Pay Rate

mclennan, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2013

Need a LOT more info to answer your question.

Pay rates vary widely in nursing. Not all nursing jobs are in hospitals on med surg floors. Public health? School nursing? Case management? Ambulatory clinic? Private duty? LTC/SNF? Research? Telephone triage? Home health? Workers comp? Aesthetics?

Your question is too broad. There are hundreds of hospitals in So Cal, where specifically are you asking about? L.A.? San Diego? Palm Springs?

Do you have a BSN? Previous degree? Experience & background in what? Are you seeking more education? In what? What certifications do you have? ANCC? Any volunteering? Your pay rate will depend heavily on these factors.

Did you look at the Dept. of Labor stats website? CA BON website? Any popular job seekers websites also have this info.

christinachamnong · Jul 17, 2013

Thanks for the info Mclennan! I am looking to move to California from New York. I have a BSN as my second degree. Prior to this I was a financial analyst and majored in econ and bio as an undergrad. I worked one year on a telemetry unit as a new grad, and spent the last two years working on a renal/liver transplant unit. So I guess I'm looking for a position as a staff RN within a hospital since that is where my experience lies. I was just wondering if I will be able to find a job that will be able to pay well enough to keep me afloat with my student loans and living expenses. Do you happen to know which area in Cali pays the best? Thanks!

mclennan, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2013

Well L.A. pays the best, but only because it has the highest cost of living. With experience and a BSN you'll be able to find a job here. But look at some of my past posts about life in L.A. Weigh carefully your goals and quality of life. It's a tough city in which to live. You will spend 1/3 of your life in traffic and never, ever be able to save money. The weather is perfect and there's great food & entertainment, mountains & beaches here, but everyone I know here is chasing their tail. Every penny you earn, you will spend. You'll have a great time but it's not sustainable for long term unless you are making 6 figures.

christinachamnong · Jul 17, 2013

HAHA that sounds like what I'm trying to escape from in NYC - I'm forever working and never saving - Rent here is 2000 for a studio - And it's cold in the winters!! I'm looking for a balance between quality of life and career. What area do you recommend in Cali?

mclennan, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2013

Cali is a big, big place. Depends on what you're looking for. L.A. is crowded, fun, hip and pretty expensive. Bay Area is insanely crowded, snobby, gorgeous and EXTREMELY expensive. San Diego is bland, but affordable, and hot. Sacramento area is boring, far from everything and sure, cheap to live but has no life. The desert cities and Inland Empire are poor, hot, cheap, and isolated but beautiful.

If you decide on L.A., PM me and I can blabber more!

zzbxdo · Jul 18, 2013

I disagree. I've grown up in the bay area, I work in San Diego, and regularly visit my girlfriend living in LA. Unless you are living in Sf, yes it is expensive but the bay area itself is much more doable in terms of being able to save while enjoying life. San Diego is no warmer than LA and the weather is more consistent. If you are into the arts, fashion, follow the lifestyles of celebrities like a troll than yeah LA is more fun. To say San Diego is bland is pretty off, there's much to be offered. Pay between LA and San Diego is pretty much neck and neck, you'll only see differences if you're a vet or administrative. Bedside with

Personally, LA is my least favored metro. For the most part, everything LA has to offer, the other 2 has, though nightlife and foodie adventures are on LAs side vs sd. The lost of spontaneity due to traffic is a major buzz kill. Sf isn't horrible bad but navigating the city can be harsh for a noob during traffic. Commuting into the city during traffic hours are pretty rough, but 10 miles in LA will always be lame unless it's the middle of the night.

EllTee2B · Jul 18, 2013

I disagree. I've grown up in the bay area, I work in San Diego, and regularly visit my girlfriend living in LA. Unless you are living in Sf, yes it is expensive but the bay area itself is much more doable in terms of being able to save while enjoying life. San Diego is no warmer than LA and the weather is more consistent. If you are into the arts, fashion, follow the lifestyles of celebrities like a troll than yeah LA is more fun. To say San Diego is bland is pretty off, there's much to be offered. Pay between LA and San Diego is pretty much neck and neck, you'll only see differences if you're a vet or administrative. Bedside with
Personally, LA is my least favored metro. For the most part, everything LA has to offer, the other 2 has, though nightlife and foodie adventures are on LAs side vs sd. The lost of spontaneity due to traffic is a major buzz kill. Sf isn't horrible bad but navigating the city can be harsh for a noob during traffic. Commuting into the city during traffic hours are pretty rough, but 10 miles in LA will always be lame unless it's the middle of the night.

I firmly disagree also. The Bay Area is not as expensive as this person is trying to make it out to be. San Fran is pretty expensive but the Bay Area in general is pretty reasonable. Definitely don't think the all caps on "extremely" was warranted.

anonymous 456 · Jul 18, 2013

As a native San Diegan I also have to disagree with the statements about the rest of California vs. LA. I have been all over California recently looking for work; there is only one place I crossed off my list: L.A. The traffic, the cost of living, and congestion is a deal breaker for me. I love San Diego (great food, good night life, lots of places to find adventure, beautiful beaches) and places like Sacramento (which I personally love, and found many things to do), the Bay area, up the coast past LA, and even in the Central Valley which is very agricultural and beautiful in my opinion (yes it does get hot, but nothing a little AC cannot cure.) Central California and anything that is not a major metropolitan area is very affordable. I eventually took a job in the central valley which is paying me only a few dollars less then I would be making in San Diego. And WOW, I cannot even begin to tell you what my dollar is affording me in terms of quality of living.

zzbxdo · Jul 18, 2013

Which part of the central valley? I went to school near Modesto and most of my classmates were hired by DMC. As a new grad I believe they were making a bit more, if not just as much as me here in SD. Socal sunshine tax sucks, wish there wasn't a pay discrepancy between norcal and socal. Those working in Sacramento are making bank.

anonymous 456 · Jul 18, 2013

Bakersfield.

zzbxdo · Jul 18, 2013

I was just wondering what the pay rate in So. Cali would be? I am an RN with 3 years of experience working in a major NYC hospital. Currently our pay rate is $38/hr as a base rate even for new graduates. Is the Cali pay rate comparable? Also what is a typical nurse to patient ratio on a med surg floor? THanks!

Anyways back to your primary questions, medsurg Pt ratios vary by institution. A community hospital may be 5 to 6:1 or whatever the limits are for cali law. Places like ucla, medsurg pts are higher acuity and it's 4:1 from what I know, not sure about other ranked facilities in the area. With experience pay should be about 40 base but that's just from knowledge regarding the UC systems, I assume other competitive facilities are similar or slightly less. You can find the pay scale of each UC facility on their individual sites, pay is scaled on years within the UC and experience.

Working 90% and after rent bills and enjoying life, I still managed to pay off all my student loans in my first 6months while helping out my folks up north. Pretty doable, definitely can't say the same if you're in LA with other expenses such as car loans etc. I prefer surpluses in my bank account haha.