compensation in your state

I live in the suburbs of Chicago. I graduate in May. From what I am finding out, new grads are getting hired between 26-27 per hour in the hospitals. I'm not sure about LTC facility pay. Chicago also has a high cost of living and is miserably cold right now!

ugh. so unfortunately I guess im not alone. my sisters a nurse in CA and makes really good money, and shes in peds which I would absolutely love. I know its more expensive there but its almost as bad in nj. and I could be making almost 2x what id get here or anywhere on the east coast!

I live in Westchester and lower Westchester/Bronx hospitals start around $37 an hour, nursing homes closer to $27/30. That includes Associates degrees. You just have to be assertive. You can't send in your application and expect someone to call you, you have to fight for it. One of my coworkers graduated with an associates, he did a year at a nursing home and is now working in the ER of my hospital starting around $83,000 a year.

I'm in Maine, I've heard starting pay for new BSNs ranging from $22-25/hr. Cost of living isn't bad, especially if you live outside of Portland. Around where I live a 3 bedroom apartment starts at probably $800/month. 1 bedroom from probably $450 or $500.

I'm in an area where starting pay for Nurses goes anywhere from $21-$26/hr and a 1 bedroom will start around $800-$1000. Welcome to the DC Metro and surrounding areas. You cannot live alone in a safe area and have a Nurse's salary, IMO. The further out you go from that bubble, the lower your cost of living, but of course, wages drop, too. I don't know where the best places are to live/get paid, but you could try Bureau of Labor Statitics. BLS Search Results

CA is not the solution, I can promise you that, especially without your BSN. Pay here is good, but not always, and the cost of living is very expensive, and the job market is the most saturated in the county. My first nursing job here was very PRN, and paid $20/hour. I had a short stint in LTC making $32/hour. I finally just accepted a clinic position making $51/hour. Not my ideal specialty (I want to get into L&D, like you), but right now, clinic hours, a job in my town, and pay I can count on is most important, especially as a newly single mom. Hospitals here in the Bay Area pay anywhere from $35/hour to $70/hour for new nurses, based on location and hospital system, but those jobs are SOOOO hard to land (trust me, I've applied to over 2000 jobs in the past 9 months or so). Southern CA is no better, and the pay is significantly lower than in Northern CA.

CA is not the solution, I can promise you that, especially without your BSN. Pay here is good, but not always, and the cost of living is very expensive, and the job market is the most saturated in the county. My first nursing job here was very PRN, and paid $20/hour. I had a short stint in LTC making $32/hour. I finally just accepted a clinic position making $51/hour. Not my ideal specialty (I want to get into L&D, like you), but right now, clinic hours, a job in my town, and pay I can count on is most important, especially as a newly single mom. Hospitals here in the Bay Area pay anywhere from $35/hour to $70/hour for new nurses, based on location and hospital system, but those jobs are SOOOO hard to land (trust me, I've applied to over 2000 jobs in the past 9 months or so). Southern CA is no better, and the pay is significantly lower than in Northern CA.

one of my former coworkers left for CA after 1 year and got a job as a traveler at 69 an hour.

he now has a contract signed up with a chemo infusion clinic.... just saying...

@DatMurse, there are certainly always exceptions, but I think it's fair to say that's not the rule, and it's certainly not something people should be counting on, especially as new grads.

@DatMurse, there are certainly always exceptions, but I think it's fair to say that's not the rule, and it's certainly not something people should be counting on, especially as new grads.

in 5 months she is no longer a new grad. generally classified as an RN 2.

Hands down agree @RunBabyRN

@DatMurse, it depends on the hospital. If she has no acute care experience, she may still have just as much difficulty finding a position, regardless of the fact that she's been a RN for a year. Almost every hospital position, especially RNII, require a year or more of ACUTE CARE experience. LTC or other experience will not be counted as acute care experience. The market out here is extremely competitive, and not having acute care experience is a major setback. Plus, the OP doesn't have her BSN, which will keep her out of most hospitals.

Did your friend that got a travel position out here have experience?

Did your friend that got a travel position out here have experience?

1 year of acute.

I was trying to say she is no longer considered a new grad after a year of experience.