While De Anza College’s nursing program provided a 90 percent pass rate for the National Council Licensure Examination from 2011 to 2012,   many new nurses are struggling to find jobs.
The California Board of Registered Nursing website provides the pass-fail rate of  the grueling 5 hour NCLEX examination across all of United States’ nursing schools.  
De Anza nursing graduates must compete with other experienced nurses who are also applying for the same positions so it is harder for new nurses to get hired, said Robert Jeckell,
De Anza nursing specialist.
“They’d (hospitals) rather use their own employees and have them work overtime.  It saves them money,” said Jeckell. “The job market in the Bay Area is very competitive because of the high wages for nurses.”
Even 18 months after graduating, about 43 percent of new California registered nurses cannot find work, according to American Society of Registered Nurses.
“Graduates need orienting, extra training to get them on the ground running,” Jeckell said. “If there are jobs available, they go to experienced nurses.”
New nurses who lack confidence in their own skills make recruiters nervous.
Good interviewing skills makes a difference when jobs are scarce, said Jeckell.  
Some De Anza nursing graduates travel across the nation to find nursing positions that are less competitive than in the Bay Area.  
“They should be willing to relocate to other areas where jobs are more available.  We’ve even had some nursing students go as far away as Texas to get jobs,” he said.  
Jackell said, he expects a good outlook for nursing long term. It is just a matter of the economy improving, and with all the new national health initiatives, there will be a high need for nurses to take care of the new people on health insurance.