers. Nursing will always be there if you look here or there.

Do what you need to do. When the economy comes back, they will be BEGGING for you to work as a nurse--something you can do prn. Hang in there and I hope, hope, hope the best for you!

Great---take the corporate job!!! I don't want to be a downer, but you may not even like nursing!! And not trying to start an argument by any means, but when nursing is hiring again, I would strongly encourage you to try for a weekend job in a hospital or a nursing home. Having worked home health, I believe strongly that it would be very difficult to learn on the job just a shift or two a week out in peoples' houses by yourself. It's SOOO much better to have other nurses around you showing you the ropes and giving you advice. I still feel that way after almost 20 years in the hospital.

I would say go for the coporate job also... but keep the RN license and get something per diem or maybe home care. You can do the best of both worlds... :w00t:

Like the above posts, take the job, get your life stable, keep your nursing license current. You can always orient somewhere on your vacation and work perdiem. In other words take care of yourself and your son 1st. Best of luck to you. It will work out.

you mentioned that they were interested in your BSN.......it might be interesting to find out why.....

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