Does FL pay as well as IL?

KarlaP · May 3, 2004

I will be graduating with an Associate's Degree in Nursing (RN) in May 2005. My husband feels strongly about moving to Florida soon after that. My question is, how advisable is it to move so soon after graduating when in all likelihood I will not have yet obtained my RN license? My concern is that my education and training in Illinois will not translate in FL, and I might have to take extra courses to get a FL license. My husband is making things very difficult and confusing for me . In addition, I've heard that FL does not pay as well as Chicago, is this true? I hope someone out there can help me sort through my options. Thank you.

What is the average pay for new RNs in the Chicago area. Where I am in Michigan I make $22/hour but would like to move to Chicago area.

Town & Country · May 3, 2004

Florida takes a long time to get your nursing license.

If you move down there before you even have your IL license, you're going to have major problems.

At least wait until you have your IL license in hand, then you can at least start the process. I hear it's costly, also.

What's the rush?

mszar · May 3, 2004

Hi KarlaP. I don't know about average pay for new IL RNs, so don't quote me on it, but $22 doesn't differ much from the $22-26 I've heard new RNs get here. It may be more. I'm new to this board so I think I need to spend more time on it to get a more definite feel for the nursing scene here. Good luck to you!

mszar · May 3, 2004

florida takes a long time to get your nursing license. if you move down there before you even have your il license, you're going to have major problems. at least wait until you have your il license in hand, then you can at least start the process. i hear it's costly, also.what's the rush?

goodness, this is definitely information i should know. this is why i feel so queasy about the whole thing--too many unknowns. maybe i should see about e-mailing the florida state board of nursing for more information.

by this do you mean it takes a long time to get a fl rn license in general, or it will take me a long time to get one there if i came without getting an il one first in particular? does this mean fl has more stringent standards?

i honestly don't understand my husband's obsession with living in fl. :confused: he is determined that we move there after i graduate, everything else be damned, it seems. i agreed to move there before we got married 2 years ago, but i'm so much more informed about the pros and cons of it now and my feelings about moving have changed. meanwhile, he is holding me to my word and so here i am trying to determine if what indeed will the best thing be for both of us. in moving there, he will have to take a pay cut, i will be earning less potential income, plus the job waiting for him there did not even come with health insurance at one point. so the way i see it, there's no good reason for us to move there in the long run, except for the fact that he will be happy. it's all very surreal, i can't believe i am even having to make this choice. i wish he would see that staying in chicago is the best thing for now.

thanks for your feedback.

KarlaP · May 5, 2004

Thank you MSZAR!! I appreciate it.

Hooligan · May 6, 2004

I will be graduating with an Associate's Degree in Nursing (RN) in May 2005. My husband feels strongly about moving to Florida soon after that. My question is, how advisable is it to move so soon after graduating when in all likelihood I will not have yet obtained my RN license? My concern is that my education and training in Illinois will not translate in FL, and I might have to take extra courses to get a FL license. My husband is making things very difficult and confusing for me . In addition, I've heard that FL does not pay as well as Chicago, is this true? I hope someone out there can help me sort through my options. Thank you.

Check out http://www.salary.com and punch in the area you are intereste in moving to...it looked pretty comparable to me...at least for the Jacksonville area...

~Bean