What is the point of becoming a nurse?!

[newRN121]

I am starting to see from threads and other sites that cities are being flooded with new grads and their are barely any jobs in the market. What is the point of going through nursing school and spending all that money to graduate and not get a job. I live in Houston, TX and every place I call says that they are only hiring nurses with experience.

[sjtrk]

I think it depends on where you live because I'm in NE IN and there are TONS of openings for entry level RN's. LPN's however I'm told are not being added any more.

[newRN121]

Thank you for your advice but i still dont see how that solves the problem of over saturation of nurses in the nursing feild

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

As sjtrk said, it does depend on the area you live in. These things also go in cycles- the day will come where nurses will be in demand and hospitals will be desperate enough to hire nurses that they'll start giving out sign on bonuses again. There are many factors to the current glut of nurses: older nurses not retiring because they lost their retirement savings, people rushing into nursing thinking it's a recession-proof profession, part-timers who went full-time because spouses lost jobs, people returning to nursing who were either not working in the field or not working at all, and many other reasons. It's going to change, it's just that no one can say when.

[newRN121]

So what is the point of becoming a nurse if u caint get a job and help people and make a living for yourself

[SweetPEI]

Well then, look into another profession so that those of us who do still see the point can be closer to getting a job. Not to come off as mean, but your question is super redundant. The economy determines a lot. As in any career field, experience is wanted and many new grads are SOL because then the question becomes"how can I get experience if I can't get a job to get experience"? Sometimes it takes drastic measures, such as moving to another state, taking a position where you don't want to work, volunteering without pay, etc. The point is if you want to be in nursing you are going to be in nursing. Job hunting and making great first time impressions are additional skills one needs in addition to being a nurse.

[newRN121]

Wow so some nursing students are willing to become a nurse knowing that their is no jobs out their that is crazy that motivates me so much i just hope that i can make it

[SweetPEI]

Your post is pointless, or maybe I'm just missing the point. There at tons of jobs out there however many of them require experience or of the jobs out there, many of them do not appeal to new grads (i.e. LTC). Clearly, you feel there are no jobs out there, yet you are still continuing with nursing school, so why ask?

[newRN121]

Thats exactly what im talking about "no jobs for new grads".

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

So what is the point of becoming a nurse if u caint get a job and help people and make a living for yourself

What every post has said is that there are jobs for new nurses to find. You may have to move or make other sacrifices to find them.

[SweetPEI]

You have completely missed what I said. There are jobs, including ones for new grads. You just have to look hard and/or make changes to accommodate. Something tells me you are no where near graduating. So if this is how you feel prior to nursing school, perhaps you should major in something else

[mjaybx]

I agree with sweetpei there is always jobs out there just not the one you want as a new grad. I know new grads who got job offers finishing their last semester and friends who haven't received any and are licensed more than 6 months already. Difference was they had a second language, making your self marketable for an employer is what will make you stand out. Too many new grads but if you are determined to be a nurse you will do what it takes .