compensation in your state

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Hi all, so I'm a fairly new nurse, i have been doing home care for 7 months in NJ and I just had an interview with a LTC in my area. The pay is astounding . Im sure I'm preaching to the choir but i just feel like I worked my butt off in nursing school and I'm not sure about this anymore. I can't find anywhere that pays more that 25 an hour. Is this typical? I want to do nursing, specifically peds, maternity or l&d. I have no doubt about that. And I get that you have to start at the bottom. Trust me LTC is not my idea of fun but I'll start anywhere...But considering I have no kids and nothing keeping me in Jersey, I'm wondering if there's any other states that are cheaper cost of living and pay a little more. Nj is expensive and I Litterally can't live on the nurses salary here! Anyone who can tell me salaries and if they know who's hiring RNs who dont have BSN yet, it's much appreciated!!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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Specializes in OR.

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

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

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.

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.
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...

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

@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.

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.
@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.

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Specializes in Home care.

Hands down agree @RunBabyRN

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

@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?

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