Work one FT job and one per diem. Is this too much?

[The0Walrus, BSN, RN]

Coming out of nursing school I'd like to work full-time at one hospital and per diem at doing maybe home health or at another hospital. I'd like to work 5 days a week and have two days off. Does anybody else do this and can somebody tell me if this is manageable? Thank you in advance for your input!

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

no one would or should take you for per diem with NO experience.

[brookalyn, BSN, RN]

I worked overtime as a new-grad AFTER I finished orientation and worked my regular hours for 6 months. I didn't want to get burned out right out of the gate. Wolf at the Door is right, you are not very likely able to attain a per diem job with no experience as a new grad. My unit had overtime contracts and I was also allowed to pick up extra shifts on other units who had needs. I often worked 4-5 nights a week for 9 months, but felt like a piece of my soul was stolen after that. Different people tolerate more and less.

Maybe your unit/hospital will have similar opportunity where you won't need to go through additional stress of finding a second job too. I did find a per diem job after working 1.5 years on my unit to mix things up and expose myself to another company. It's also my backup job between travel nurse contracts. It's a flexible gig and that's what I love about it.

Good luck! ?