Dead end job

2 Is it just me or does nursing seem like it's becoming a dead end job? I really like what I do, because I love working in Critical Care, but I'm getting really frustrated that it feels like there is no room to grow anymore. I feel like I'm stuck in this town because the job market hasn't recovered. I'm sure most of you are feeling the same way. I just wanted to vent about it. I've had my heart on moving for awhile now but there just isn't any opportunity out there. I really hope that some day the market starts to open up again and the corporate side of hospitals stop sticking it to us nurses.

-David
Have you ever worked at a McDonald's restaurant? I worked there as a cashier/crew member back in the late 1990s when I was in high school. The place offered minimum wage, a smelly environment, silly uniforms, functionally illiterate coworkers, and minimal opportunities for advancement. The employee turnover rate was greater than 100 percent. The only perk was the fact that crew members received free and/or discounted food.Now that's what I call a dead-end job...

I know how you feel 1000%, I feel like a caged bird, I want to go home to Atlanta but the job market up there SUCKS! I hate my job (been a nurse for 9 years) I mean I love being a nurse, I just hate my job, it's like the same old routine, day in and day out, no room for growth at all, I have no enjoyment, but it pays the bills, feeds the kiddies and pays for school, I make really really good money, but I have realized that money can't make me happy, it has to come from within. I need a change real fast cause I have no compassion left...

Just going out on a limb. How about getting certification in your specialty or a specialty you might want to try and apply for another job? or just go back to school. idk

As a BSN nurse I do not feel like I am in a dead end job. I can apply for a masters program tomorrow and become an FNP/CNM/ect. Sounds like you might be stuck in a rut, don't blame it on nursing. Its the economy. Did you feel like this two years ago?

i have given up on my current job being any source of happiness except for when my shift is over! with that said, i have found happiness outside of work through my extracurricular activities and my family. my growth as a nurse also comes from outside of work. i train and study outside of work and use work as a place to apply information i have learned on my own. these are my ways of turning lemons into lemonade.i wish my current place of employment could mean more to me then a source of work experience and hours within the ed setting. however, the reality is that i work with very jealous, miserable, and manipulative people who, although are not the majority of my co-workers, influence my work environment as if they are the majority (these few even have the nerve to say bold statements about shutting down our er to mangers without fear of retribution). thus, i'm counting down to the day i can give my resignation as well. i want to move out of state so bad i can taste it but the job market sucks. good luck to all of you in being able to make a change soon!

Quote from TheCommuterHave you ever worked at a McDonald's restaurant? I worked there as a cashier/crew member back in the late 1990s when I was in high school. The place offered minimum wage, a smelly environment, silly uniforms, functionally illiterate coworkers, and minimal opportunities for advancement. The employee turnover rate was greater than 100 percent. The only perk was the fact that crew members received free and/or discounted food.Now that's what I call a dead-end job...

I go in with a grin and leave the same way. But then, I just got into this game.... so who knows how I'll feel in a couple of years - or decades... That being said, you can always go back to school - take a couple of classes. See about filling in at a community health center or going on a medical missions trip - anything to change up the ho hum day in day out. What goes up will come down - we're in the down now... but when it comes to the economy, what goes down eventually comes back into the average norm. It'll come back up - and you'll be ready, waiting to pounce on it. Good luck - and many prayers.

To the OP- It's not just you. I know exactly what you mean. It's disheartening. Especially when people are constantly saying thinks like, "Oh, you're lucky, you can go where ever you want, they always need nurses" grrrrrr... many major hospitals remain in hiring freezes all across the country but most of all, nursing jobs are not all equal and although there may appear to be alot of nursing jobs in areas like LTC, etc. I'm just not interested in working in that environment. (those who do- God bless you, don't know how you do it!) Hope things change soon..

Ready for a change? There's travel nursing. 13 weeks is short enough to put up with almost any hospital, and a great paying way to get to know a new area. Traveling not your cup of tea? Use nursing, which is really a well paying career when you really think of it, as a stepping stone. A friend, whom I miss terribly, worked as a RN while becoming (ugggh!) a lawyer. But there are honerable alternatives too. Don't box yourself in with artificial limits. Atlanta? Maybe not now, but eventually? Wax on, wax off. There's no better occupation to change locations with than nursing. Nursing is the epitome of peripatetic! Good luck and via con Dios.

like i said...I don't hate nursing...I just hate the fact that you can't just pick up and leave anymore...it really does suck...to feel like you're stuck.

Quote from dhammo01like i said...I don't hate nursing...I just hate the fact that you can't just pick up and leave anymore...it really does suck...to feel like you're stuck.

Does your hospital pay for you to advance in your field? Maybe they would pay for you to go back to school and get a BSN. Idk if your hospital requires charge nurses to be BSNs, but if it does then it would open up another door for you. If it doesn't, a BSN would at least give you a better chance of getting other jobs if you wanted to move. However, by the time you finish your BSN the job market will probably have improved. It still might be worth it though if your job pays for it. It'll even open the door for a masters.Or maybe it's your coworkers? I know they can have a huge impact on how a person feels about their job.To be honest though, I think nursing is one of the only fields where you can get in a the lower end up the spectrum and work yourself all the way up. In many other fields you really can't do that. Many people start off ASN then go to to BSN then to MSN, all while working full time and with a full family schedule. I would think nursing would be the best possible job to get entry level because the possibilities are really limitless. And once you reach the graduate level, you don't even have to work clinically, you could be in academia.It sounds like your problem is that you're in a small town though. If you want to move, I'd first see if they would pay for a BSN. At least you'll have something interesting to do and you won't feel like you're stuck in the same spot because you will be working towards another goal. And once you complete that you can do many other things.Hope it all works out.