Making a living as a CNA

[Queen33FutureLPN]

You can definitely make money as a CNA. I started out working in nursing homes for about 9 months and I finally got an offer to work in a hospital. It was the best thing money wise I could have done.

I work at least 104 hr a paycheck. After my regular 84 hrs I make $15.74 a hr which is great and I can get all the overtime I want. I am in MS of course cost of living is not that high here. I will admit to make money you have to work really long hrs. What I like to do is turn my 12 hrs into 16 hrs a day and work 7 days a week. Therefor I can get my overtime and not have to work on my off days. This year I made close to 30,000 and that is a huge jump from the 15,000 I made in ltc. I encourage any CNA to get into a hospital and especially one that offers a lot of overtime.

[funtimes]

Making a living as a CNA can be done, but its not easy. Even if you do make a decent amount of money its the wear and tear on your back that makes it tough to make a career out of being a CNA.

RNs experience some wear and tear on their back as well, but they are a lot better compensated for it financially, and RNs can often find jobs that require little to no heavy lifting, where as with a CNA its going to be a big part of the job no matter where you work. Sadly a lot of the lowest paid CNAs work in places where they are doing the most heavy lifting, mainly in LTC.

I would recommend that every CNA that can do it go for more medical training, even if you like being a CNA. If you can, try to take one class a semester even if you arent particularly book smart and struggled in high school, you should still be able to take a class like medical terminology one semester, beginning A&P another, and maybe some MA classes, and in a couple years you will possess skills that will enable you to branch out from being a CNA, or stand a much better chance of working as a hospital PCT.

From there you can decide to go on to be an RN, or not. Its not for everyone as there is increasing competition for school seats, and its expensive and time consuming, so its unrealistic to expect that every CNA is going to become an RN.

Ive been non commital on RN at this point, just adding gradually to my skill set. Getting my EMT license one year, taking phlebotomy classes another, A&P this year, while still working as a CNA and PCT. If I was 18 again I would just focus on becoming an RN, but life didnt turn out that way.

God bless people who can make a career as a CNA, but I dont see it as a long term job prospect for most people, its just too hard a job for too little money, and its a shame, because being a competent CNA takes a fair amount of skill and dedication, not everyone can do it, so I feel some CNAs are wasting their talent by not continuing on.

[SandraD88]

I'd love to work in a hospital and get those hours and pay . Iv herd hospital environments are stressful and hard to get into . It seems most hospital want C.N.A.s that have a certain amount of acute care or skilled nursing home experience . Which I don't have . But I just recently starter a job at a skilled nursing home .and I do agree being a CNA is hard work .

[FaithGurl93]

I couldn't imagine working that much!!!!! God bless you!!!! lol. I'm a CNA at a hospital and I'm studying to take my boards for my LPN and I'm only working parttime (19 and lives with parents) Ohhhh to be young lol. But I'm thinking about taking on more hours so I can start to branch out and be "grown" lol:x3:

[pnkgirl25]

There is no way I would want to work that many hours. I live by the saying "work smarter not harder". I want to spend as much time as possible with my daughter.

[kguill975, MSN, APRN, NP]

There is no way I would want to work that many hours. I live by the saying "work smarter not harder". I want to spend as much time as possible with my daughter.

Absolutely, enjoy your daughter while you can, because you can't get those years back. When she's a teenager, and you're no longer the coolest person she knows, then you may start to consider picking up extra shifts. While it is wise to "work smarter not harder", it's also wise to "live like no one else, so that you can live like no one else."