If 43 percent of new nursing grads can't find employment, is the military an option?

[Y! User]

I've been reading articles about new nursing grads you cannot find jobs because places will only hire nurses with experience. If this is true and I go to nursing school and can't find a job, could I join the military and gain experience there?

[666 = corruption]

Yes you could. I had a friend who was studying nursing and she was in the army.

[shiggenblugg]

You could, but it's a terrible idea. I had heard that nurses were very much in demand right now. There are other better options than the armed forces. I hope you would consider joining the military for any reason other than wanting to serve your county as a last option.

[Pookyâ„¢]

Even a few years ago when the recruiters came to school (I am a school nurse and I sat in during one of their presentations), the US Army was not accepting any new applications. Things were that bad a few years ago, but this year is a little better.

Just three days ago, Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles just open up, for the first time in years, new grad program.

nursing school are flooding the market with new grad nurses, and the older nurses in the hospital are not retiring fast enough.

While it is almost impossible for new grad to get any job that requires experiences, most nursing homes will take on a new grad nurse, and it will train them.

Not all nursing home are what you think – many of them are rehab hospitals. Patients do get better and are discharged to their homes.

After one year of experience, many nurses leave and apply at regular hospitals, and are employed that way.

So if you only came to work at UCLA Ronald Reagan emergency room or ICU as your first job, you set your sight too high. Be humble and take whatever job that is offered to you, and in meanwhile, with experience, you can always transfer.

[Monique]

Rainbow Head.....many employers, of course, will "prefer" experience. It doesn't mean that it is impossible to find a job. New nurses do find jobs. I think that regardless of the profession, when we don't have experience we have to be willing to compromise. For example, perhaps your first job isn't the dream job you want......maybe you have to work in the trenches to pay your dues first. Perhaps you don't get the perfect "shift" on that first job. You may need to work on call, you may have to work weekends and holidays, etc.

And you may need to relocate for a job. More people have college degrees now, and the job market has more people in the market. I have found that networking is a plus. It is also important to never burn any bridges as a professional in a field, because the world is small! In fact, technology has made the world smaller (i.e. twitter, facebook, linked in).

[lisa]

Well, maybe. You need to graduate with a BSN from a CCNE accredited school. If it is not CCNE accredited but a BSN, you can't work as a nurse. If you get an associate degree (which cannot be CCNE accredited), then it won't count and you cannot work as a nurse. I do not know if they accept direct entry MSNs from a CCNE accredited school.

Your best bet is to do well in nursing school, get meaningful experiences, and look to make yourself marketable. I have experience as a paramedic in an ER and I had two job offers before I walked to graduation and I have had three more.