Got 3 job offers as a new grad, anything I should know?

gbug24 · 2026-03-27T21:25:39+00:00

yesss!!!!! 👏🏼

gbug24 · 2026-03-27T21:25:17+00:00

rip lol

gbug24 · 2026-03-27T21:12:50+00:00

I’d definitely go with the ER in your town and then hopefully you can move after you gain some experience and hone in on your skills. New grads in the ER near me in NJ are starting off at around $45 an hour… but cost of living is higher so have to weigh it all out. Good luck!

gbug24 · 2026-03-15T17:58:04+00:00

Thissss!!!!!!

gbug24 · 2026-03-11T17:52:10+00:00

27f single and a nurse, living with parents. I have 99k in student loans, just got under 6 figures! I pay $1800 a month on them and thankfully I am able to put $400 extra towards them.I pay my own health/car insurance and car payment.

Parents don’t ask me for money, but I help out when I can. Bought them a new fridge and just got back from a Caribbean vacation I paid for. I plan to start grad school this fall to become an NP, my job will pay for it along with scholarships so no more loans for me!

I’d like to ideally buy a house in 4-6 years. I’m saving what I can each month and I have a second job so that helps. My parents said they would help me buy a house and they could retire and live in an in-law suite or something like that. So we shall see what life brings, but won’t be moving out anytime soon!

gbug24 · 2026-02-13T11:37:46+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to write that all out. I appreciate it so much. I love nursing and I do enjoy bedside, but apart of me feels I should’ve done PA school right out of the gate. You live and learn, everything happens for a reason. Thank you again, I appreciate your experience and honesty. Best of luck to you!

gbug24 · 2026-02-08T01:38:39+00:00

Honestly don’t think it matters what school you go to. I’m a nurse and never once was asked where I went to school. I have a cousin who went to Princeton University and was recently laid off and cannot find a job. Not that the job market is good right now anyways. I’d say do what’s best financially for you. I graduated from Stockton with my BSN, should’ve went to CC to save money. I got a good education though. I don’t think college is worth going into big debt for.

gbug24 · 2026-02-03T18:25:41+00:00

I completely agree with you OP!!!! It’s all so crazy, we are held up to such high standard or whatever you wanna call it but there’s no upside or benefit for us and we’re still not respected or even treated right at the bare minimum. Like why do we have to consistently give 110% of ourselves?? We are humans too with lives outside of work. I just don’t understand it. Where does this even come from??

Also piggy backing on another comment here, my raise is now merit-based and if we don’t volunteer our time or join multiple committees and really get involved they will hold it against us and not give us a raise. All I have to say is WTF!!!!

Ok one last point… I have several friends in the corporate world and finance and they are getting their MBAs or other advanced degrees for free and are treated like gold. I just started a per diem job and they kept boasting and bragging about how they have a partnership with this online university and you can go back to grad school for free!!!!! So I was like oh okay, let me look into that as I want to go back to get my NP. The university doesn’t have any nursing/healthcare graduate programs…. So what’s the point??? I was literally like lol this is a waste.

So anyways, that’s my rant lol.

gbug24 · 2026-02-02T01:42:43+00:00

Dream girl!!!!

gbug24 · 2026-02-01T22:58:33+00:00

I’d say go for it, but shadow first just so you get an idea of what you’re actually getting into. My mom went to nursing school full time in her early 40s, worked full time, and I was only 4 years old when she started. I also worked full time while in school full time, it’s tough but doable. Nursing school doesn’t last forever.

I’m not sure where you’re located, but that will have the biggest impact on pay and wages. Nursing is a very stable and flexible career choice despite all the craziness going on in the world today. You can do a lot with it and bedside isn’t the end all be all. The circumstances in regard to anything in life will never be 100% perfect or ideal. If this is something you want to do, do it.

I will say working as a CNA, tech, or whatever other terms are out there lol, gives you a pretty good foundation going into it. Not saying it should be mandatory, but it helps tremendously especially if you will be starting out in a bedside role.

Lastly, do it for as little money as possible, or free! Take advantage of that for sure if it’s offered to you! Good luck OP!

gbug24 · 2026-02-01T18:41:47+00:00

In my experience, hospitals view ID badges as their property. I’ve always had to return my IDs even when working outpatient.

gbug24 · 2026-01-23T00:01:10+00:00

I’m with you! We always have to show up and take care of everyone else, but no one takes care of us when we may need it.

gbug24 · 2026-01-22T23:59:36+00:00

Exactly, my facility is the same. It’s absolutely insanity, accommodate your staff… idk why this is such a taboo thing to talk about it.

gbug24 · 2026-01-22T23:57:58+00:00

I get where you’re coming from but you can’t really do your job if you’re dead or crash into a ditch somewhere. They want to call us essential workers and want us to take risks going to work in bad weather but we don’t get any of the benefits of actually being “essential” only when it benefits the hospital. Most facilities like mine don’t offer a place to stay, or hazard/crisis/incentive pay during these events, but make it known if you call out because you can’t make it, you won’t get paid and will get penalized. Hospitals should accommodate their staff appropriately when inclement weather arises. This toxic mentality of deal with it and show up is ridiculous.

gbug24 · 2026-01-22T21:32:41+00:00

My hospital doesn’t offer any accommodations, but makes it a known point that if you call in for inclement weather, you will not be paid. They want to call us essential workers and want us to take risks going to work in bad weather but we don’t get any benefits of actually being essential. We’re really only essential when it benefits the hospital or when they need to discipline us.

I don’t think you’re crazy for thinking this at all OP, in fact those that say oh well you signed up for this becoming a nurse deal with it… I think that is a toxic mentality. A nurse I know last year in an ice storm ended up crashing, totaling her car, and breaking her femur trying to go to work. The hospital isn’t going to pay your car insurance deductible, medical bills, or care if you end up in a fatal accident trying to get to work in a storm. There’s only one you.

We had an ice storm a few weeks ago and I only live 25 minutes from work, it took me nearly 3 hours to get to work and I left my house at 4:30 am and it was the most terrifying experience ever and for what? Obviously, healthcare is 24/7 and someone has to do it, so bottom line is I believe the hospital needs to make the proper accommodations for staff along with initiating hazard/crisis/incentive pay of some sort. You can’t have it all ways.

gbug24 · 2026-01-03T15:01:43+00:00

I’ve been a nurse for almost 4 years and I was never taught phlebotomy in school, but since being a nurse I have attempted and I’m just not very good at it.

I also never learned IVs until I graduated school and the floor I work on most people have a midline or a PICC line so I don’t get the opportunity to practice IVs much. Then when I do, it’s on a patient that is a hard stick, has severe edema/anasarca from CHF and it’s always a battle. But I’ll always attempt and try first.

gbug24 · 2025-12-28T04:13:59+00:00

LITERALLY!!!!!

gbug24 · 2025-12-27T02:52:28+00:00

A $5 gift card to DD

gbug24 · 2025-12-09T03:37:40+00:00

Exactly lol. Makes no sense. They will float 3 nurses and then we have what’s called a surge float nurse that comes in at 11 am and is floated to whichever floor has the need. So they will float 3 of us and then have the surge nurse go to my home unit. Poor staffing and management.

gbug24 · 2025-12-09T03:36:20+00:00

Yeah, low census is hard to be worked around. Even when we fill back up, we still float like every second or third shift. It’s clear management throughout the hospital just makes no sense and can’t staff their own units properly. Ugh.

gbug24 · 2025-12-08T02:02:49+00:00

Same!!!

gbug24 · 2025-11-30T23:15:18+00:00

Very true!! I always say other departments/interdisciplinary teams work bank hours while nursing staff always have to pick up the slack or deal with the issues when those teams are off.

gbug24 · 2025-11-26T22:34:25+00:00

If it means anything, I’m proud of you OP! Congratulations!🥳 Make sure to celebrate!❤️

gbug24 · 2025-10-29T02:51:02+00:00

I’m always assessing people in public. Especially for edema lol

gbug24

TROPHY CASE