Nurse Salary vs. Teacher Salary?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was talking to a friend this morning and she is just finishing Nursing school and said that she could have become a Teacher with better hours and the same pay? Is this true? I know as a RN we start at $20 an hour. Is this the case for Teachers. I have always been told RN's are paid so well and Teachers not so well. Was I always misinformed? I googled this very question and I didn't get any clear answers. I would love to teach and also get my RN degree and possibly be a RN part time if thats the case.

Specializes in Adult Intensive care and Adult Step Down.

If I could afford it I would become a teacher and work as a Public School teacher. I find the benefits where I reside superior to that of nursing. When I graduated with BSN I owed a ton of money and I started out making exactly what a new teacher in same county started out at per school board salary list....I was shocked. Yet I worked almost every weekend and felt tired all of the time. I also worked every holiday b/c one person made schedule and it was simply set in stone. I love caring for patients but I also adore children and would be much happier in the teaching profession but can not afford to return to school at this time. Good luck to those trying to decide....difficult decision.

Specializes in Pediatrics.

I am a registered nurse that is now teaching/nursing at a high school. Teaching is not as stressful as nursing - (the life or death factor). It is exhausting though. I make about the same as I would in the hospital, but I'm definitely working more hours! My husband teaches in a district where the max pay for teachers with a Master's Degree + 30 hours beyond that along with a minium of 10 years experience tops out around $89,000! I guess you have to consider a nurse with a Master's degree-Nurse Practitioner would probably make a comparable salary. I would have to say floor nursing is more difficult-physically and mentally, but my family life was easier. Teaching is less difficult for me, but I feel like I have less time for my personal life-getting things done around the house etc...now I'm working 5 days a week...and they are 10-12 hour days and I am coaching! I thought life would be easier as a teacher, but I was wrong! It's true I don't get as stressed about going to work and worrying whether or not I'm going to kill someone by making a mistake, but I do get stressed out because I can't do the things I used to when I was working 3 days a week....weekends go by fast!! I think I'd rather being working a weekend or a holiday here or there and have my days off! Nurses have the option to work per diem and make more an hour if they are able to get benefits from their spouse. I'm learning the grass isn't always greener on the other side! You have to do what's best for YOU...which is a challenge for me personally!

I'm thinking of going back to nursing to make some extra money while I teach and then sticking with nursing once I begin a family!

Good luck with your decision!

I was an LPN for about 7 years and have been an RN (associates) for about 3 years. My husband has 12 years experience at the same high school, is the head of his department, has two bachelors in the areas he teaches as well as a masters in education.

With less experience, seniority and education, I make about 20K more than he does. His medical benefits are so expensive for a family, we can't afford them. Benefits through my work cost approximately half of what they would through his district.

Specializes in ER.

This is very interesting. I am a teacher considering becoming a nurse. I am currently on the waiting list for a fast track LPN program.

I feel burned out after only 3 years of teaching. I started my year with 35 students in my fourth grade classroom, some of whom were working at a first grade level. The administration is terrible, along with the pay and pretty much everything else. I have decided that I no longer want to spend hours of my own time each day grading papers, making copies, planning lessons, etc...I often come in to work at 6:30 am, and stay until 4pm. I spend my own money on supplies because the school won't even provide us with the basics. I really see why teachers leave so frequently in the first 5 years. I cannot see myself teaching for the next 30 years and dealing with the behavior problems, lack of funding, and lack of rights for teachers.

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

Teachers do not make as much as nurses, but Ironically have better health benefits....

I have never wanted to be a teacher but am burned out after only 3 months of nursing! The idea of staying on my unit for 3 years makes me dizzy.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

The grass is, indeed, always greener...

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