Sunday, May 12, 2013

No nights or weekends please

It may be premature but I began looking at job postings for registered nurses. Would you believe that roughly 50% of the jobs on Indeed and on various hospital websites show job openings for evening and/or night shifts? There are also quite a view openings with variable shifts. Almost all hospital jobs or staff nurses requires some working on the weekends. This would be problematic. My husband already works a variable shift in his line of work and could either work day or night at any given moment (not to mention he usually works on Saturdays and does the occasional double shift). How does that work with 3 young children? Working full-time with children is never easy for a mother but at least its helpful when there is relatively stable childcare in place. My husband tells me not to worry about it but I feel he is being unrealistic about our future childcare issues and is only thinking about the potential income I could make as an RN (registered nurse). More money is good and all but what good is it if my children rarely sees either of their parents because they are always working crazy schedules? I looked into nannies but I am not comfortable with the idea of someone sleeping in my home overnight that I am not familiar with. No one can "force" me to work nights or weekends but pursuing a 24 hour occupation and not being flexible with the shifts could make the job searching process extremely difficult once the time comes. There are definitely nurse positions which do not require nights or weekends but many require a certain amount of experience, in addition to a BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) degree and certifications. The job market for nurses, like most occupations, is very difficult and although my goal is to be as flexible as I can, I know that my limitations may be a hindrance to finding employment. Whatever happens I need to make sure I am able to maintain the work and life balance I so desperately need.

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