Can I Survive Off Of Certified Nursing Assistant Salary? Opinions & Stories Please!

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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I'm very curious if it is possible to survive out in the "real world" with the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) job salary of 25,000 a year. Is that even the average salary anymore? How much do average CNA's get paid an hour? Most importantly, can I survive off of certified nursing assistant salary job?

Thanks

Best Answer...
AGWSRnurse said:
I teach a CNA class at a high school in Iowa. CNA's start at $10.10 at the nursing home a block away from the high school. Most nursing homes in our area are in the $9-$10 range to start. There is a weekend differential and time and one half for call-in, double time for major holidays generally.

Yes, one can "survive"...but hopefully your aspirations are more than survival.

CNA work is demanding...but rewarding. It is an excellent job that one can survive on while continuing their education..whatever career path that might be.

There is usually plenty of hours to be had, and it dovetails perfectly with going to school usually as there are evening and nite shifts, weekend work etc.

One always has to think short term...and long term....

It may be perfect for 4-6 years...but will you be able to do this job all your working life?

It may inspire you to continue to learn more and become more educated and have more responsibility as either an LPN or an RN.

Thank you. That was exactly what I was looking for!

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I pull in $8 an hour at an assisted living facility and I'm still living with my Mom. So, no, for me it's not enough to make a living off of. That's why I'm starting nursing school in the fall.

Best of luck to you!

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It depends on where you live, I couldn't at 16 per hr. If you are single and live at home. Most CNA's work 2 jobs

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I agree with the emotional satisfaction. I left a high paying job to be a cna at 57. I have a hard time with working short, aides not working with you on 2 person assist. Charge nurse expecting you to give care to someone who is a one on one and still do your rounds for 18 other patients. I was attacked by a resident , I was the 5th cna in one week to be sent to the emergency room. Unless you are a union worker you aren't protected. Workman's comp is lousy. I am out of work for 10 mos. I work for Catholic Health Care of Long Island NY, they didn't even apologize for not providing a safe place to work. The resident was 90 very strong but old he didn't mean to hurt anyone. He should have had the correct care.

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nguyency77 said:
That's more than my parents, who are immigrants, could ever hope to make. Maybe $13 isn't so much, but I'm proud that I can buy my own college textbooks and put away money for my wedding.

=/ I'm pretty sure she didn't mean it that way. I think her question was more towards if you were living on your own with a cna salary.

Futurepedsnurse:),

I get $12 an hour and roughly make $1600 a month after taxes & live with roommates. With paying for rent, utilities, car bills, braces bills, school payments, gas etc, I barely make it. It all depends on what you pay for you know and the area you live in. I live in southern California, and a one bedroom here is like $1400...

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h_kitty: California is so beautiful, but oh my goodness the real estate! I have some friends who live over there, and when I go visit I can't even turn around in their bathroom without knocking anything over, it's so tight in there. And it costs them over $900 a month.

Back on topic, my mentor is a CNA and she's managed to send her daughter to nursing school working by herself (divorced). Yes, it just depends on where you live and how much it costs to live there. For example, the reason my mentor could do that is because cost of living in New Mexico is not so bad. And she works a lot. ?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

I live in MD, and I got my CNA in 2009. My first CNA job, I got $11/hr. Now it might not seem much to some, but I was 19 & at the time that was the highest paying job I had at that point. I worked PRN & PT at a few other places here in the area and my starting wages were : $13/hr (weekends, no shift or weekend differential though), $10.50/hr($1/hr weekend differential), and $12.92/hr($2/hr more for 2nd shift, $3/hr more for weekends). I never worked full time b/c I was in school, and I still live @ home. But if I had to, I guess living on a CNA wage in this area is feasible..I'd probably have to have a roommate (or 2) or work 2 jobs(which many of my co-workers do). So basically, it just depends on your area. Some places pay better than others, but that's due to the higher cost of living.

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I make $16 an hr in a Jewish home with 4 units... locked alzheimer's dementia, rehab and 2 ltc units.

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I make 12.85 an hour. from 2pm-6am I make an additional $1.75. At our facility we get bonuses for shifts that we pick up. 4 hour shift we get a 30 dollar bonus for a full shift we get 60 dollars for a bonus. As you all know most nursing facilities are short handed and will allow you to pick up as many shifts as you want. That being said, I made 35k last year. I probably couldn't afford the lifestyle I live right now without my husbands income. But if I had to I could most certainly live off of that income if we had to.

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If more facilities were as generous as the one you work at mottema, CNA work wouldn't be considered so much of a low-paying job. Bonuses for taking extra shifts? Wow unheard of!! In my opinion, that's the way it should be. To a great degree, CNA's are not really paid what they're worth and being called in to cover the shift of someone who calls off should be rewarded instead of just expected but not compensated. Facilities are always looking for ways to cut costs and paying CNA's as little as they can get away with is sometimes the solution.....which unfortunately leads to a higher attrition rate and a higher turnover of employees ends up being expensive when you have to retrain new people all the time.

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Yes the bonuses are a good thing at my facility if I work extra shifts. 12.85 alone doesn't pay the bills though. Unfortunately I'm still just as under paid as the rest.

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It just really depends on how much money your bills are every month. ? I would calculate your bills and then calculate a CNA's pay at a low scale (just to be cautious), but I think you should be able to make it work for a while until you become an RN. You can always live with your parents, roommates, or significant other for a while and save up some money! Good luck. ?

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