Whats the worst case scenario if I don't get a job?

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This may sound like a dumb question but I would like to know the worst case scenario if I graduate and can't find a job (graduating with a BSN- no experience). I expect the best but want to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Everyone knows how hard it is to get a job as a new grad right now. I'm 28 and planning to get pregnant as soon as I graduate in May which means that I will most likely be interviewing when I am showing and obviously pregnant. With the competition for jobs it is unlikely that a pregnant person will be hired. Basically, it could possibly be nine months before I get a job. Doesn't that make it even harder to get a job, having graduated so many months ago (9 months). What if I can't get a job then because of being out of school for so long? What is the worst case scenario in this situation? How long can a new grad be out of work before she is no longer hirable? I just want some answers to ease my mind and just to be clear, I really don't want to push back getting pregnant a year even if it will make things easier.

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Wait a year!!!!!! I graduate in Dec. '06 when jobs were everywhere so I wasn't too worried about working right away. 3 kids (I had the first while still in school) later I still haven't worked. I have a BSN, I am bilingual and my husband is a nurse and I am having a VERY hard time starting my nursing career. I am smart and motivated and someday I will make a great nurse, but I look horrible on paper, due to zero actual nursing experience. I took a refresher course, but that doesn't seem to help.

You have time to start a family, just get some experience under your belt before you get pregnant. Also you never know what kind of pregnancy you will have. I threw up multiple times a day and felt sick all the time when I was pregnant with my first. I remember going to clinical and asking where the bathroom on the unit was because I knew I was going to have to make a run for it sometime during my shift. This is not how you want to start your career, being a new nurse will be hard enough without adding a baby right away. Best of luck to you!

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Specializes in Adult Stem Cell/Oncology.

I graduated from nursing school at the end of July and passed the NCLEX in August...still no job. This is after sending out dozens of applications here in CA as well as several other states. I'm seriously thinking about joining the Navy if I don't get a job in the next couple of months. I would absolutely hold off on getting pregnant and focus on establishing your career first, but that's just what I would do. No one can make that decision but you. Good luck in whatever you decide!

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Specializes in Tele Step Down, Oncology, ICU, Med/Surg.

Mom of three here saying if at all possible, wait. Everything in life gets harder when you have kids. Get established in a career first. especially if you need to commute long distance or move away from your extended support system for that first job.

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I am sought of in the same boat as you. I have graduated, looked for a job for about 6 months, now i am 3 months pregnant. I am in grad school and often wonder what will happen when i have my MSN, but have no experience and an RN. If you cannot wait on that child, find a volunteer position or start as a nursing assistant where you would like to end up. Being pregnant goes over easier if you among friends. If you are competing for a position while visibly pregnant people can be dimissive. IF they already know you are a hard worker then it is easier. OCmama is right, you never know what kinda pregnancy you will have and i have been thankful not to have to worry about work because my morning sickness has been brutal. My husband and i are thankful for our child, but sometimes we think our timing was wrong...........................then we realize it was always up to God. So wait if you can, if not start networking now and prove all you can before you get pregnant.

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Specializes in Trauma ICU, Peds ICU.

Why the rush to get pregnant?! Even if you can find work as a new grad, the first 1 to 2 years of nursing practice are stressful enough without going through pregnancy.

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Worst case scenarios if you don't get a nursing job:

1) you will have to get a job outside of nursing (temporarily)

2) you will become a pharmaceutical sales rep making tons of money but will always have to meet a higher quota from the previous months

3) You get a non nursing job that you like and then you have to decide whether or not to quit because a hospital finally got around to your resume and called you for an interview. The interview goes so well, they offer you a position on the spot

4) you end up doing *gasp* unthinkable acts for money

5) you actually like doing *gasp* unthinkable acts for money

6) you become a TA at a local college helping other nursing students

7) you get abducted by aliens. Well not exactly, but you find a nursing position in a field that you swore you would never work in and end up loving it.

8) you decide to move out of state for a nursing job and can't find one there either

9) you move out of state and find a job on the spot

and the number 10 worse case scenario if you don't find a nursing job is....

(drum roll please)

10) You go back to school for a different degree and can't find a job in that industry either.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I agree with the others: if possible, postpone starting a family for a while, at least until you have that first year under your belt. It's true that legally they can't discriminate against you during interviews and while working for being pregnant. However they may choose not to hire you or to fire you for "other" reasons and it'd be on you to prove discrimination should you decide to fight it.

Also while working and pregnant you can be legally fired. For example, if you spend more time yacking in the bathroom and not getting your work done, or being excessively late/absent, you can legally be let go since employers would fire a non-pregnant worker for the same poor work. Pregnancy doesn't guarantee your job against a poor job performance.

Some people do very well working while pregnant so it is possible. But the first year of nursing is going to be challenging enough without being pregnant, so why make it more challenging if you don't have to?

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There are always nurse refresher courses! Also, when/if you do get pregant, make friends with those OB nurses/doctors! Connections always help. Try to absorb all the information too. Think of your pregnancy as an extended OB rotation! =P

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