Are nurses really high in demand?

What about in California? Why is it that many ADN RN's find it difficult to find a job as an RN? I would love to get my BSN, but I just don't know how I can afford to get a BSN at the moment. State schools are so impacted and competitive. Private universities are waaaay too expensive. So my only choice to go for my ADN. But now I'm having second thoughts after reading on this forum about how many people couldn't find jobs as an RN with an ADN since most hospitals require a BSN. I really want to be an RN, always have and always will. Any advice, guys?
Experienced nurses are in demand.Inexperienced ones.....not so much.

There are job openings primarily for experienced nurses. Nurses with several years of experience in a particular specialty may be in high demand in some areas.However, new graduate nurses are a dime a dozen. There a few openings for new graduates and hundreds more applicants than positions to fill.

How does a new grad get experience?

You might have to look outside of the hospital. Many nurses think that the only way to get experience is in the hospital, but you may have to look in other areas such as long term care, home health, and private duty. It may be hard to find positions in these areas, but I noticed that it is easier to gain experience in these areas and then transition to hospital nursing. My friend is a lpn at a nursing home and they hire new grad RNs, but as soon as they get some experience and their desired hospital call them, they leave.So my advice is to look at other areas of nursing in addition to hospital nursing.

Like others have said there are still jobs if you have several years of experience in a specialty (not LTC, that doesn't count.) I know CA is very tough. CO is not much better. I know a few BSNs who have been hired as new grads, mostly those who worked as techs for 3-5 years before. Although some weren't able to work at the hospital where they had worked and had been verbally promised jobs. In some cases the hospital paid for schooling and then wrote off the cost rather than give the students jobs.Here you may be able to find a LTC job without experience and a bit of luck. But you will get very little (like 3 days) orientation so be sure you take every bit of knowledge you can from your clinical rotations. I'm not trying to be alarmist, just being honest. If you can get a CNA/tech job and prove yourself for a few years it is easier to get a job with your ADN. Research the market carefully. But frankly if you really want to be an RN, then do it and ride out the crappy market any way you can. I was happy to fulfill my dream of nursing when I was 36 years old and still don't regret it. My only regret is there was no way for me to do it sooner.

Quote from guevarrarWhat about in California? Why is it that many ADN RN's find it difficult to find a job as an RN? I would love to get my BSN, but I just don't know how I can afford to get a BSN at the moment. State schools are so impacted and competitive. Private universities are waaaay too expensive. So my only choice to go for my ADN. But now I'm having second thoughts after reading on this forum about how many people couldn't find jobs as an RN with an ADN since most hospitals require a BSN. I really want to be an RN, always have and always will. Any advice, guys?

Quote from JenniferSewsLike others have said there are still jobs if you have several years of experience in a specialty (not LTC, that doesn't count.) I know CA is very tough. CO is not much better. I know a few BSNs who have been hired as new grads, mostly those who worked as techs for 3-5 years before. Although some weren't able to work at the hospital where they had worked and had been verbally promised jobs. In some cases the hospital paid for schooling and then wrote off the cost rather than give the students jobs.Here you may be able to find a LTC job without experience and a bit of luck. But you will get very little (like 3 days) orientation so be sure you take every bit of knowledge you can from your clinical rotations. I'm not trying to be alarmist, just being honest. If you can get a CNA/tech job and prove yourself for a few years it is easier to get a job with your ADN. Research the market carefully. But frankly if you really want to be an RN, then do it and ride out the crappy market any way you can. I was happy to fulfill my dream of nursing when I was 36 years old and still don't regret it. My only regret is there was no way for me to do it sooner.

Quote from sweetnurse63 long term care does count depending on where you live.

Wow, I can imagine it is tuff without acute care experience. Most hospitals only have a few new grad positions open. I believe another reason that it is hard right now is because of the retention rate of new grad nurses. In some cases they only stay a yr and then leave. I guess the administration is looking at the cost of orientations and the time it takes for training new grad nurses.

Relocate to North Dakota. Healthcare jobs are bountiful over there.

To answer your question I would say yes and no. It depends on the location. If all the nurses with a license should start practicing again, there would never a be shortage. It's been said many times, there is a shortage of nurses who are not willing to work under certain circumstances.

I spent the whole year of my ABSN program stressed and depressed thinking that I would never find a job after graduation.. I read post after post on this forum about the impossibility of finding a job as a new grad. Well, I had 3 offers before graduation, and I will be starting at my first choice hospital this month. I haven't heard of any of my classmates having difficulty finding work either.New grads are finding jobs, although it probably depends where you are. If nursing is what you want to do, do it. And have faith that you will be impressive enough to sell yourself successfully to a hospital after graduation. Good luck.