Do Nurses Earn Big Money? You Decide. - page 13

Am I the only one who becomes at least mildly irritated whenever a random individual finds out that someone is a nurse and proceeds to say, "You're rolling in the big bucks!" To keep things... Read More

  1. by samadams8
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from TheCommuter
    I'm a registered nurse. I have no health insurance. My take-home pay is 'good.'
    Take a nasty beat-down from a patient under the influence at my job, making my wage. Or better yet, get punched out by a belligerent visitor at my job while making my wage. Did you know that 45 percent of healthcare workers have experienced some type of physical violence at their workplaces?

    While the whining might aggravate your ears, you'll never know until you walk a mile in the shoes of a nurse. I've already been in your shoes, as I've worked in fast food, low-paying retail, and low-end customer service. Now it's time to walk a mile in my shoes.

    ^ This. Totally this. Do it for a good, long while, in the kinds of clinical settings many of us have worked for decades. Then please come back and let us know.

    BTW, I am NOT making the significant jump in salary that my counterparts in other fields are making after investing the same amount and time, and carrying a boatload of responsibility. The entry rate is better than the Walmart, but years later, after working in the battlefield, you aren't making that much more compared with other fields. The exceptions are going into administration, going back to school to do CRNA, going into pharmaceutical sales, things like that. Yes, if you are at a hospital with a strong union, you may fair better, but relatively speaking, not all that better. So unless you want to go into admin or sales or something like that, you, even as an experienced RN, will not make significantly more than what you started as compared with those that have the same time invested in other fields. You may end up retiring making only $30,000 to $40,000 more per year (minus OT and other incremental increases), then when you first graduated after several decades in the field.

    Many teachers move beyond that at a quicker speed. People in business often do. I could name a lot more. Nurses salaries will continue to be held down; primarily b/c they make up such a huge part of the healthcare workforce.
  2. by samadams8
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from Jean Marie46514
    quote removed from view
    Word to the wise:

    Take it to another thread. A good number of threads have been closed here for going way off topic and being uncivil, etc. Just saying. . .

    Do what you want, but it is what it is.
    Last edit by Silverdragon102 on Nov 28, '12 : Reason: quote removed from view
  3. by TheCommuter
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from samadams8
    Word to the wise:

    Take it to another thread. A good number of threads have been closed here for going way off topic and being uncivil, etc. Just saying. . .

    Do what you want, but it is what it is.
    Thank you for this reminder to maintain the civility.

    The title of the article is "Do Nurses Earn Big Money?" This is not an article about social issues such as abortion, birth control, having too many children, etc. We're beating a dead horse when we personally debate the same member for several pages over the course of multiple posts.

    Thank you all for your understanding and compliance with this request to maintain the civility. We can disagree with other members without displaying a disagreeable attitude. Thanks again.
  4. by somenurse
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from TheCommuter
    Thank you for this reminder to maintain the civility.

    The title of the article is "Do Nurses Earn Big Money?" This is not an article about social issues such as abortion, birth control, having too many children, etc. We're beating a dead horse when we personally debate the same member for several pages over the course of multiple posts.

    Thank you all for your understanding and compliance with this request to maintain the civility. We can disagree with other members without displaying a disagreeable attitude. Thanks again.

    true, but, the OP did post about a woman on govt aide to feed her children,
    and that is one of the topics, from the very first post on. Otherwise, if getting govt aide was NOT one of the topics, it probably would not have been included in the original post.

    Many ppl here have posted ideas about the woman on govt aide in the original post,
    and many imply, (and some openly state) that if a poor person has more children than they can afford, that is stupid, irresponsible, etc, and they should just suffer,
    and i feel it is worth asking them to explain how that idea works, when they publicly post such ideas.


    but i am all for everyone maintaining civility!! YES YES YES!!!
  5. by TheCommuter
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from samadams8
    I think if you continue in this vein, a mod will put out a warning. They tend to take this kind of thing pretty seriously at Allnurses. In general, it seems to be true.
    Please refer to post number 176. The warning has already been put out there.
    Quote from Jean Marie46514
    true, but, the OP did post about a woman on govt aide to feed her children, and that is one of the topics, from the very first post on. Otherwise, if getting govt aide was NOT one of the topics, it probably would not have been included in the original post.
    I am the OP, which is why my posts have a tan background, and everyone else's posts have the light blue background.
  6. by PRICHARILLAisMISSED
    Nov 28, '12
    @ Commuter

    Not to stir an argument, but since government assistance was a big part of the topic, shouldn't it kinda be fair game...?

    Also, no hard feelings at anyone. But Please Ms. Jean Marie, please stop referring to me as a "She." I specifically stated I am a man in that last post. Also, it really don't bother me. Just trying to joke and break tension

    But back on topic, I believe the stated $70k a year is good money as far as numbers go, but since I have never done the job of a nurse, I couldn't say if it is a suitable compensation as compared to what you do. But "YES," in and of itself $70k is a nice amount of money.
  7. by samadams8
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from TheCommuter
    Please refer to post number 176. The warning has already been put out there.
    I am the OP, which is why my posts have a tan background, and everyone else's posts have the light blue background.
    Hi, yes, I saw it after I posted--must have been posting near the same time.
  8. by samadams8
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from PRICHARILLAisMISSED
    @ Commuter

    Not to stir an argument, but since government assistance was a big part of the topic, shouldn't it kinda be fair game...?

    Also, no hard feelings at anyone. But Please Ms. Jean Marie, please stop referring to me as a "She." I specifically stated I am a man in that last post. Also, it really don't bother me. Just trying to joke and break tension

    But back on topic, I believe the stated $70k a year is good money as far as numbers go, but since I have never done the job of a nurse, I couldn't say if it is a suitable compensation as compared to what you do. But "YES," in and of itself $70k is a nice amount of money.

    Oh wow, I'm sorry. I messed up and referred to you as a female too. Guess I thought it was you standing by that bike. LOL

    But what do you think about my point that you go in making more that the Walmart employee, but after a number of decades, you haven't gone too far past that, compared to your peers in other fields--unless you go into administration or say pharm sales or go to CRNA school?
  9. by somenurse
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from PRICHARILLAisMISSED
    @ Commuter

    Not to stir an argument, but since government assistance was a big part of the topic, shouldn't it kinda be fair game...?

    Also, no hard feelings at anyone. But Please Ms. Jean Marie, please stop referring to me as a "She." I specifically stated I am a man in that last post. Also, it really don't bother me. Just trying to joke and break tension

    But back on topic, I believe the stated $70k a year is good money as far as numbers go, but since I have never done the job of a nurse, I couldn't say if it is a suitable compensation as compared to what you do. But "YES," in and of itself $70k is a nice amount of money.

    sorry if i referred to you as wrong gender. It was not intentional.


    and i thought the same as you, Pricharilla, that people on govt aide WAS part of the topic, too!!
  10. by TheCommuter
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from PRICHARILLAisMISSED
    @ Commuter

    Not to stir an argument, but since government assistance was a big part of the topic, shouldn't it kinda be fair game...?
    Some members are going off on tangents (abortion, birth control, 'stupid people,') and discussing social issues that are far more appropriate for their own separate threads. Feel free to discuss these issues on our non-nursing forum: Break Room - For Nurses, Friends, and Family
  11. by mrmedical
    Nov 28, '12
    I work 3 nights a week (granted 50% of the time I dread working) and pull 50k+ a year. Not too bad for being able to get in with only a two year degree, feeding patients meds, buttwiping, charting, and the occasional important task.

    We might not be making Richie Rich status, but the nursing profession is comfortably seated in the middle class income levels and is far superior to most baccalaureate and associates level professions of similar standing in terms of cost-to-return rate.

    The value is really more based on how much the individual nurse can actually stand doing the work: those that hate it will think they're underpaid and those that love it would do it for free.

    No, for the most part it's not 70k+ per year (+/- for location and experience) but then again nursing is not a prestigious or autonomous profession; it's more akin to labor (at least bedside nursing). It think once more nurses realize that, perhaps they'll see their well compensated relatively speaking to other vocational careers.

    Would I love to make more $$$? Of course, that's why after I finish my BSN, I may get out of nursing and may seek a different career (maybe even out of healthcare: it's not longer the golden goose egg it once was, too many lawyers and politics want a piece of the pie). But as it stands, I feel that we are well compensated on the basis of 36 hour work weeks and 3 days a week of work (others mileage may very depending on their schedual and how poor their work enviroment is - but those aren't exactly intrinsic to nursing itself).
  12. by samadams8
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from mrmedical
    I work 3 nights a week (granted 50% of the time I dread working) and pull 50k+ a year. Not too bad for being able to get in with only a two year degree, feeding patients meds, buttwiping, charting, and the occasional important task.

    We might not be making Richie Rich status, but the nursing profession is comfortably seated in the middle class income levels and is far superior to most baccalaureate and associates level professions of similar standing in terms of cost-to-return rate.

    The value is really more based on how much the individual nurse can actually stand doing the work: those that hate it will think they're underpaid and those that love it would do it for free.

    No, for the most part it's not 70k+ per year (+/- for location and experience) but then again nursing is not a prestigious or autonomous profession; it's more akin to labor (at least bedside nursing). It think once more nurses realize that, perhaps they'll see their well compensated relatively speaking to other vocational careers.
    I guess I want to see what nurses think about the stunted growth of income after being in the field for quite some time.
  13. by somenurse
    Nov 28, '12
    Quote from TheCommuter
    Some members are going off on tangents (abortion, birth control, 'stupid people,') and discussing social issues that are far more appropriate for their own separate threads. Feel free to discuss these issues on our non-nursing forum: Break Room - For Nurses, Friends, and Family

    Many people here have suggested that poor people are on aide because they are irresponsible/make poor choices/stupid.

    This is not an uncommon mindset, and i feel, asking them who decides which of these poor people is there because of their own mistakes,
    and would their children have to suffer if their parents were actually stupid? should we make their children go hungry?

    I do feel it is a worthy question,
    since that "they don't deserve aide, cuz they made poor choices"
    IS
    a common knee-jerk response to anytime ppl on govt aide are discussed------somebody is pretty much guaranteed to have a fairly snobby attitude about the mother on govt aide. This attitude comes up pretty often whenever someone puts up a post on people on govt aide.


    btw, The Commuter, i could be wrong, but i think that EITC is only given to students,


    also, most nurses who are single moms do get thousands back in their tax refund for having kids. Many married people also get tax refunds for raising kids.
    I always did, even years i was making major bucks on Cape Cod, i would get a few thousand back for having kids. I was not on aide, just a single mom at that time period.
    Was one of the bummers when my kids grew up, is, no more fat tax refunds.
    Last edit by TheCommuter on Nov 29, '12 : Reason: edited

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