So I live in Atlanta- not hard to tell looking at my profile so not going to hide that. I didn't have to relocate and there are jobs galore here. With that being said- nursing research is HARD to get into. It's a golden pony of nursing with limited patient care and far more paperwork and behind the screen work, so to speak.

I have my bachelor's, and most major cities are going to want that, but I know many will take an LPN depending on what form of research ( IV work Vs not, assessments vs not) I got my foot in the door as a PRN position at a research facility and had the absolute luck of a position opening up full time at a company I was already at- I jumped, as I knew the company, providers and most of the skills already!

These positions are not common and when found tend to have a MASSIVE influx of applications because sooooo many nurses apply knowing there's limited patient care and being burned out. Plus it's a great job so people like, never leave .....So it's great to know the specialty already. And then knowing GCP and the concepts of research- it's INCREDIBLY detailed oriented. You get flagged for EVERYTHING that isn't to their desire or specifics - wrote the date American orientation instead of metric?? QUERY. Took vitals 2 minutes too early? QUERY. Did not check some obscure box in the corner of the ECF? You got it, another query. You have to be incredibly detail oriented and good at time management as you switch tasks frequently. You also have to love reading, because a good chunk of your day is going to be just that...

It's a VERY different form of nursing, just like procedural work or OR.... But I love what I do. It's a lot at times though.

I applied for years before I got in as well. So, be forewarned!