Texas nurses, question!

[tarotale]

Hello my fellas living in the Lonestar state... (or not, still my boots to you)

I live in Dallas and have been working in it for about 7 month. Prior to that, I worked in Tyler (ETX) where they will rip you and your license off by paying as little as humanly possible; I am thankful for Dallas.

I now have the privileged opportunity to start my internship in ER next month, and with my little over 1yr experience (all Medsurg), I wanted to know what is the average pay for this in DFW. I get $24/hr right now, and thought about requesting a raise according what others get at my experience, but thought it would be wiser to ask after I prove myself in the ER for couple months.

What is your thought on this? Thank you!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

If you're going to be employed in a hospital that is large enough to be able to fund an ED internship - it's a pretty good bet that they have a very well-defined compensation structure that dictates the salary range for each job. Salary ranges are established by analyzing 'compensable factors' like market surveys (comparison to average wage for similar positions), education & training, and supply (how difficult is it to find qualified applicants?). Then, when you're is hired into the position, they slot you in to the pre-determined range based upon how much experience you have. Without any relevant experience, you'd be in the bottom of the range.

So - there is very little room for negotiation unless you have some type of qualification that makes you more valuable to the organization. As a newbie who needs training, this is unlikely to happen. You also will run the risk of ticking off the hiring manager who is taking a chance on you.

Companies are very rigid about compensation structures because granting exceptions will open them up to discrimination claims. They will be violating Federal law if they don't enforce "equal pay for equal work".

[tarotale]

If you're going to be employed in a hospital that is large enough to be able to fund an ED internship - it's a pretty good bet that they have a very well-defined compensation structure that dictates the salary range for each job. Salary ranges are established by analyzing 'compensable factors' like market surveys (comparison to average wage for similar positions), education & training, and supply (how difficult is it to find qualified applicants?). Then, when you're is hired into the position, they slot you in to the pre-determined range based upon how much experience you have. Without any relevant experience, you'd be in the bottom of the range.

So - there is very little room for negotiation unless you have some type of qualification that makes you more valuable to the organization. As a newbie who needs training, this is unlikely to happen. You also will run the risk of ticking off the hiring manager who is taking a chance on you.

Companies are very rigid about compensation structures because granting exceptions will open them up to discrimination claims. They will be violating Federal law if they don't enforce "equal pay for equal work".

So basically don't mention it and prove myself. I think that is a fair game especially since I'm going into specialty I wanted. Thank you!

[Hobberdog]

Take a look at Glassdoor.com. They have anonymous postings about current pay and experience. It will give you a good idea of what you should be getting paid.