Close your eyes and point anywhere on a map of the United States. There is a 100% chance that your finger will land on a state that has a high need for nurses.
Some of these states do a lot to incentivize recent college graduates to come over and apply their trades. Nursing students who are willing to move to seek better benefits may be well rewarded.
In this article, we take a look at why it may be worthwhile to seek out-of-state nursing jobs.
Higher salary
One of the main reasons that nurses seek out-of-state employment is that some locations offer better pay and benefits than others. Often, compensation is tied to the cost of living. For example, California is one of the highest-paying states in the country for nursing careers but it also has higher housing expenses.
Areas also base their compensation on demand. You might find rural hospitals or hospitals in underfunded urban environments are willing to pay a little bit more than hospitals in areas that are relatively well-staffed.
There are entire categories of careers that involve going to high-need states. Travel nurses move around to understaffed hospitals generally logging only a few months at any given location.
This is a difficult lifestyle for many people. It is hard to make friends. You most likely won’t see your family very often.
If you have children, you will either have to accept going months without seeing them or work out an arrangement where they are constantly changing schools.
It is a difficult lifestyle, but those willing to give it a try are rewarded with six-figure salaries.
Increased Range Of Responsibilities
States are all a little bit different when it comes to how they regulate nursing careers. This is particularly relevant for nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners are RNs with a graduate degree in nursing.
The work they do after getting their degree will depend largely on what the state they live in allows.
Some states let nurse practitioners run their own practice the same way a general practitioner might.
Not only do they have more autonomy and freedom, but they also get the chance to run their practice like a small business.
Other states require doctors to sign off on all of their decisions.
Naturally, these are two different experiences. If you are interested in becoming a nurse practitioner, you will probably appreciate the opportunity to work in an environment with fewer restrictions. Sometimes, it may be worthwhile to move in order to have more freedom.
Job Opportunities
Job opportunities? Aren’t nurses needed everywhere? They are, but if you plan on specializing, you may find that it is trickier to get your dream job than you might have previously anticipated.
The average community can make do with only a couple of forensic nurses, for example. If those positions are filled in your town, you can either wait possibly for one to open up or move somewhere that is looking to fill the position right away.
Is it worth moving just to get a specialized nursing job? The answer to that question, of course, depends on your priorities. If you are interested in doing fulfilling work right away and you don’t have roots in your community, it is an easy choice to make. On the other hand, if your support system is located in your hometown, you made it worthwhile to just wait things out.
Expand Your Options
Some nurses live near multiple states. If you live in St. Louis, for example, you are only a 10-minute drive from Illinois.
In this case, he might want to work out of state while continuing to live in St. Louis. This is certainly possible to do, but what does that mean in terms of licensing requirements? That’s the tricky part about working outside of your home. What does it take to expand the versatility of your degree?
Get a Compact Nursing License
A compact nursing license is quite possibly the easiest secondary certification you can get. In some cases, you can achieve it simply by scoring a high enough test on the NCLEX. This certification allows you to work in almost any state without needing to pass additional certification requirements.
Granted, not every state participates in the compact nursing license program. If you are looking for employment in a region outside of this network, you will still have to jump through the regular hoops.
Conclusion
No, nursing is not some abstract niche position that will require you to look beyond your home state. Still, there are rewards out there for people who are willing to relocate. Whether or not you deem it worthwhile is a personal choice. At the very least, compact nursing licenses are an easy way to keep all of your options open. Once you get one, you certainly don’t have to use it, but isn’t it nice knowing you can use it if the mood strikes you?
