Encouragement needed - Frustrated and insulted by hourly rates

Jules A, MSN · Nov 5, 2015

I think it depends on your market area and what you feel is a decent wage. Unfortunately both of those are highly variable and without knowing your expectations I think anyone will be hard pressed to offer you legitimate encouragement.

In my experience, in a fairly nursing friendly area, this has been an excellent career for me from a financial standpoint and I have had enjoyable working conditions for the most part.

RNKPCE · Nov 5, 2015

Salary or hourly pay is pretty much driven by where you live. You won't notice big pay differences in the same general areas for the same types of positions. In areas where there are unions and it is time to renegotiate contracts, management and unions will look to what the next neighboring hospital agreed upon if they recently implemented a new contract.

As you went through nursing school did you hear through the grapevine what the going rate would be for an acute care position? Is it less than you heard?

If you have a choice between working at a facility that has a good reputation for employee satisfaction and they pay slightly lower than another facility, and you can afford it, take that position.

Even at a "great" place to work with "great" pay you will have shifts that don't live up to your expectations.

Atl-Murse · Nov 5, 2015

Where are you located in the country and what pay are you offered ?

calivianya, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2015

Honestly, it depends on where you are, what type of schooling you currently have, and what type of schooling you are willing to get - and exactly what you mean by opportunities for growth. If you mean opportunities for personal growth, like learning new things, you can always change specialties. One day you can be an expert on taking care of neuro patients and you can learn a ton about cardiac patients by switching units.

However, a nurse is a nurse is a nurse. In my area, raises do not keep up with inflation very well so the people who have 15 years at my hospital are only making a few bucks per hour more than I do as a two-year nurse. The only way to get good raises is to change jobs every couple of years. You are financially sunk if you stay in one position for a long time in my area

The only way to move up the ladder, management wise, is to have at least a BSN. There is a RN working with me who does team lead and really wanted to apply for the new clinical unit leader position open, one step below nurse manager, but she is not allowed to apply because she only has an associate's. MSN is preferred for our nurse managers.

Going up the ladder clinical wise means getting a master's or a doctorate. The step above nurse is NP or CRNA, both of which are advanced practice degrees.

Honestly, if you are looking for growth, I think you picked the wrong profession. You can have a stable job at a stable wage in nursing, but actual opportunities for growth require you to go back to school.

kemansha1 · Nov 5, 2015

Thanks everyone. I am in Rhode Island and I have a BSN. I am also definitely planning to go back to school for an NP or possibly PA and the plan is to go sooner rather than later. Since, as I said, I am a middle adult I want to get where I am going as soon as possible. The numbers I have been getting so far are a base rate in the hospital of $26.50 per hour with shift differentials up to $6.25 for weekend nights. The nursing home I investigated was a base rate of $25 with a shift differential of only $3 for weekend nights. I am torn between quality of life considerations (nursing home seems a little less stressful - maybe) and opportunity to make more money and have more variety which would be the hospital setting. So if I am planning to head back to school ASAP (schools basically require a year or so of experience before they want you back) does it even matter? Should I just get any job that gives me the experience so that I can go back to school? At $25 per hour I am almost thinking of this year as a volunteer year. Does this make me sound unreasonable? Are my expectations just way out of whack?

Jules A, MSN · Nov 5, 2015

At $25 per hour I am almost thinking of this year as a volunteer year. Does this make me wound unreasonable. Are my expectations just way out of whack?

Yeah, sorry but it pretty much does. If you can get low $30 an hour including shift diff as a new grad I don't think you are going to find much better unless you do strictly PRN and then the money you make in hourly rate is somewhat negated by the lack of PTO, benefits, 403B etc.

To immediately go on and add more debt into a degree for a NP or PA career that you likely know as little about as you did when you started your BSN doesn't make sense to me. You would be wise to get some real life insight into your next career move before making it. Good luck.

kemansha1 · Nov 5, 2015

You're right and I probably just need a reality check for what pay is actually going to look like. It's just really depressing. I wish there were more posts on here about how people really love their jobs and it makes the money seem less important.

Jules A, MSN · Nov 5, 2015

You're right and I probably just need a reality check for what pay is actually going to look like. It's just really depressing. I wish there were more posts on here about how people really love their jobs and it makes the money seem less important.

For me its all about the money but if it makes you feel any better I love my jobs and make amazing money. I'm very business oriented, have excellent professional connections and a decent local reputation. It takes time, business savvy and being able to deliver the goods.

emmy27 · Nov 5, 2015

What were you under the impression new grads were making in your area? Genuinely curious- that's considerably higher than new grad pay in my part of the world (deep south) but possibly lower than in, say, California.

With few exceptions, nursing is not a big money field. It is stable and in high demand (with experience) in many areas, though, and offers a lot of flexibility in terms of potential jobs. But without that new grad year under your belt, most doors are closed to you. So in that sense, yes, take a job (not any job at random) and get that experience rather than holding out for some dream new grad job that pays way more than market rate. Generally these things are very consistent across a geographic area- even in big cities where I've worked, entry level hospital pay rates rarely varied by more than a dollar or two between systems. The employers are very aware of what the market in their area will bear, and anybody offering drastically more for the same work is probably doing it for a poor-retention related reason.

I am really curious how you made it all the way through nursing school not knowing what typical new grad pay in your area was, though. This was a common topic of discussion in my nursing school class- we all knew exactly what the local hospitals were offering new grads each year ($18.01-$18.75 when I graduated six years ago). There's no room for salary negotiation for staff positions, so they couldn't hope to keep it a secret.

singwithme123 · Nov 5, 2015

Thanks everyone. I am in Rhode Island and I have a BSN. I am also definitely planning to go back to school for an NP or possibly PA and the plan is to go sooner rather than later. Since, as I said, I am a middle adult I want to get where I am going as soon as possible. The numbers I have been getting so far are a base rate in the hospital of $26.50 per hour with shift differentials up to $6.25 for weekend nights. The nursing home I investigated was a base rate of $25 with a shift differential of only $3 for weekend nights. I am torn between quality of life considerations (nursing home seems a little less stressful - maybe) and opportunity to make more money and have more variety which would be the hospital setting. So if I am planning to head back to school ASAP (schools basically require a year or so of experience before they want you back) does it even matter? Should I just get any job that gives me the experience so that I can go back to school? At $25 per hour I am almost thinking of this year as a volunteer year. Does this make me sound unreasonable? Are my expectations just way out of whack?

I'm sorry, but I also wonder what you truly expected from a nursing career. I mean really. And your statement about considering making $25/hour to a "volunteer" level of pay?? That is almost offensive.

When I graduated as an RN in 1986 my starting base pay was $9/hour at a hospital. At that time and even until today, I have been basically satisfied with my income in a wide variety of RN positions. No, I will never become rich as an RN, but I never expected to.

Something about your position on this really bugs me...

kemansha1 · Nov 5, 2015

Well I guess the hospital job (with shift differential) is in line with what I hoped to make. Since I went to school in Massachusetts where the cost of living is astronomical it seemed to me like nurses made a lot of money (of course most of them have a lot of experience) so I was hoping that my step back from being a contractor (residential remodeling/carpentry) was going to be temporary. I think it still will be if I can make it through to NP or PA. I know I sound super ambitious and condescending and I don't mean to. I am really excited to start my career but I am (right at this exact moment) getting cold feet.