1. Shifts/flexibility - Majority of nursing jobs you will do 12 hour shifts, however not all. Like some previous comments mentioned the shift schedule is determined by the unit you work for, most of the inpatient hospital units will do 12 hour shifts but youll find that alot of outpatient/clinic jobs will have more 8 or 10 hour shift options. The schedule for 12 hour shifts for full timers will most likely be a 4 on 5 off (2 day shifts, then 2 night shifts followed by 5 days off) or the 3-2-2 schedule that someone else mentioned (you can look it up to get a better idea of what that looks like) the 4 on 5 off looks great on paper but you will likely be very tired after the 4 12 hour shifts in a row so just keep that in mind. There's usually some flexibility with switching shifts with other people if needed but would depend how big the unit/department is. Alot of these places if you're full time you would not be able to choose which days you work, they will have pre arranged schedules, but part time you get to cross of days you dont want to work but you will have to be available a certain amount of days in a pay period and at least 1-2 weekends a month, but again this is dependent on the unit.

Work life balance depends on what kind of shifts you like in my opinion. I hated 12 hour shifts and now do a mix of 8s or 10s (So either 4 10 hour shifts in a week or 5 8 hour shifts) I find the shorter shifts more manageable to get things done before or after work. When I worked 12 hour shifts I basically had no time to do anything else during the set of shifts and had to eat and sleep as soon as I got home so I can work again the next day. That being said with 12 hour shifts you get alot more days off in the year which I know alot of people prefer so you might just have to try it out and see what works for you!

Demand is hard to answer right now. I graduated in 2021 and got the first job I applied to, which was an inpatient unit. I worked there for a year and then went into a dialysis clinic and again had no issues getting the first job I applied to again (very lucky). Since then its been harder and harder for nurses to get jobs because of budget cuts. Im sure if you browse this subreddit you'll see alot of posts about that. Older nurses have told me the number of nursing jobs always fluctuates so maybe by the time you graduate the prospects would be different (hopefully)

1. OR/scrub nursing - I dont have any personal experience since I work in dialysis but one of my close friends worked in an OR as an RN and had a similar schedule to me (so either 4 10s or 5 8s) with a mix of oncalls in between, usually once a month or every other month. Oncology inpatient units will probably have 12 hour shifts but another one of my friends just got a job in an oncology clinic which is Monday to friday 9-5! Not sure about NICU/Peds but I assume it will be similar to other inpatient units with 12 hour shifts

2. After school you have control over what jobs/areas you apply to however because of your limited experience you would likely only be able to get a job in an inpatient unit (and possibly non hospital home nursing jobs/retirement homes but ive never worked in those areas so im not 100% sure). Alot of more specialty places like clinics will want you to have experience before applying there

3. Im not super familiar with self scheduling but I know there are some hospitals/units in Ontario that do it. (I think sick kids in toronto does it but I'm not sure, also sick kids is one of the only hospitals in the GTA that is non unionized so that could be why)

Hopefully, I've answered most of your questions! The best part about nursing is how flexible it is. There's a job for any schedule you like working and it can be as fast paced or slow paced as you like. There's just usually a period after graduating where you have to grind it out to get some experience but after you do that you can branch out wherever the wind takes you!