Which areas in Florida are the best of the worst for finding jobs?

Jada'sMommy · Aug 13, 2009

This is a really good thread because alot of people say its hard to find decent nursing work in Florida.

I can't speak on the other areas but I'll say what I know of here in Tampa. I am not a nurse, however, my sister in law just passed her nurse examination in April of this year and is already making $23.00 hourly. Alot of people report that they are having a hard time gaining employment, but she got employed in no time and is looking into changing to overnight and weekends because some hospitals pay up to $1.75 extra for those shifts. You have much more experience so I anticipate that you will make more.

Again this is for Tampa Hillsborough county area, I am unsure of other areas but I hope this helps.

KateRN1 · Aug 13, 2009

If you are really set on moving here, apply for your FL license ASAP. Many places won't even consider you if you don't have a current FL license, which will take about a month to get. Once you have it, start applying online to absolutely everywhere and get a job *before* you move. Prepare to come down once or twice for interviews, if necessary. There is NO WAY I would move to FL without a job offer signed, sealed, and delivered.

Ceteris Paribus · Aug 13, 2009

My significant other has had her license for about a month while I've only had mine for a few weeks. I'm getting calls back on most of the applications that file, but my followup working nights has been less than ideal. We had hoped to MOVE on a travel assignment (at least for her) to avoid coming down for interviews. Thus, far the only travel opportunities have been in Gainsville and Penescola and she's still not willing to consider these over Orlando/Tampa. Based upon my "weekly job tracking" on www.indeed.com (searching only jobs posted within 7 days, by city keep in mind that this pulls virtually every job from all job sites posted online), Orlando/Tampa is creating virtually twice as many jobs as here in Indianapolis.

Journey_On, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2009

Throughout my job search I have realized that the Tampa bay area has a lot of hospitals. This includes both Hillsborough and Pinellas county - and beyond. I have seen several job openings over the summer, and most of them called for experience.

gregemt · Aug 17, 2009

Just a thought on the travel positions available. I would seriously consider an assignment in Gainesville, it is a decent college town that is affordable and has decent hospitals. Shands @ University of Florida is located there and is a big teaching center with a Level 1 Trauma Center. Also, you are only 2 hrs away from Tampa and Orlando, so you can scope out jobs in those areas pretty easily.

I just moved to Orlando last month from Gainesville and am working at Orlando Regional Medical Center which is part of Orlando Health. They own 6 hospitals in the area and are always looking for RNs. They have everything, a children's hospital (Arnold Palmer), a neonatal/women's hospital (Winnie Palmer), and ORMC has a level 1 trauma center, and everything else you can think of. I really like the company and the people that work there, not to mention Orlando is a good place to live.

If you are interested in Tampa, I hear Tampa General is good. You can also look into the St. Petersburg area too (which is across the bay). Bayfront and All Children's are there and pretty good places from what I've heard.

I think a travel job is good because it is hard to come down here over and over again for interviews, and I agree with the previous poster, make sure to have something lined up because the market is tough right now.