Pay Scale

GucciRN22 · Sep 1, 2009

nurses (on the floor, critical care, etc) should be paid more for what they do! i was working a few months ago and we had a quiet moment in the icu so we were chatting at the nurses station and a doctor (who's been rude on more than one occasion!) came in and said in all seriousness that we were being overpaid for our job. that just burned me up because, especially as someone relatively new to the world of critical care and who's busting her hump trying to learn and absorb as much as possible each shift, it was just a slap in the face!

*whew* sorry bout that....it just infuriated me!

anyhoo, at our facility in northern california, my base as a new grad was about $36 with a $4 diff for nights (i don't remember what pm diff was cause i never worked it so i didn't care) and $1.50 or something for weekends. charge pay is $1.25, but believe me, it's not worth it! together with the raises we've gotten via contract and experience, etc, i'm getting $43.80 and hour and i've been a nurse for almost 2.5 years now.

cost of living is higher here than some parts of the country, but when i hear about nurses in other states getting $13 an hour i want to cry. it's so unfair.

lacedmm1 · Sep 2, 2009

New Grad, hired into a critical care rotation program at a level 1 trauma hospital that does heart and lung transplants in Tampa, FL, pay starts at 21.50/hour. We do get diff for nights (19%) and weekends (5%) but I'm on days so I don't really benefit from that. The hospital is great about paying for continuing education and pursing further degrees, though, so that's definitely a plus.

jennysong81 · Oct 17, 2009

Wow. I never realized there'd be such a huge gap in pay...

I work in Fredericksburg, VA and make $27/hr w/o differential. I am fresh out of school and with differential for working nights I make $30-31/hr with weekend night differential of $8...

I feel that nurses are wayyyyyyy underpaid for the work we do.

$13/hr??? come on!! give me a break!!! ;(

Patchouli · Oct 19, 2009

i graduated in may and started working in july on a telemetry / progressive care unit. i work nights and make 21.75 an hour. weekend diff is 1.50.

MaverickyMaverick · Oct 20, 2009

NC is $19-$20

icuice · Oct 27, 2009

Come on out to California! In the East Bay, I believe they start at around $45/hour

RN2b74 · Nov 18, 2009

What is the starting pay for new grad RN's in LTC in chicago and surrounding suburbs.

sunnycalifRN · Nov 19, 2009

Well, I know you won't believe this . . . but I'm not lying . . . in the SF Bay area, starting salary for ICU is $32 - 40/hr. At four years, with rapid advancement, $50/hr is normal. And, my hospital is just average . . . the upper end is $55-60/hr.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Dec 9, 2009

I believe it, the Bay Area also has insane housing prices, and then you take in the taxes, etc. I don't believe the cost of living vs salary is really worth it, minus those who just love the area.

WindwardOahuRN, RN · Dec 9, 2009

Here's a union contract pay scale for a Honolulu, HI hospital. The COL is through the roof here, however, so keep that in mind. It's all relative:

http://www.queensmedicalcenter.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=138

clementinern · Dec 10, 2009

Wow, I guess we have it made in MA. I live south of Boston and at the top of the payscale (15 plus years experience) our base pay is $48/hr. I believe the scale for new grads starts around $23. Critical care does not get more money- it is based on years of experience. My community hospital has very competitive wages but there are some Boston hospitals that pay even better than this.

youknowho · Dec 10, 2009

Well, I know you won't believe this . . . but I'm not lying . . . in the SF Bay area, starting salary for ICU is $32 - 40/hr. At four years, with rapid advancement, $50/hr is normal. And, my hospital is just average . . . the upper end is $55-60/hr.

Really? That sucks. Down in the South end of the bay ICU starting for a RN II is 52/hr plus 4/hr for differential evenings and 2/hr for weekends.