What is a reasonable starting salary to expect?

You have to keep in mind that the standard of living in Florida is much different than that of the Northeast. It would seem that the average salary of a new nurse in Orlando, FL is just shy of 50K, while in the Northeast I make just shy of 80K with a shift differential.

Salary: Registered Nurse in Orlando, FL | Glassdoor

In a perfect world I'd like a pony that can fly

Here I think it's about 29-30 dollars an hour (70ish per year)

Upstate NY was offering crap in the areas I was looking 6-7 years ago.

$22/h, poor nurse protection, poor ratios. Look up the legal mess at Cayuga's ICU. Couldn't pay me enough to work somewhere like that.

I would suggest looking into jobs in more desirable parts of NY (Westchester, Albany) if you want to be out of NYC but still in the state and earn decently.

A lot of my nursing professors in upstate NY were teaching full time, working in a local ICU or hospital unit full time, and living in trailer parks. Now I can't tell you their exact hourlies, but clearly not quite what was needed to achieve a decent standard of living.

CT/MA/NYC seem to fare a bit better with compensation, but I'd say that outside of NYC or Boston you won't make that much your first few years unless you work a LOT of overtime. I'd expect 27 to 30 an hour. 30x36x52 is 56k as a base salary, and without OT that's around where you will be for a few years.

If you stay in the NYC metro area as a new grad you can expect anywhere from around 70K for public hospitals (I was offered 75K for nights at a SUNY hospital) to just shy of 100K for the private hospitals.

As a LVN i guess i did alright last year ending with 52k as my gross annual income. Thats with alot of OT though. Southern California also.

New nurses in Florida make around $20/hr...sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the county. Keep in mind though...we have no state income tax. The tourists pay that. 😁

Average pay in Florida would be 25-33/ hour starting, I have a friend who is starting in Miami with low 30's an hour. I think you could pull in 75,000 starting in New York City with a little OT. A quick search on average starting salary will show you where you aim for.

Also important to keep in mind speciality and cost of living. You could make less but me saving more if it's cheaper to live there.

At least 90K to start in CA. In the bay area probably more like 100K to start.

RN in San Antonio here. Started at 60k a year. Many of my classmates started at 45k'ish annually. Though the cost of living here is very low.