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by cancergirl

In most other careers those with Bachelors make more then those with Associates, and I don't quite understand why it is different in nursing???? Can someone please clear this up, thanks

[BobL]

Pay based on education

In my experience, BSN's have often been paid more than ADN's. Admittedly not much but there is usually some difference. I think education makes more difference in terms of opportunity. BSN's often have more positions to choose from and are considered more strongly for certain positions because of advanced education.

I am an ASN an I am quite comfortable with my skill/knowledge level in my position. I am a hospice nurse and I am not convinced that having a BSN would make me a better hospice nurse. However, I do think that advancing ones education shows initiative and more knowledge can only make you a more well rounded person. This should be worth something.

[TriageRN_34]

I personally think it stems from the fact of the supposed 'nursing shortage', and the fact that an ADN takes the same state board exam as a BSN...

As I seem to feel about it...the ADN is put through a excelerated program to get them out and working...less theory, less electives needed, and sadly to say less pharmacology (which I made up on my own...yes I am ADN). We don't take two years before we can see a patient, we start work right away and start treatments very early, so we get to the chase a bit sooner...

But the BSN takes more classes, gets theory down, learns other administrative tasks of nursing...and if you feel you are being shorted, then keep an eye out for employement trended towards a BSN like administrative nursing! (which is what I like, is what I am doing most days..and I am just as qualified as a BSN in this regards because I honed in on it because I loved it...I just don't have the paper to prove my own research/education I have strived on my own!).

Heck, I can say the same right now of new grads (either degree!). I am 5 years out and am making only a buck more an hour than a new grad out of school! NOW that is unfair! And sadly my company pays better than most out there...eeeeekkk!

I have great respect for nurses with their BSN's and had planned on getting mine if I enjoyed nursing..which sadly I do not enjoy it (mainly because of where I work...and no shortage here so you have to keep your jobs held tight!!!) and have no desire to pay for more education just to be called "a nurse" by a management team that doesn't separate BSN's from ADN's...they just call you an RN and expect the same of you no matter what your degree (yet another reason for the same pay!). Maybe if I find my niche, I will continue to my BSN..but like you say..it is more for me, less for monitary reasons since we are paid the same either way...

BUT...I have seen a trend of hiring only BSN's out there...so there is a perk, a BSN has better chances of actually landing a job than an ADN!

But I really like my ADN, it was a great choice for me (and I was granted to get it so yeah!) since I didn't know squat about nursing when I said okay to it...and now I can test the waters before investing too much time into something that I can do and do well...but do not enjoy as much as I had hoped! I can move on or change careers and only loose 4 years of education (two in electives) vs the 6 or so for the BSN!

[RN34TX]

Originally Posted by BobL

In my experience, BSN's have often been paid more than ADN's. Admittedly not much but there is usually some difference. I think education makes more difference in terms of opportunity. BSN's often have more positions to choose from and are considered more strongly for certain positions because of advanced education.

I am an ASN an I am quite comfortable with my skill/knowledge level in my position. I am a hospice nurse and I am not convinced that having a BSN would make me a better hospice nurse. However, I do think that advancing ones education shows initiative and more knowledge can only make you a more well rounded person. This should be worth something.

In my experience, that difference has been .50-$1.00/hour more. Big deal.
I'm trying to stay motivated taking classes toward my BSN but it's not easy when that is what you have to look forward to and you have no desire to move into management.
When I was an LPN, it was much easier to stay motivated to get my ASN because everywhere I worked, no matter how good I was or how bad my co-workers were, it was always rubbed in my face that a hospital will always value the RN and have mediocre (at best) value for the LPN.
BTW, that's a LOT of extra coursework, time, effort, money, etc. just to be able to call yourself a "well-rounded" person. Again, big deal.

[BETSRN]

Originally Posted by cancergirl

In most other careers those with Bachelors make more then those with Associates, and I don't quite understand why it is different in nursing???? Can someone please clear this up, thanks

Probably because in the clinical setting at the bedside, they both do the same job.

[RN34TX]

Originally Posted by BETSRN

Probably because in the clinical setting at the bedside, they both do the same job.

That might be true but shouldn't the BSN's have something to show for their extra education? You certainly can't throw them into management right out of school so what do you do while they are working at the bedside?
My point is that hospitals dream of having an all BSN staff yet give us very little incentive to get it.

[ayndim]

This is how I think employers look at it. First, there is no difference in their job duties. Employers want to pay as little as possible. And not all employers in other fields pay more for higher degrees. And accountant with doctrate/CPA does not get paid moer than a MBA/CPA. Now a MBA does get paid more than a BS in Acctg. But when you have an MBA you have additional education that will give you the skills to do more. And believe me if you have a sharp BS Accountant an employer is not going to offer more to the MBA who does the same job. It is not about the degree but what additional skills it brings along. So a bedside BSN does not have any more bedside nursing skills than a BSN. And in some cases the ADN courses are more heavily clinically loaded so the ADN is better prepared in that case. Of course some BSN's might also be heavily clinically loaded. But in my state the actual time after pre-reqs are the same. Yet the ADN is almost all nursing courses while the BSN are taking extra humanities, management and other things. So I guess it depends on the school but I can only go by the research I did on my state colleges. Personally I chose the ADN because 1) I already have a degree, 2) because I already have a degree and we make to much so we are paying for my school ourselves and it is cheaper and 3) I will let the hospital pay for an RN to BSN for me.

[mattsmom81]

Why do BSN's and ADN's make the same? Because hospitals don't want to pay BSN's more (they don't want to pay ANY of us more than they have to.) and there is no incentive for them to do so. I'm sure this recent 'study' created to attermpt to demonstrate BSN's give superior care was an attempt to provide incentive to employers.

Now some facilities DO pay a bit more for SOME extra education. I get a buck for my certification in critical care. But my BSN coworkers will not automatically get more $$$ (they can always negotiate for more but there are no promises)

[memphispanda]

You are paid for the job you do.

I have a BA in social science. I worked for years teaching preschool in a daycare so I could be near my kids during the day but still make money. I was one of two or three with a degree of any sort working there. We were all paid basically the same money. Education doesn't always = money.

[Tweety]

BSNs make a bit more where I work as well. But they pay the same for certification as they do for the BSN. So right now I'm certified, and when I finish my BSN in a couple of years, if I do, I won't make any more money. Crazy huh?

As long as both degrees get you the same RN designation, and the hospital is only looking for that designation, not whether it's an ASN or a BSN, then the pay for having the same designation and performing the same job is going to be relatively the same.