My boyfriend is considering nursing as a career change and he is mostly attracted to the field for the job security after schooling. Recently I was talking with a nurse that's been in the field for a long time and she stated that the nursing field is becoming over saturated. I would like some feedback from other nurses in the field about how the job market is now for new nursing school graduates. Is the nursing field really over saturated? Is it hard to find a job? Is it now ridiculous to only get an associates in nursing? Is it still possible to get an associates first and then complete a bachelors while working or is it recommended to go straight through to obtain a bachelors in nursing? I would appreciate any feedback.
Is Nursing over saturated?
- Thread starter yaoigirl
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I'm not a nurse but my sister is, she just recently graduated from an associates program and was almost immediately hired. You can definitely go associates first and finish the bachelors afterwards, thats what I would do so you could make RN money for the last two years of school. I don't think it'll bar you from jobs to get an associates now but you definitely want to get that BSN so you can get leadership positions in your career.
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I've been a nurse for 30y. Right now, there is oversaturation in many areas. Hospitals are increasingly requiring applicants for jobs to have a BSN for entry-level positions. Leadership positions are usually reserved for nurses with an MSN.
Your BF may want to check out www.allnurses.com.
Your BF may want to check out www.allnurses.com.
What I've noticed is that it can be tough to get your first job out of school, and the bar is rising for folks with an associate. Many hospitals wasn't to see you either have a bachelors or are working on one at least, so you might as well get one early and save yourself some time later. But in my case, my associates was <$10,000. I work with and for nurses who are $70,000+ just from student debt who went to private school. Meanwhile, those of us who had associates degrees are doing cheap bachelors completion degrees. One RN I work with has $150k in student debt, another has $110000, another has $56000. It's ridiculous. Don't go that far into debt to become a nurse.
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In my area (NYC metro area), it is extremely hard to get a new grad RN job with an associates. Most hospitals here either explicitly state that the BSN is required, or that it is "preferred" (which ends up meaning required). At one hospital I used to work at as a PCT, my manager told me that he doesn't even bother looking at new grad RNs with an associates. I now work part time at NY-Presbyterian (I'm in a BSN program), and the position I have was listed as being for nursing students, and that we have a high likelihood as being hired on as RNs after we graduate and pass the NCLEX-RN exam (and I've talked to a number of RNs there that were in the same program), and the position is only open to BSN students, not associates.
Having said that, it really depends on your area. As already mentioned, have him check out allnurses.com. There are state specific subforums where he can ask about the local climate. Maybe he could also look into the state school(s) with BSN programs. Also, if he does end up doing an associates program, the best way to maximize his chances of actually getting a job after is to: 1) get a job as a CNA/PCT/whatever in a hospital and work part time while going to school, and 2) enroll immediately in the RN-BSN program after graduating and passing the licensing exam.
Having said that, it really depends on your area. As already mentioned, have him check out allnurses.com. There are state specific subforums where he can ask about the local climate. Maybe he could also look into the state school(s) with BSN programs. Also, if he does end up doing an associates program, the best way to maximize his chances of actually getting a job after is to: 1) get a job as a CNA/PCT/whatever in a hospital and work part time while going to school, and 2) enroll immediately in the RN-BSN program after graduating and passing the licensing exam.
There's a big health system in my area that wouldn't even look at me as a new grad with an associates degree. My peers in my cohort who already had CNA jobs in that system did get hired by them right out of school, but the stipulation included them going on to get a bachelors degree. Now that I have experience, I'd get picked up if I applied, but they would also want to see me have a bachelors in hand before long. As a magnate system, it's just part of the landscape now. Degree creep. But that said, New York is a unique market that has employment aspects that aren't nearly close to being universal. It's some of the highest density living in the world, and doesn't reflect what goes on in 98% of the rest of the country. I know folks doing fine with their associates, and picking up jobs left abd right. So collapse hadn't hit associates degree nurses quite yet, but it's on the horizon. If you know you have to do it eventually, why not get the bachelors early vs late.
