Starting pay for a New Grad?

tclema · May 7, 2009

Oh yes, I know a few people here that make around 9-10$ an hour in other places and raise their kids from that. I am always wondering how do they do that?

I think as a RN you can go quite high if you want to. I have a degree in Business and years and years of Management experience (unfortunately all of it in Germany) and I recruit Nurses (and others lol) for our hospital and make less than most of them.

The starting out pay doesn't stay long at that rate and I think it is justified. After all, as a New Grad Nurse you don't know as much as a RN with several years of experience and still have to be oriented and trained quite a bit.

That's the difference between the German system I think, there your clinicals are about half the time of the 3 year training and you have rotated through all the floors. Schools are attached to the hospitals. And the pay is training pay.

iwillact · May 7, 2009

thank you for sharing your income it is very very encouraging. even at $18 an hour my earning potential will be doubled so i am pleased. i am more pleased that as i get experience and prove myself i can make even more. i'm not looking for riches but like i said, i have kids to support

tclema · May 7, 2009

I think you will be fine and able to provide for your kids as a RN. Plus, if you need some extra money, you should easily be able to throw in a few extra shifts and I know there are plenty of people in other positions that can't do that. They have to get second job somewhere else. $18 an hour won't be your pay for long either.

iwillact · May 16, 2009

Thank you :)

Learn2Nurse · May 17, 2009

What????? Shouldn't be worried about the pay because I am there to help people??? Hello, I will have a tremendous debt by the time I graduate, not to mention the stress and the time involved in learning to be a nurse. If you are a saint and you can go without worrying about paying for a home, gasoline, vehicles, school loans, food (I like to eat), and even a little fun then more power to you. When I have to pay my bills should I say, "Sorry I don't have the money, but I earned a lot of satisfaction from helping people?" That won't fly. Nor will I have the time to find another job to pay my bills to allow me to serve until my heart is content. Call me selfish, but I will be seeking out the best deal for me.

iwillact · May 18, 2009

Ditto.

but... in all fairness idealism isnt all bad. Its nice sentiment. It just some of us older folks have had enough pinching to be able to be more cynical hey amberzon?

Im looking foward to fufillment as a person and being able to pay the bills and perhaps a little money in the bank too :)

Hello again my friend. I sent you an email.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 19, 2009

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

Another one of my goals is to be adequately compensated for my labor.

I am not a volunteer, and I do not work for free. I expect to be paid fairly and competitively for the services that I render. It's strange that society expects nurses to be angels of mercy while allowing other healthcare professionals (physicians, therapists, etc.) to keep their salaries high. Why is the doctor allowed to worry about his/her pay when the nurse is not expected to even think about it?

hydra08 · May 21, 2009

Are you guys kidding me? Nurses in Oklahoma are not adequately compensated. Do you realize you could have gone to welding school, acquired less debt, went to school for about six months and made just as much money? And lets see...after taxes, a carpayment and a house payment, how much money do you have left every month to pay utilities, buy clothes and pay for gasoline? Oklahoma nurses need to demand more money and stop accepting the first jobs that are offered!!

No...sorry you have that wrong. My husband just got out of welding school, he makes STARTING OUT 14.50, its at the low end for welders but his boss said if he stays steady he will have no problem getting a raise. It is at an international company, and really, we are just lucky he has a job! It took about a month to find anything! Jobs are all over online but when you call it is a different story. He also has 5 years experience. Where cost of living is low, Salaries are low, its just how it works. There are many nursing jobs that pay well in OK but aren't the best hours or might not fit your sched. the best. The more you work the more exper. the more the pay. LIFE is expensive, doctors go to years and years and years of school to make how much money they make, nurses 4 years for a BSN. The average pay for a OK nurse is around 55,000. Which is pretty average for a bachelor degree. if all nurses made 70,000-80,000 in Oklahoma (some already do but their status is higher) i think everyone would be a nurse, because you would always have a job, low cost of living, and high pay. Our salary is adequate for where we are. If it's raised, awesome, you won't see me complaining because nurses work hard.

tclema · May 21, 2009

I also went to school, I actually went 5 years full time for my major in International Business and make about as much as a RN starting out. I put in about 50 hours per week. I have a friend in MD who works as a Project Manager for a large company, making about 90.000$ per year, but she works 70 hours minimum per week for that. And her house cost 3x as much as mine and my house is bigger, newer, freshly renovated with a larger backyard.

mommy.19, MSN, RN, APRN · May 22, 2009

No...sorry you have that wrong. My husband just got out of welding school, he makes STARTING OUT 14.50, its at the low end for welders but his boss said if he stays steady he will have no problem getting a raise. It is at an international company, and really, we are just lucky he has a job! It took about a month to find anything! Jobs are all over online but when you call it is a different story. He also has 5 years experience. Where cost of living is low, Salaries are low, its just how it works. There are many nursing jobs that pay well in OK but aren't the best hours or might not fit your sched. the best. The more you work the more exper. the more the pay. LIFE is expensive, doctors go to years and years and years of school to make how much money they make, nurses 4 years for a BSN. The average pay for a OK nurse is around 55,000. Which is pretty average for a bachelor degree. if all nurses made 70,000-80,000 in Oklahoma (some already do but their status is higher) i think everyone would be a nurse, because you would always have a job, low cost of living, and high pay. Our salary is adequate for where we are. If it's raised, awesome, you won't see me complaining because nurses work hard.

Wow, I had thought welders started out at $20+. Interesting to hear that!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 22, 2009

Wait, aren't M.D's only in school 2 more years than BSN's are?

MDs attend many more years of schooling than the typical RN with a BSN degree. Let's see...

a) BSN degree = 1 year of prerequisite classes plus 4 years to attain the actual degree

b) MD = 4 years to attain the baccalaureate degree, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency for a grand total of 11 years (add on more years if the MD has no interest in family practice)

mommy.19, MSN, RN, APRN · May 22, 2009

I personally don't feel pay is commensurate with the work because most friends I have that are physicians, whether it be internal medicine, family practice, or surgery, they have zero time to spend with family. Just my :twocents: .