Nurses Rock Toon
Published Feb 22, 2013
Did the money play a factor in you choosing a nursing career? Do you think money is a factor in why people choose nursing as a career?
Click Like if you enjoyed it. Please share this with friends and post your comments below!
joanna73, BSN, RN
4,767 Posts
Money is not my key motivator, but it is a factor. I'm a second career nurse, and I was well established prior to nursing. I'm interested in the variety of roles and travel nursing offers, but I returned to school to increase my wage, not make less.
pco8
37 Posts
If I were in it for the money, I'd go to law school. Nurses make a nice a living, CRNA is better but neither is worth going in to purely for financial.
What I really like about nursing is the 3 day work week (it's pretty much what sold me to nursing), I prefer to work during the day vs night, rollover vacation time, the scrubs. Flexibility is definitely the best. Doing volunteer work around the world. IMO, nursing can take you as far as you want to go.
akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P
3,498 Posts
I could've gotten into nursing for the pay, the perks of job security, the ability to support a family, and so on. Yes all of those things are important considerations in becoming a nurse, but the real reason I choose to become a nurse is because it allows me to do more to care for my patients.
I started off as an EMT. I realized I needed to be able to do more for my patients. So I became a paramedic. At that time I realized I needed to care for my family. So I became a security guard, with excellent benefits. Then I realized that I was not in a job that I particularly enjoyed, even though it's allowed me to care for my family. It showed me that patient care is what I have a passion for. So I looked at all of the available careers for me to do in healthcare: nursing met all of the things that I needed.
When I have a nursing job, I will have the pay that I need, the benefits that I need, the ability to care for my family, and the flexibility to pursue my interests, that I did not have as a paramedic.
Don't get me wrong, being a paramedic was absolutely an excellent job for me to do. Going into being a paramedic I was probably more highy educated than most of my peers. I hold sports medicine bachelors degree and that has allowed me to have some very deep insights into patient assessment and treatment that most of my paramedic peers did not have. The problem with being a paramedic, is that I am at the pinnacle of what I can do, and I have no further places I can go to further my career and maintain the patient contacts that I desire. Yes, I could make a very good living as a firefighter paramedic, however as I promote within the fire service, I move farther and farther away from patient care. That is not what I want, that is not what I need, that's not what I'm about.
So, money is important, but it is nowhere close to what drives me to be a nurse.
Aongroup1990, CNA
332 Posts
the money and why was my last comment taken down?
Racer15, BSN, RN
707 Posts
In it for the money, won't lie. I worked retail for years, got paid $9 an hour to get screamed at, spit at, had to clean up poop and pee there too. Money's a lot better though! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy helping people, and some of my patients are a joy, but money was the main attraction.
echoRNC711, BSN
227 Posts
Becoming a nurse for "the money " is a little like the woman who "is searching for a rich guy to marry ".
In both scenarios you will work for every penny of it!!!
TheCommuter, BSN, RN
102 Articles; 27,612 Posts
goalienrse
46 Posts
Somewhat.
One thing is I am still in nursing because of the money. To sum people its not a lot, but I think 26 dollars an hour is good money and I can live by myself.
rangersfanatic09
5 Posts
As a former corrections officer of five years that worked very closely with the nursing staff on a daily basis I believe that even though nurses and corrections officers work very closely, nurses are better paid and deserve it. The nurses at the corrections centers and I all had the same fluids thrown at, on, around us and share many of the same stories that come from working in that type of environment. Currently, as a nursing student, I'm going into nursing only partly for the money (working in corrections gives people just enough money stick around but not much else) and also because I believe that nursing affords me more than just a desk job. I hate being cornered in my career choices and options and nursing is filled with opportunities. As a result I don't believe that I'll ever be bored like I was in corrections, nor will I miss the pay. I'm not bashing people who do choose corrections as a career but to them I say you have my gratitude for taking a job that I can't imagine doing for another five years, let alone twenty before I could even think about retirement. Can't wait to begin working as a nurse.
Like akulahawk, money is not the thing that drives me but it is a factor. Corrections didn't allow me to properly take care of my family nor did I particularly enjoy going to work every day. I believe that I have chosen something that will allow me to look forward to getting up and going to work every day. Good summary akulahawk.
hiddencatRN, BSN, RN
3,408 Posts
I make more money as a nurse than most of my friends. I'm always baffled at folks who don't think nursing is a decent paying career that actually does have a comparatively good job stability compared to other fields. If you look at median incomes in the US, we sit pretty high on that scale.
FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I
3,619 Posts
Not for the money at all, although it is nice, but for the care of the people who need it. I love people, and I love to see them feel well.
Lb321
28 Posts
I'm not a nurse.. Researching nursing schools. I want to be a nurse because I want an important job with good benefits. I've been told that I'd be good at it because I care about others, and I work hard at everything I do. But, of course they make decent money... And that would be nice too.