Encouragement needed - Frustrated and insulted by hourly rates

kemansha1 · Nov 5, 2015

My empathy is starting to drop and you are bordering on offensive now...
Did you do NO research as to wages before you embarked on this journey?

I really haven't gotten any empathy on this thread anyway, even though I really was just hoping for people to tell me something along the lines of "it gets better." Yes I did do research but perhaps I was a little too gullible about the propaganda that this profession offers good pay and lots of opportunity for growth both personal and professional. Does anybody out there remember feeling the way I am feeling?

kemansha1 · Nov 5, 2015

I understand where you're coming from, I really do, and I'm in New England myself so I understand the cost of living. Here's my 2c: I don't think you can expect to make much right out of school. Nursing values experience and specialty. You have neither. However, the potential is good if you are able to start at the ground level and have a definite goal point. The highest earning nurses are a) experienced - that will come, b) focus on a specialty like ICU, c) credentialed/certified - - can't do that without specializing and d) have a BSN or MSN. My advice to you, if you want to earn money, is get into a specialty, although you'd have to start somewhere general for the first year or so, really shine at what you do, get credentialed in something (like a CCRN), if you are an ADN get a BSN, and then work your way up. Nursing is not an instantaneous reward unfortunately. A resume with a BSN, credentials/certifications, experience in a specialty and good experience will get you the job (and money) every time. Then of course there's advanced practice, but that's a long way off right now. There are good earning potentials there too, but you need to know how to apply it and negotiate, and which specialties are financially beneficial.

Thank you Rocknurse. This advice is actually helpful. Believe me I have enough of the inner critic, that most of the rest of this thread have piled on to, that I'm wishing I had never reached out for encouragement. I am still only a month out from getting my license and all of the unknowns are doing a number on me. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I find a job soon so I can put the monkeys in my head to rest. LOL

Iknowwha2du · Nov 5, 2015

I am saving money to create a business for myself. There are no guarantees with nursing anymore. I like the work but the conditions aren't usually favorable. It is hard to say that it will get better but it will become more manageable the more you do it. You will have good days and bad days. You will work hard and you will have to push through whatever you are going through as to not make any errors, meaning you don't have the advantage of having a down day because you feel sick, and you may just be better off not showing up to work if you are in really bad shape. There are other fields that pay the same and you won't have to deal with as much stuff. It just depends on what you want to do. You better do it because you really care and not for the money. The money does equal all the things you are required to do and put up with. Be prepared to not have a tech or CNA. I work in a 60 bed facility and we usually only have 2 techs for the whole floor on a good day. A lot of these nursing schools ought to be ashamed for potentially putting nurses in debt and knowing that they may not find a job, plus the pay rate starting off is low. You can honestly end up being the working poor when you start out as a new nurse because you are paying your debt and your job doesn't offer tuition reimbursement. Hospitals are only hiring so many new grads at a time. Another thing to realize is you are going to be at the mercy of nurses that will be training you and some are hungry, with you being young and fresh, you may be eaten. I knew a nurse that was accused of pushing a regular nurse on the unit and she got fired. Now she has this stuff on her license. No one witnessed the push. Management just believed the regular nurse. With this field there are a lot of nurses that are stressed and will take it out on you if they can. You have to be Army strong to deal with this field.

emmy27 · Nov 5, 2015

I take your point, but given the training I underwent to pursue this, the cost of which was not insubstantial, I don't consider myself a "laborer." I think that the fact that this profession is at least partly altruistic is a hindrance to people demanding what they are worth. People don't say "you didn't go into medicine to get rich" to doctors because in fact many of them did. I don't expect riches. But I also didn't take a vow of poverty.

I don't think they were attempting to compare nursing to manual labor, but rather point out that as a new grad, you still require significant training on the part of the hiring organization, which means you represent a risk and a significant financial investment on the part of your hiring unit. A responsible acute care organization will give new grads several *months* of orientation, during which they are paying you and your preceptor (and generally your preceptor is receiving a small differential for precepting you, as well) for work that could be done by one experienced nurse. This while knowing that a significant number of new grads leave their first job within one year and the majority within two. So if they give you a 3-6 month orientation, which is pretty common depending on area, they've paid a premium for a totally inexperienced worker who may well give them 6 months of actual work or less.

This is one of the reasons new grad positions pay poorly- they're a high-risk, low-yield investment for most hospitals.

With specialty experience and strategic job changes, you can make significantly more than the new grad starting rate as a bedside nurse, but if you believe that these represent poverty wages, you are probably in for a nasty shock in terms of the career you have trained for.

ambr46 · Nov 5, 2015

Pay goes up with experience so as a new grad you are in the bottom of the pay scale. As for nursing homes I always found them stressful for the unrealistic workload. Working in the hospital in my opinion is a great starting off point to solidify your skills.

As a new grad in central California I started at 31.00 an hour which is a little low for the area. Not a bad deal because housing in central California is much cheaper than other regions in California. I think location makes a huge difference. I have heard that nurses in the bay area make close to 80.00 an hour but I can't imagine how crazy expensive it would be to rent an apartment there.

RNKPCE · Nov 6, 2015

I really haven't gotten any empathy on this thread anyway, even though I really was just hoping for people to tell me something along the lines of "it gets better." Yes I did do research but perhaps I was a little too gullible about the propaganda that this profession offers good pay and lots of opportunity for growth both personal and professional. Does anybody out there remember feeling the way I am feeling?

The truth may be better than false encouragement. If you expected to make $40/hr and you are only being offered $25 not sure how to encouraged you in regard to pay.

I never felt the way you did. I graduated during a true nursing shortage many years ago.

However, I have never regretted my career choice. I was able to transfer to 4-midnights. shift when I had kids and gradually cut back my hours so I worked part time. I like the first place I was employed and have never left. Even before ratios my hospital had good staffing. I am still passionate about what I do. Because I work part time I have never felt burned out.

I know I have a career that if need be I could work full-time or more.

PewPew · Nov 6, 2015

In my area $25/hr is typical for new grads. You will be able to negotiate for more once you get some experience under your belt. You may want to look into being a nurse traveler I hear they can make a pretty penny :)

Simonesays, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2015

I wrote a longer post that I accidentally deleted. Oops! To sum it up, don't get too fixated on that initial salary. Think of the added bonuses that you'll eventually get (good benefits, OT, paid education). And it's not unusual for senior nurses in my area to make 100K + by working OT. Try and talk to some nurses in your area to see if this is the case there too.

That being said, go into nursing because you want to be a nurse not because you want to be make big $$ being a nurse. It's not easy work! You'll be pushed to your limits, thinly stretched, and stressed to the max- at times. Personally, I don't think I could be a nurse if I was only in it for the salary. The work is too hard! But... I love where I am working now, I loved the unit I worked on before that, and if I don't feel the same way about the next unit I work on- I'll move somewhere else. Flexibility! I could go on and on about what I love about this job despite its challenges but I won't bore you. I'm sure you'll find these things out for yourself.

I'm also guessing that you left your old job for a reason. Try to remind yourself of what that was. I also left a decent-paying job to pursue nursing and I haven't looked back since.

Tip: if you love IVs or wound care, definitely look into getting certified in one of those areas eventually. The pay is great and the hours are typically M-F.

Good luck in your job hunt!

Libby1987 · Nov 6, 2015

It doesn't bother me that you want higher wages despite lacking competent skill, but it's unrealistic to succeed without busting your butt learning your trade, and that didn't happen in nursing school, you are not anywhere near ready to roll.

Now if not so many had the same idea of skipping the *manual labor* of new grad nursing and going straight to NP, you might have received a great ROI but that market is getting saturated with new grads, too.

My advice? Get good at something while being paid like a volunteer, maybe intern is more palatable, then move up with your career.

Emergent, RN · Nov 6, 2015

I think around here, around $27 an hour is about where new grads start. That's Washington State. As you go east of Spokane, pay drops.

On the union step system, newer nurses increase yearly. It slows down once you get higher on the scale and tops out at $45-$46 an hour. Most hospital are union around here.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2015

Sorry the expectations weren't as expected.

I was one of those who went into nursing for the "money" as we lost 30,000 industrial jobs in the area, and there's nothing left but healthcare.We have 5 colleges turning out RNs , and BSN is the minimum anyone will hire now.

My situation sucks, and I've been basically told, that to keep my job,I need to finish my BSN. I will make I think 25 cents more per hour. That's with me paying around 6-8 thousand for the degree. Not sure that justifies the added expense, but then again, it justifies keeping the job.Then I will be fully maxed out on rates , which are around 32 bucks in my area. That's with > 10 yrs experience. I think new grads are getting 22-24 to start.

Since everyone is on the NP bandwagon, I expect that area to be saturated very soon.

Most people it seems go NP because staff nursing sucks. Bad.

Sorry I can't be more encouraging.

iPink, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2015

OP, Nursing is my second career as well. I use to work up north, making a decent salary without living paycheck to paycheck in my first career. After a company-wide layoff, I was out of a job and decided to take that opportunity to pursue nursing.

When I graduated nursing school three years ago, I moved further south to live closer to family. It took me awhile to land a job and when I finally did I was depressed with the hourly rate. There was nothing I could negotiate because that was the hourly for all new grads, with only a few cents difference between competing hospitals. It didn't even matter the specialty you were in. I had my BSN so my starting pay was about 30 cents higher than the ASNs. With student loans and other bills I had to pay, I felt I wouldn't be able to survive. I too thought I made a mistake and almost wanted out but I knew a third career was not an option. Luckily, my hospital offers incentives such as clinical ladders so I took advantage of that and they give yearly merit raises/bonuses. I also decided to go from dayshift to nightshift because the differential was significantly higher. Fast forward almost three years later and my hourly has increase more than five times already (not including the nightshift differential I receive) and I'm more than happy with my salary. My nursing salary has afforded me the opportunity to live in a house I bought on my own. With the sacrifices I've made in the past it feels good to be able to treat myself. Thanks to my nursing salary I do treat myself often and I'm only three years into this profession.

Hang in there.