Hi! So, I'm thinking about making a career change and going into nursing. I've been doing some very preliminary research and am struck with one big question: are there jobs out there? The bureau dept's website says there are tons of jobs to be had, that employers are practically begging for new nurses. But I've seen some message boards, etc where recent grads are saying they can't find jobs.
So, any nurses have an opinion? Are your employers hiring? Obviously I'd have at least 1.5 years (If I do this I'm going to do the acclerated program for people who already have a bach.degree in another field), but still wondering?? TIA!
Re: Any nurses?
I'm in Dayton, but my employer is hiring, but definitely in limited numbers. Especially new graduates, because they generally require more training and orientation and are therefore more expensive than experienced nurses. It's a bit better than it seemed most of last year, but still pretty limited prospects.
I still think it's a good career to be in, but when I graduated over 2 years ago, I got 3 job offers before I graduated, all for the shift I wanted. Now you definitely need to be more flexible, like working nights, than I had to be.
ETA: I went through an accelerated nursing program too. If you have any questions about that experience, let me know.
Congrats to both my TTC buddies, Amberley18 and sb2006 on their beautiful babies!
Jobs are available, how our area is flooded with nurses schools thus flooding the area with nurses. Overall nurses are still in demand across the country, just not as much in this area. The hospitals in this area are no longer knocking at the bit to hire new grads, b/c they can be picky with who they want. Also something to thing about, St E, Childrens, Good Sam, are currently at Magnet status which means they are only hiring BSN level nurses and above, so many of the nurses you are hearing who are unable to find jobs are probably associate level.
I am currently finishing my BSN through an accelerated nursing program, if you have any questions, let me know. I absolutely love it, and so happy I made the switch.