tough decision...

[Tichi80]

ok, so as we all know, the nursing market really stinks right now. I am a brand-new nurse, passed the NCLEX on July 1st and have been job searching since then. I was just offered an Office Nurse position at an allergist, I am just so hesitant to take it. My dilemma is: the hours are going to be hard to work out with my kids and husband's work schedule and the pay is A LOT less than a hospital position (to be expected I guess). I just don't know what to do, I am afraid that if I accept the position, something else will come up, but if I turn down the position, I am afraid I may not get another offer for a while (I did recently go on another interview last week and am waiting to hear back from them) I am currently not working, so I need some kind of income. This office is a privately owned practice and they are looking for someone to stay long-term because of the training involved in learning to mix allergy serums, etc. I just don't want to go through the training process and find something else and have to leave the office. I don't know if I should just be happy to accept anything at this point. I am just really unsure how to work the hours with my family since my kids are still little. Please help me with some insight into my dilemma :)

[Bobbkat]

I was in a similar situation. I have a husband and a young child, and jobs are scarce in my area. Luckily, my family is able to live off from my husbands salary, so I could be a little choosier about positions. I still applied pretty much everywhere, but only if it would fit into my family. My criteria for this was that the job had to pay enough for me to be able to afford daycare and all other expenses, and it had to be something that I didn't think I would be absolutely miserable doing. I personally would feel incredibly guilty accepting a position that I knew I would leave ASAP, especially if they expected me to stay on a while, and there would be no point for me to accept a position that paid so little that I couldn't afford care for my daughter.

I know that in this economic climate all us new grads feel that we HAVE to take the first thing offered (and to be honest, for a lot of us that is a good idea), but if you have other means to support yourself and your family, and you really don't want this position (outside of the nursing experience it would give you), don't take it. It sounds like you are getting other interviews, so hopefully something will come of them. Granted, this attitude does come with the trade off that you may take a lot longer to find a job.

Ultimately only you can decide if it's is more important to have any job vs. a job that you want.