Confused why salaries for new grads are not higher?

Sheri257 · Apr 29, 2007

Pathetic??????? I graduated from UCLA (I live in Los Angeles, to make it crystal clear.....) in 1995 with 3 kids and the highest going rate was $18/hr to work in the ICU.......let's get in the real world!!!!! You guys are just plain lucky and spoiled to be thinking you're entitled to the big bucks. Count your lucky stars and get a grip. I just got offered $26/hr to be a traveler with 15 years experience...a lot of it in acute care and forensics.

I'm not just entitled to big bucks ... I'm making $40 an hour in the real world ... with excellent pension and other benefits. I really don't care if people think I'm spoiled. I'm not in the business of corporate welfare and making less money just so the hospital owners can profit at my expense.

I got a grip a long time ago ... and that means looking out for my best interests.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 30, 2007

a new grad means just that, they do not have any work experience as an rn. and the facility will be investing in them to train the new nurse.

with experiece, the salary goes up. and this is the same in every state in this country, and in most countries all over the world.

please use this thread as a sharing of ideas, not attacks.

WDWpixieRN, RN · Apr 30, 2007

Pathetic??????? I graduated from UCLA (I live in Los Angeles, to make it crystal clear.....) in 1995 with 3 kids and the highest going rate was $18/hr to work in the ICU.......let's get in the real world!!!!! You guys are just plain lucky and spoiled to be thinking you're entitled to the big bucks. Count your lucky stars and get a grip. I just got offered $26/hr to be a traveler with 15 years experience...a lot of it in acute care and forensics.

I think using the words "spoiled" and "get a grip" are a little stiff....from reading the CA threads, there are a lot of places getting more than the $18 to $26 listed above. Somewhere I read recently (and had a RN friend in CA agree) that with differentials, OT, etc., it wasn't unusual for an RN to average $100/hour in some areas of CA (experienced, of course!).

On the MO boards, we're getting hammered by out-of-staters who are INSULTED at our wages, lol!! And it's still very reasonable to expect to find a nice home in one of the outlying suburbs for $150,000 or so.

But what made me think about your post is that we left CA in 1993; our home at that time sold for $145,000. By 1995, it wouldn't have appreciated much. Today, in 2007, that same home probably couldn't be touched for less than $300,000 (not that *I* would pay that, lol)....that means that RN salaries that are still below the $30/hour mark have not kept pace with inflation nor the cost-of-living....

I don't think that makes anyone spoiled or needing to grip. That's reality for the kids of today, and for the back-breaking working RNs do, not unrealistic to hope for. Doesn't make any scenario right; it's just the facts.

YoungWiseWoman · Apr 30, 2007

a new grad means just that, they do not have any work experience as an rn. and the facility will be investing in them to train the new nurse.
with experiece, the salary goes up. and this is the same in every state in this country, and in most countries all over the world.
please use this thread as a sharing of ideas, not attacks.

so that's why i am confused. how does a new grad with no experience make the same in 2 states, where the cost of living is considerably higher in one state? i guess unions really make the difference.

feel free to close the thread if you like. it's going totally off track and i don't want it to get ugly.

lacedmm1 · Apr 30, 2007

I personally think that too many people miss the point on starting salaries. Where in the world will you find a job right out of school that starts you at $35-40 per hour? Not too many. I think everyone should be thankful that they are in a field that pays so well. I know there are many out there that think these wages are not even close to being enough. They are living in a fantasy world. Even lawyers fresh out of school don't even come close to this salary and have to dwell in near poverty for years before making a decent living. If you base salaries on experience, which you should, I would be making $100/hr with my 30 years. Salaries for new grads are creeping too close to what top experinced nurses and this should be looked at closely. I think I make a very good living at what I do and do feel bad for nurses around the country that do make ridiculously low wages and would hope that others would look at their plight and not complain too loud about the low? wage they might make. Like in any profession you have to work around what you make to decide where you want to live.

No offense, but I could tell you were an older nurse just by reading your post. Only older nurses try to tell new nurses that they should be happy with their wages because when you were a new nurse you didn't get paid anywhere near that. I think you are forgetting that the housing market in the last 3 years has made it almost impossible for young people to buy a house, much less pay for it with interest rates as high as they are.

Don't forget gas prices, when has gas prices been so outrageous compared to salary. All I'm saying is, it's easy to say those things when you are probably in your second maybe third home, with bundles of equity and maybe a husband also working to contribute - but it's not that easy for young nurses trying to make it on their own with nothing to their name. Sorry, I don't mean to come off like I'm ranting...but I thought it had to be said.

Sheri257 · Apr 30, 2007

No offense, but I could tell you were an older nurse just by reading your post. Only older nurses try to tell new nurses that they should be happy with their wages because when you were a new nurse you didn't get paid anywhere near that. I think you are forgetting that the housing market in the last 3 years has made it almost impossible for young people to buy a house, much less pay for it with interest rates as high as they are.

Even with the realities of higher housing and gas prices and the fact that higher wages are necessary and justified, a lot of it just boils down to plain old jealousy. The fact is ... a lot of people don't want you to make more money than they do.

When I decided to work in corrections because it does pay so much better, people were so discouraging. You'll hate it, it's an awful job, they said. (It's not actually, I like it.) Besides, you'll never get in with the waiting list, they claimed. (I beat the waiting list anyway.)

Now that I actually have the job, people are giving me even more grief. As soon as they learn where I work, they go on and on about how supposedly horrible it is, even though I didn't ask for their their opinion and, of course, they've never actually worked there.

I wonder what they'd say if I presumed to tell them how much their job sucks. But I know that deep down, they're really upset about how much money I'm making. Especially since as a new grad, they don't think I should be making that kind of money.

But that's their problem, not mine. It's not my fault that I didn't want to settle for hospital wages and worked for something better. Ironically, others who were very discouraging and insisted that I shouldn't even try for the job are now bugging me to help them get hired so they can make more money.

:typing

Sheri257 · Apr 30, 2007

So that's why I am confused. How does a new grad with no experience make the same in 2 states, where the cost of living is considerably higher in one state? I guess unions really make the difference.

Apologies because I've also been guilty of getting off track but ...

I think you need to keep some very important statistics in mind:

The average Texas nurse makes $55,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tx.htm#b29-0000

While the average California nurse makes $70,000 a year.

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ca.htm#b29-0000

So that's a $15,000 a year difference in salary, on average.

While two select hospitals might pay the same for certain jobs in two different states ... that doesn't mean that's the overall trend for either state.

Generally, California nurses still make more money.

:typing

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Apr 30, 2007

this is where the confusion comes in... the starting rate for new grads is $27 (with $3 evening diff.) at a hospital in houston. since the cost of living in ca is so much higher than houston, why isn't there a bigger difference in new grad starting rate?

you're confused because you're misinformed. i live near houston. my salary is pegged to the ability of houston and dfw to draw nurses away from my market. i'm very familiar with the local salary market, to include h-town.

the starting rn salaries in houston are in the $22-24 range, usually at the lower end of that range. anybody tells you different is exaggerating to make their position look better.

i'd have to actually see a pay stub compared to a new diploma to believe 27/hr. that's about what you can get in this area for 5-10 yrs experience.

that also compares very nicely to california, from a cost of living adjusted point of view. i make about 7 dollars less an hour than i could make in california. however, my 3 br/2ba/study converted to 4th br, 2 car garage house on a cul-de-sac across from a park with a pond cost me 94k. there you go.

~faith,

timothy.

wjf00 · May 1, 2007

Hate to be so blunt, but new grad pay is low because frankly, no wants to hire you unless it is a last resort. California has seen a lessening of the nursing shortage. So new grads no longer have the appeal they once had. New grads are honestly, a big liability for hospitals. It takes a huge investment for hospitals to train a new grad. And so many fail or pack up and leave the moment they are oriented.

If Houston or where ever is paying new grads so much, it is simply a matter of supply and demand. Where I work, no New Grad has been hired into the unit in many years, in fact the manager tells new grads to get experience some where else and come back in a year. And that advice makes sense for the hospital. Why not pay an experienced RN top dollar ,and avoid the huge investment in training someone who may fail or simply up and leave in a year.

It is high time hospitals reward nurses for their experience. The revolving door of new grads, costs far more than rewarding an experienced nurse with a top notch salary.

Sheri257 · May 1, 2007

Hate to be so blunt, but new grad pay is low because frankly, no wants to hire you unless it is a last resort. California has seen a lessening of the nursing shortage. So new grads no longer have the appeal they once had. New grads are honestly, a big liability for hospitals. It takes a huge investment for hospitals to train a new grad. And so many fail or pack up and leave the moment they are oriented.
If Houston or where ever is paying new grads so much, it is simply a matter of supply and demand. Where I work, no New Grad has been hired into the unit in many years, in fact the manager tells new grads to get experience some where else and come back in a year. And that advice makes sense for the hospital. Why not pay an experienced RN top dollar ,and avoid the huge investment in training someone who may fail or simply up and leave in a year.
It is high time hospitals reward nurses for their experience. The revolving door of new grads, costs far more than rewarding an experienced nurse with a top notch salary.

While I agree with a lot of what you're saying ... I wouldn't say nobody wants to hire new grads. I just got a call from yet another hospital today begging me to work for them.

I don't know of anybody in my graduating class who's had any trouble finding hospital jobs ... everybody had multiple job offers.

:typing

YoungWiseWoman · May 2, 2007

You're confused because you're misinformed. I live near Houston. My salary is pegged to the ability of Houston and DFW to draw nurses away from my market. I'm very familiar with the local salary market, to include H-town.
The starting RN salaries in Houston are in the $22-24 range, usually at the lower end of that range. Anybody tells you different is exaggerating to make their position look better.
I'd have to actually see a pay stub compared to a new diploma to believe 27/hr. That's about what you can get in this area for 5-10 yrs experience.
That also compares very nicely to California, from a cost of living adjusted point of view. I make about 7 dollars less an hour than I could make in California. However, My 3 br/2ba/study converted to 4th br, 2 car garage house on a cul-de-sac across from a park with a pond cost me 94K. There you go.
~faith,
Timothy.

Actually Tim, I've been offered a new graduate position on a Med-Surg floor at a hospital in the Medical Center that pays $27.03 an hour for the 3p-11p shift. The day shift pays $24.03. My desired shift is evenings and my desired area is Med-Surg so that works perfect for me. So I guess everyone learns something new everyday, huh? I'm not misinformed, these are personal facts.

YoungWiseWoman · May 2, 2007

Apologies because I've also been guilty of getting off track but ...
I think you need to keep some very important statistics in mind:
The average Texas nurse makes $55,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tx.htm#b29-0000
While the average California nurse makes $70,000 a year.
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ca.htm#b29-0000
So that's a $15,000 a year difference in salary, on average.
While two select hospitals might pay the same for certain jobs in two different states ... that doesn't mean that's the overall trend for either state.
Generally, California nurses still make more money.
:typing

Thanks for the links Sheri! In this thread I am talking about NEW GRAD PAY in TX VS NEW GRAD PAY in CA. I'm not speaking average pay for each state. I agree that CA nurses make more overall, however that is not my concern at this point.