What is the point of becoming a nurse?!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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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.

like sweetpei and miiki said-

maybe your current location doesn't have anything available, so you may need to take drastic measures and move.

i live in chicago and i constantly see postings for entry-level nursing positions. they may not be your ideal starting point (ex: ltc and hospice), but they're a job that will get you the experience you need to go elsewhere.

it also couldn't hurt if you rubbed elbows with the "right" people at your clinical sites.

the way i see it, anywhere you end up is a blessing. expand your horizons and don't be so picky. beggars can't be choosers.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
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

*** Two things going on. First those new nurses and students are victems of a cynical, false, and self serving "nursing shortage" propaganda. This false propaganda is put out by those whis tand to gain financialy from a glut of nurses. The glut of nurses has been planned for and worked towards for a long time. The Great Bush Depression only moved the day ahead a few years.

The other thing going on is the failure of potential nursing students to do even basic research intot the potential job market before choose to invest large amounts of their time and money studying nursing. Why they would gambel with that much money and time I don't really understand.

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Specializes in Med/Surg,Cardiac.

Perhaps off topic, but nursing isn't the only profession that is saturated. Times are tough. If you want something badly enough, you have to go get it instead of waiting for it to come to you.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.
I am starting to see from threads and other sites that cities are being flooded with new grads and their are barely and jobs in the market. What ia 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

You're right, there aren't a ton of jobs sitting around for new grads. A few years ago, everyone had jobs waiting for them when they graduated in

whatever speciality they wanted. Now it's tougher. Some people take up to or over a year to land their first job. Some people end up working in areas they never wanted like corrections or psych.

I think it's naive to assume the hordes of people graduating before us who have struggled in the market were somehow just "doing it wrong." Some are picky, I'm sure, but I've known many people who will take ANYTHING and anything didn't come until 9 months after the NCLEX.

So why am I still pursing nursing?

Because I want to. I don't have a great reason. No one can tell me what the job market will be like when I graduate, and no one can tell me I won't be one of the lucky ones who does have a job right out of school.

I'm graduating without loans and my husband makes a good living, so while I HATE job hunting and I'm sure being jobless after the excitement of becoming an RN would be depressing, my world won't fall apart if it takes a while to land a job.

Markets are cyclical. Everyone is running to using because they're being led to believe it's quick, easy money with a guaranteed job. How long do you think those people are going to last in the field? 30 years? Not likely. School enrollment will slow (how many people do you know who go to school for IT nowadays?) once people start catching on, and there will be a need as older nurses actually start retiring. That's my theory. And even if I'm wrong, I don't need 1000s of jobs. I only need one :)

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I think you have asked a good question. I think the first question people need to really consider is why they think nursing would be a good choice for them. Having weighed the first question, and studied the job market, I think that if one is determined to become a nurse in spite of all obstacles, and if one feels that even if one cannot obtain a job at the end of arduous, time consuming, stressful and often expensive schooling, that nursing is still the right/best choice for them, then there are reasons to further investigate training as a nurse. I think each individual has to weigh your question for themselves.

I am speaking from the point of view of someone who went through an ADN program and bridged into a BSN program. My training took place 15-17 years ago. I do not currently work as a nurse. Nursing has been an excellent choice for me more for personal reasons than career reasons. Training as a nurse provided me with the knowledge and skills to take care of my family, and to advocate for them, and I personally would choose to train as a nurse again. But, I am not currently in the workplace, and though I maintain my license and certifications, and do my best to maintain my competence as a nurse and to further my training and education, I do not doubt that returning to the workforce as a nurse would be a difficult undertaking, although I always want that option available to me and am happy that I have it. The ADN gave me the foundation of my nursing training; the BSN broadened that training and widened my career options, and I am glad I have those options; although I keep them on the back burner I know that I can return to nursing when necessary, and that is very important for me and for my family.

To sum up, I really believe that each individual has to answer your question for themselves. I cannot answer for anyone else, only for myself.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Perhaps off topic, but nursing isn't the only profession that is saturated. Times are tough. If you want something badly enough, you have to go get it instead of waiting for it to come to you.

*** It's different for nursing. Our saturation is caused but greedy money people in a back rooms ho have been plotting a glut of nurses for years for their own financial gain. To make things even worse nurses are financing their own reducing in living standard through their tax dollars. Federal and state governments have been financing the expansion of nursing programs for years. That combined with the false and self serving "nursing shortage" propaganda we have all been exposed to for years now, and combined with the Great Bush Depression has created the glut of nurses. Exactly as was planned. The result is the effect we all feel and nurses, less pay, poorer benefits, unsafe working condition, unemployed nurses, and of course vast profits for the monied interest responsible for the glut.

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Perhaps off topic, but nursing isn't the only profession that is saturated. Times are tough. If you want something badly enough, you have to go get it instead of waiting for it to come to you.

What s/he said. I had become a certified pharmacy tech back in Nov 2011 and it took me a long time to find a job within my field due to the local vocational school saturating the market. I didn't give up, I instead found a part time job that would get me by until something came up (i didn't stop hunting) and I finally got into the pharmacy last month.

I was in the plans of making my move to Florida early if I couldn't find anything here since the market for pharm techs are better than here in Peoria, IL but a job fell in my lap after that thought, lol.

I know no one has 6-7 months worth of patience on finding a job within your field, but this job market is tough. If you want it that bad, go out and dig for it.

Also, learn how to network. If it wasn't for my instructor I wouldn't have gotten this job! The job position didn't even have a posting on the web or anything so you may have to know someone that works at the facility you want to apply because most jobs don't advertise!

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Nursing is and will always be one of the most in demand jobs there is...NEVER have I ever heard of a shortage on jobs for RN. One of the most secure jobs you can have. Nurses are needed EVERYWHERE. With a RN license you will ALWAYS have a job.

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Specializes in Reproductive & Public Health.

Yes, I have to agree with britney705 that there are TONS of jobs for new grads out there. They just aren't in the ICU or the ED, or even necessarily in the hospital, like most new grad RNs seem to want.

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Good question. I will pray that you get the job that you want ;-)

Sent from my iPad using allnurses.com

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The point is, if you really want to be a nurse - if it is really what is in your heart to do or your faith

has led you to it or you feel like its your clear path - the obstacles are of little concern because

you will be determined to make sacrifices (moving to a new area, working in LTC, etc.) and

it wont seem like a sacrifice because its what is in your heart to do.

If its what you want fight for it - dont take no for an answer. Dont start to foresee problems that

havent even been presented to you yet. Maybe when you get out of nursing school things will be different.

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