Do FNP's really make 80k to 90k a year?

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Hi everyone,

I was talking to my aunt who is an FNP, but she mostly teaches and does research. She was telling me that FNP's make 80k-90k a year and that FNP's are going to be really in demand when health care reform kicks in. I told her I wanted to be a PNP, NNP, or a midwife. She told me that PNP's don't make as much money, that is hard to break into the neonatal specialty, and that midwifes are only really needed in Kentucky. I really want to work with babies and/or children because I just LOVE them. So I was just curious about how hard it is to break into these specialties and I'm curious about general salary ranges. I'm not expecting to make a ton of money as a nurse I just want to love the work I do. Thanks in advance!

Bsnanat2...... Where do you live? I live in south FL (near Ft Lauderdale) & plan to move to GA once I graduate (2013). How is the job market for family practice?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Telemetry, Oncology.
You can do travel nursing (called locum tenens) as a Nurse Practitioner as well. I went to school for FNP in CO and figured out afterwards that there are no jobs, or just PT or very low paying jobs (lower or same as RN).

Traveling as a NP I think is also better then traveling as a RN. As a RN you pretty much are stuck with 13 week contracts. As a NP you choose how long you want to go, if you need time off in between, etc. I have worked as little as 4 days to as long as 5.5 months. And almost ALL of them ask you to go perm (unless they just need vaca coverage) but you are not obligated unless you decide you love it and want to stay there.

I have worked all over the place and licensed in 5 states + 1 expired.

They usually pay for all your licenses, travel, malpractice, housing, and often they will pay for rental car or a car allowance. Most will also pay for your gas (if a short stent few weeks) and luggage fees.

I calculated I made 70k last year NOT including my travel, housing, etc. and I only worked 24 weeks.

There are downsides, you are continually packing your suitcase, have to pay for your own CME and vacations, health insurance, etc. (but most of that you can deduct on taxes)

It is a great way to pay off student loans and see the country!! How many jobs pay for a great apartment directly on the beach??

It is also a great way to get a wide variety of experience and really figure out what exactly you want to do. I've done rural pediatrics, family camp, college health, ER, urgent care, occ med, family practice, anesthesia/pre-op.

WOW!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING! THIS IS EXCELLENT INFORMATION!

I was debating on whether to do travel nursing as an RN before going back to school and getting as masters in FNP. But I NEVER KNEW NPs can travel! HOW EXCITING! I'm glad I made the decision to put off traveling and head back to grad school in the FALL. I feel like I am going to be GLAD I DID!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Telemetry, Oncology.
I am in Houston. I work M-F, no call, no weekends. I make $110,000 +. I made $88,000 as an RN.

wow! 88,000 as an RN in Houston? maybe I need to move there! I live in a little suburban of Dallas called Lewisville and I only made 54,000 last year. How many days a week did you work as an RN when you made 88,000?

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
wow! 88,000 as an RN in Houston? maybe I need to move there! I live in a little suburban of Dallas called Lewisville and I only made 54,000 last year. How many days a week did you work as an RN when you made 88,000?

*** At my hospital in Minneapolis staff RNs with 5+ years experience make $90-120K not counting over time, depending on what shift they work.

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Specializes in ..

tjfrn,

anywhere in ga would be great for fnp. i imagine the poster who listed the low wages in georgia could only be in sw georgia (near albany) because that area is known for being behind the rest of the state economically and socially. even at that, i’m surprised at the low wages. everywhere else in ga would appear to be great for fnp's. fnp’s are in the majority here, even in hospital & er settings, as there are very few acnp’s. while ga requires a collaborative agreement with a physician, np's are gaining ground on pa's. the coast is great, but pay in augusta, columbus and macon is really good. atlanta pay can be through the roof! georgia is a great place to live. georgia has it all, from beaches to farmland to mountains.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
georgia is a great place to live. georgia has it all, from beaches to farmland to mountains.

*** oh ya? do you have 6-7 months of brutally cold winters with chest deep snow for months on end? do you get to forget about lawn mowing from first of october until well into may? do you get to do many hours of back braking snow shoveling just to get to work a dozen or so days a year? do you ever find people frozen to death outside your hospital?

sound like georgia doesn't exactly have it all. you people have no idea what you are missing up here in god's country :)

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Specializes in ..
*** oh ya? do you have 6-7 months of brutally cold winters with chest deep snow for months on end? do you get to forget about lawn mowing from first of october until well into may? do you get to do many hours of back braking snow shoveling just to get to work a dozen or so days a year? do you ever find people frozen to death outside your hospital?

sound like georgia doesn't exactly have it all. you people have no idea what you are missing up here in god's country :)

from that standpoint, we definitely do not have it all! i will gladly let you keep all that snow and freezing cold. i enjoy not turning on my heater until january! you have to be more man than i am to live in a place like that. i will say that during the summer, the thermostat here can get stuck on 'hell' for a while, but i can deal with the heat by going to the beach or dipping in the pool....such a burden!

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In my area you can make that as a seasoned RN or someone with less experience who is willing to work some over time.

A friend of my daughter told her that her father, an LVN working in the state prison system, made more than $80k a year with overtime. That was about 20 years ago.

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tjfrn,

anywhere in ga would be great for fnp. i imagine the poster who listed the low wages in georgia could only be in sw georgia (near albany) because that area is known for being behind the rest of the state economically and socially. even at that, i'm surprised at the low wages. everywhere else in ga would appear to be great for fnp's. fnp's are in the majority here, even in hospital & er settings, as there are very few acnp's. while ga requires a collaborative agreement with a physician, np's are gaining ground on pa's. the coast is great, but pay in augusta, columbus and macon is really good. atlanta pay can be through the roof! georgia is a great place to live. georgia has it all, from beaches to farmland to mountains.

ga is a great place to be... i'm originally from sc & have lived in south fl for over 20 years & i'm ready to move on. my husband rather move to ga so that we are between our 2 families so it's great to hear the job market is good there.

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Specializes in Psych, Onco, ED, Tele, Med/Surg.

As an agency RN within the 10 hospital system I work for, I must admit that I make $41/hr now- not including shift diff, holiday wages. I had BETTER make more than I make now once I'm finished with my FNP. Saw an advertisment yesterday in another area of the state I live in offering 140K plus relo plus sign on bonus. Know one NP who made 95K starting out just covering a nursing home. Know another NP who makes just 38/hour part time. I think if you want it badly enough (the job, I mean), the pay will follow.

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rntofnp2014 what state was that 140k in?

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Med-Surg.

I graduated last August, am in NY and was working for a city hospital making 65 K base salary, this is low for NY but common in the city/state hospitals. I'm curerntly working for an private organization and started as an FNP at 85K/yr, not sure how much growth potential there is in this salary, I know that others who I graduate with are working in private clinics and are making more than I am and at Private Hospitals they are making over 100 K.

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