Is there any nursing job that'll make $30,000+/yr for the FIRST job?

Jo Dirt · Aug 13, 2006

I don't look down on you for wanting to get into a job that pays a fair wage. Don't take the flogging you're getting on here personally. These nurses aren't working for free, I'd be willing to bet.

I certainly went into nursing to make money and make it quickly. But don't let this fool you; nursing is very hard and stressful work, and while I'm thankful to have the job I have now (I am a fairly new grad in home health and I make $25/hr based on a 40 hr week plus .32 a mile) but I know that if something else comes along I won't lose any love with nursing.

No, this is not reflected in my work, because I am a very hard worker by nature and I do a good job. It wouldn't matter if I was digging ditches or washing dishes...I work and I work hard.

That is what nursing is and what you can expect. Work. Hard work. It isn't a cake walk by any means. Just be prepared for that.

JazzyRN · Aug 13, 2006

It depends on what state you are in. Ive worked in NY, CA and DC and have never been paid less than $33/hr and that was my new grad rate. If you are in the south or midwest you can expect to be paid peanuts, thats just how it is. You may want to consider moving to make more money, however keep in mind the cost of living will be higher at the higher paying states and cities. However in my opinion you still make out better with more money after bills working in the northeast or cali. Goodluck to you. And dont mind the nurses on here acting as if money isnt a factor in taking a job. I know I chose the hospital I worked at as a new grad, due to them paying 10K more than the previous 3 hospitals I interviewed at. I still love nursing, and didnt go in it for money,but if you can do the same work and make more, why not?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

There is nothing wrong with asking about salary and wanting to make a good salary. Most people when they are considering a career look into the salary. As someone above stated, ain't none of us working for free.

Matt,as people are saying, there's no need to worry about making $30K a year, that will be quite easy if you become a registered nurse. New grad RNs start out at $20/hr. and are giving a raise after six months or so.

Also, as someone stated you are a bit confused. There are no "nursing majors" to pick from.

I think you need to speak to an advisor there on campus to figure some things out and come up with a plan.

Good luck.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

Ten years ago when nurses were being laid off and otherwise generally abused, I remember a lot of nurses who were going to give up nursing to become computer techs and programmers. That's certainly come full circle now, hasn't it?

Interesting isn't it? And why do you think these people chose IT after being laid off during a nursing glut?......................job availability and the opportunity to make a good salary. Why do we as nurses look down on others for considering this when they are considering nurses?

As I've said in other posts, there are other qualities I like to see in nurses such as personality, compassion, blah blah blah, but I certainly understand that making a living wage and having job opportunities is part of a person's consideration of this career.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

It wasn't that he was "just asking". It was WHAT he was asking and WHY. His reasoning for finding a job in nursing had zero to do with any expressed desire to work in that field, only the need to wipe out student loans. It's somewhat insulting to those who busted their butts to become nurses, to be viewed as a lesser major and merely a paycheck. I suppose it makes it more obvious a fact that the general public has no clue what the heck nurses do--we're just paid well and anyone can do it.
So no, I don't see this as someone who is intelligently exploring career options. He's looking for the easy way out to make cash when he's under pressure to do so. And it offends many of our sensibilities.
Maybe I'll see if Bill Gates needs a new CEO for one of his companies. I hear they pay well.

Obviously if he's worried that nurses don't even make $30k a year he doesn't he isn't looking for a well-paid job. And we don't know what other processes are involved in his decision, as this post is merely a question about money.

I do appreciate your sentiments though and allow you your opinion, because it's a good and valid point.

However, talking about the OP like this is borderlining on a TOS violation and we should stop now and speak more generically. OK?

Generically speaking, people who are only looking for a paycheck don't make good nurses. In my opinion nursing school weeds a lot of these folks out.

gauge14iv, MSN, APRN, NP · Aug 13, 2006

Interesting isn't it? And why do you think these people chose IT after being laid off during a nursing glut?......................job availability and the opportunity to make a good salary. Why do we as nurses look down on others for considering this when they are considering nurses?
As I've said in other posts, there are other qualities I like to see in nurses such as personality, compassion, blah blah blah, but I certainly understand that making a living wage and having job opportunities is part of a person's consideration of this career.

Exactly Tweety - let these folks spout "Higher calling" all they want, but you can BET the minute somebody cut their wages in half, they'd be looking for something NOT nursing!

nursemike, ASN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

Obviously if he's worried that nurses don't even make $30k a year he doesn't he isn't looking for a well-paid job. And we don't know what other processes are involved in his decision, as this post is merely a question about money.
I do appreciate your sentiments though and allow you your opinion, because it's a good and valid point.
However, talking about the OP like this is borderlining on a TOS violation and we should stop now and speak more generically. OK?
Generically speaking, people who are only looking for a paycheck don't make good nurses. In my opinion nursing school weeds a lot of these folks out.

I wrote on my application to nursing school that "my interest in nursing is primarily vocational. It seems like a meaningful job that I could do well, and do well for myself..."

By the middle of my second semester, I was convinced that God intended for me to be a nurse. (Boy, that God--sure has a wry sense of humor, at times!)

I've advised a couple of friends to try nursing, and precious little of my advice was angel-of-mercy crap. Of course you need compassion and stuff. You also need the ability to maintain a degree of objectivity. Most people I know have plenty of innate altruism, but many might not be able to balance that with the required detachment.

I hope the OP will take the advice he can use and decide what's best for him. As you say, not many dilettantes will make it through nursing school, but on other hand, martyrs, by definition, die before their time.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

I do appreciate your sentiments though and allow you your opinion, because it's a good and valid point.
However, talking about the OP like this is borderlining on a TOS violation and we should stop now and speak more generically. OK?
Generically speaking, people who are only looking for a paycheck don't make good nurses. In my opinion nursing school weeds a lot of these folks out.

Ok, then, generically speaking, in answering a hypothetical question about this subject, one in which a real person is NOT asking such a question, I still agree. Thus, my standing by my opinion that nursing would not be a miserable vocation for such a person, because that person would not be expected to survive the nursing curriculum.

My school program definitely did a slash job on many students the instructors felt would not make good nurses. They weeded out those who were poor academically, or had poor clinical skills, or, sometimes, it seemed they just honed in on those who they felt would not be the patient's best advocate but rather, only their own.

Some people felt that having those students dismissed was unfair, that they hadn't gotten enough chances to prove themselves or whatever. The reality is, after so many years in nursing, the instructors should be given some credit for having a clue what might be needed in a good nurse. Some people think judging subjectively should not be allowed, but I disagree. A student who does well academically and can perform in skill evaluations competently may just be *wrong* in subtle ways when it comes to bedside manner, patient care, interactions with other staff and team members. It's not a black / white thing, is it? There's that gray area that you either have or you don't.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

Exactly Tweety - let these folks spout "Higher calling" all they want, but you can BET the minute somebody cut their wages in half, they'd be looking for something NOT nursing!

LOL! I remember this debate waging large on a thread somewhere, and someone was asked if she'd do this job WITHOUT good pay, and she responded 'yes', she'd do it for free! ROFL....imagine that! Then again, this was a student

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

It's not a black / white thing, is it? There's that gray area that you either have or you don't.

Yes. I agree with you on this. :)

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2006

By the middle of my second semester, I was convinced that God intended for me to be a nurse. (Boy, that God--sure has a wry sense of humor, at times!)
I've advised a couple of friends to try nursing, and precious little of my advice was angel-of-mercy crap. Of course you need compassion and stuff. You also need the ability to maintain a degree of objectivity. Most people I know have plenty of innate altruism, but many might not be able to balance that with the required detachment.

I was a devout Christian at the time I started nursing school. So many things "fell into place" at the time that made me feel that God wanted me to me a nurse too, so I understand.

I can definately see that God indeed does have a sense of humor if God "calls" people into this crazy profession. :lol2:

I'm trying to stifle the inner voice that is telling me to pursue an MSN and teach. If it's God calling again, "call someone else, you didn't do too good the first time!". :) j/k

I agree too about the need to remain objective.

peds4now, RN · Aug 13, 2006

Okay, Matt sounds a little immature and goal-less, but he's probably young enough for that to make perfect sense. Good luck Matt, just research whatever you do so you don't waste your education dollars and time!

But on a related topic... I am a student nurse intern, and all I hear at the nurses' station is money talk! Travelers, registry, staff, everyone is talking about how much they make, this or that overtime opp, how they need more money. Now, I'm a second career nurse and wasted a lot of time, but I wonder why someone in his/her thirties, who's been an RN for 10 years or so, can be so hurting for money? I mean, people are willing to work themselves to death, stay extra hours all the time, just for a bit more money! I love that such opps exist to maximize income, but I wonder if all these people mismanage their money or are compulsive gamblers/drug users or something-I mean, why can't they make do with $35/hour with a working spouse and 1-2 kids? I really do wonder.

I look forward to times when I can be workaholic and get lots extra, but I hope I can refrain from talking $$ all the time on the job.

Any insight?