Starting pay for a New Grad?

allyb123 · Jan 16, 2009

There is a reason people choose nursing over welding or any other career and I can tell you it is not the pay

tclema · Jan 23, 2009

Yep, we bought a nice 3 bedroom house, big yard, completely remodeled for 129.000$.

Ciale · Feb 3, 2009

I think there's a lot more to take into consideration besides a salary wage. For instance, Integris isn't the highest paying (18.44 i think) but they have incredible benefits, magnet status and they've consistantly been voted one of the best places to work in Oklahoma.

St. Anthony's pays a little more (18.83 i think) but you won't have as many options to choose from as far as what unit you'd like to work on. Also, I'm not impressed with their benefits.

Deaconess. I don't care how much they'd pay me, I don't think i'd ever want to work here. I don't think I'd want a family member admitted there. Ever. :0

I could keep going but you really need to consider the work enviorment as a whole. Ultimately, we've gone into the feild of nursing to help people and $$ shouldn't be a big concern.

Ciale · Feb 5, 2009

Also, wanted to say one more thing...I've lived in a few much bigger cities than oklahoma and I must say, I LOVE this place. I never thought I would but there's just something really special about this state. I live in OKC but I think I actually want to raise a family in an even smaller city/town here. I've never felt more welcome or at ease and comfortable in my own skin than here. There's just a real genuineness about OK.

CCHP-RN · May 1, 2009

Is this pay for a RN new grad or a LPN new grad??

Anyone know how much correctional health care pays nurses?

iwillact · May 5, 2009

Of course money is an issue. I love the idea of nursing and hope to be in the profession soon but you cant say money isnt a big deal. I have four kids and I have watched my husband make him self old fast working hard to provide for us. If you cant pay your basic bills then loving your job sisnt enough. I say this without malice I really do but for me money is a really big deal. I for one am tired of struggling to pay all the bills and we have no luxery items like cable and we dont have a nice big home or waste money. Before my husband got laid off he was making $18 an hour and it was good money but it wasnt enough to pay our debts off or get ahead. I for one am looking foward to and hope for a little more than that.

picurn10 · May 6, 2009

they're talking RN new grad. I'm about to finish my LPN and starting pay is as low as $11 and change at Integris. I think St. Anthony starts around $14 for LPN.

I think once you add in shift diff and experience, sign on bonuses, etc... it's not so bad. I mean no one's going into nursing to get rich, but I think I'll be comfortable as a single mom. It's far, far better than what I was making, and at least it's doing something that I love and care about.

picurn10 · May 6, 2009

I had a friend start out at correctional nursing as an LPN at $20/hr but she didn't last long.

SCprincess08 · May 6, 2009

You shouldn't be worried about the pay. Your main goal is to help people. :specs:

tclema · May 6, 2009

Well I just went to payscale.com and checked out the average starting out pay in Oklahoma. It is a wooping $38540 for less than 1 year experience. Makes $18.52 an hour. But...it didn't say how much of that is overtime pay, shift differentials etc. Just total annual pay.

iwillact · May 6, 2009

I agree that my main goal will be to help people and I really believe that I will be happy doing that. But, it is hard not to worry about being able to help provide adequately for my family. Regardless, it will be a nice pay raise from what I making now. :)

marilynmom, LPN, NP · May 7, 2009

Well I just went to payscale.com and checked out the average starting out pay in Oklahoma. It is a wooping $38540 for less than 1 year experience. Makes $18.52 an hour. But...it didn't say how much of that is overtime pay, shift differentials etc. Just total annual pay.

I'll be open here about my pay. I graduated in May '08 and my base pay was $18.65/hr and I worked days so no shift diffs. Now with 1 year experience I'm making $45,000 a year ($23/hr). Which I'm happy with because before I was a nurse I was making like $8-$10/hr! Most of the experienced nurses I work with make $30or more an hour.