Encouragement needed - Frustrated and insulted by hourly rates

Tdmoudry, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2015

I think if the wages discourage you that much you need to choose a different field. That base pay is actually above national standards, and the differential of $6.50 on top of that $26.50 an hour is very good for weekend nights. Earning $33 an hour as a new grad for a weekend night position is actually very rare. Nursing should never be about the money and the fact that you are entering the field complaining about the pay rather than being ecstatic to be able to practice what you've spent so long learning about is scary. I find those with an attitude similar to this come to work pissed off, rush to leave and do a lot of half hearted work in between. If your heart isn't in it please do not practice nursing. You make those of us who give our blood sweat and tears a bad reputation. Might I mention, I'm 3 years into my nursing career and just started earning $26/hr at my specialty PCU job and get $20/hr at my school job.

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2015

I won't beat you up for your question..... As you can see from many of the responses, nurses, in general, have a defeatist attitude and they accept these pitiful wages they are offered. Most are good at complaining about problems in nursing but are not good at fixing them. You are right!! A nurse's wage is not a livable wage. Disclaimer......The following is not a sexist comment and I won't be responding to anyone suggesting so.....If there were more men in nursing wages would increase. And....it has less to do with what is between our legs and more with what is between our ears.

Em nope.

It has everything to do with whats between your legs

And the fact that nursing has for so many years been considered a female profession.

For example, here a new grad on the new grad nursing program brings in a starting wage of approx $46,400 before tax. Thats on the back of a 3 year bachelors degree

Take police for example of a male dominated profession, after a years application and including the 16 week study at police college graduates start out on about $57,000

We've had a land mark employment law case here recently covering this very thing and stating that if it wasnt for the fact that nursing/care giving was such a female dominated career we'd be paid alot better.

Here for every $1 that a man earns on average a woman earns 0.84c

kemansha1 · Nov 9, 2015

In order to go to PA school you need a tremendous amount of clinical hours. It is a very competitive program to get into.
Ya, in Mass $30 is a sorta starting point with differentials. But if you were a contractor used to making upwards of $75 dollars and hour, it can be an eye opener.
Lots of nurses work part time/per diem and do something else. Maybe don't give up the contractor gig, and work weekends at the hospital for the clinical hours......

I am actually thinking that this "soft launch" approach is the way to go. Maybe I can find a gig working nights (probably a 24 week stacked strategically) leaving me time to still do carpentry/contracting. It is unfortunate though because, despite all the shade people have thrown at me for worrying about money, I am excited to start my new career. I am interested in taking care of people and not just taking home a paycheck. The vitriol with which people have suggested that I find a new career before I have even started this one has been eye opening.

kemansha1 · Nov 9, 2015

I won't beat you up for your question..... As you can see from many of the responses, nurses, in general, have a defeatist attitude and they accept these pitiful wages they are offered. Most are good at complaining about problems in nursing but are not good at fixing them. You are right!! A nurse's wage is not a livable wage. Disclaimer......The following is not a sexist comment and I won't be responding to anyone suggesting so.....If there were more men in nursing wages would increase. And....it has less to do with what is between our legs and more with what is between our ears. What is MOST important to men and women differ when interviewing for a position. If more nurses thought like men, wages would increase. OP sell yourself and negotiate. And do NOT be afraid to turn down an offer! I can't tell you how many interviews I've had where I laughed at them and I got up and left. But in your case realize you are entering a new field. Get your six months or more of experience anywhere......and then start moving around to different jobs. Always leave a job with the door open for you to return. Never accept anything lower than what you are currently making. Even if you move to a new state. And keep your hourly wage climbing. Sometimes you can return to a previous position and make a $10 raise by leaving and coming back a few years later while the other nurse who stayed make a $2 raise in the same about of time. Educate yourself to the reimbursement side of health care and what your wage ceiling is likely to be in the area of the country you live. Nurses need to advocate for themselves better at an individual level! By doing so we will raise the bar of hourly wages for the whole.

I think you are right to some extent about the gender thing. I have heard a lot about nurse bullying and how nurses "eat their young" especially with less experienced colleagues. It does seem a little like middle school mean girls. I have now read this forum a lot and there do seem to be many people who are deeply disgruntled and have met my question with "yeah, it's a tough job with terrible hours and crappy wages" as a response. And then they suggest that I just opt out right now if I don't like the way it is. But then they seem really angry that I suggest that it should be different. I'm fine with it being a tough job. I know what I am getting into as far as work/life balance goes. I think that if everyone is so collectively unhappy that we can change the norm.

_zoubisoubisou_ · Nov 9, 2015

low 20's for new grads in North Fla. COL is lower here, but still...I'd be over the moon to make $30/hr.

lufkin · Nov 9, 2015

First of all you have to gain experience and work up to better pay. However, salary is not what it is made out to be.

Salary may sound good, but when you are expected to work over or as long as it takes, then salary divides into a low hourly wage.

I believe in nursing you have to love what you do, and money cant be a part of it because there is never adequate pay for what we do.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 9, 2015

I think you are right to some extent about the gender thing. I have heard a lot about nurse bullying and how nurses "eat their young" especially with less experienced colleagues. It does seem a little like middle school mean girls. I have now read this forum a lot and there do seem to be many people who are deeply disgruntled and have met my question with "yeah, it's a tough job with terrible hours and crappy wages" as a response. And then they suggest that I just opt out right now if I don't like the way it is. But then they seem really angry that I suggest that it should be different. I'm fine with it being a tough job. I know what I am getting into as far as work/life balance goes. I think that if everyone is so collectively unhappy that we can change the norm.

WOW! You haven't even started a job as a nurse yet, and you're already convince that nurses are mean bullies who eat their young because they're female. Your misogyny is showing.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 9, 2015

First of all you have to gain experience and work up to better pay. However, salary is not what it is made out to be.
Salary may sound good, but when you are expected to work over or as long as it takes, then salary divides into a low hourly wage.
I believe in nursing you have to love what you do, and money cant be a part of it because there is never adequate pay for what we do.

You are right about gaining experience and working up to better pay. And you're right about salary -- if you have a choice, go for the hourly wage, not the salaried position. You lose out on those dribs and drabs of overtime (my relief got stuck in traffic for the third time this week, but today she's only going to be an hour late) that add up in the long run. And you lose out on weekend pay, holiday pay and shift differential if you work more than what you are actually contracted to work.

However nursing is a job just like any other. It isn't a calling. Money absolutely factors into it. Anyone who says it doesn't is probably operating on the "calling" principle, and those folks get burned out a whole lot quicker and often more spectacularly than those of us who are in it "for the money." I am quite honest about choosing nursing because (at the time I chose, anyway) it's a stable career with a living wage, good benefit package and we don't have to stand outside in the rain or the snow. I've had a nice standard of living with a nice home, reliable car, flexible hours and interesting work. There are days I love what I do and days I hate it, but in the end I have to pay my bills, too.

DWelly14 · Nov 9, 2015

If you went into nursing for the money, you're in trouble. I've been a nurse for almost 6 years now and I think I make decent money, will finally be over $30/hr at the start of 2016 but I have a MSN and several specialty certifications. I started at $23/hr and have worked my bum off to make it up the pay scale (and switched jobs once) ever since. That being said, there are still days that it is so not enough money. I work in an inner city labor and delivery unit. We get all sorts of sad stories, fetal demises, and cases that just pull on your heart and make you want to sob, all while being over worked because we don't have enough beds for the patients being admitted or enough nurses to provide adequate staffing ratios. In a 12 hour shift, it's not unusual for me to have a demise and a set of triplets, so I spend my day running back and forth from room to room, trying to make sure all the live babies stay on the monitor, two labors are progressing, and that each mom is coping emotionally with what is happening. I don't eat, pee, or sit down at work ever and usually I have to stay over an hour or two to get all my charting done. There are days that I know I don't get paid enough. But I LOVE what I do and I wouldn't trade it for the world. If I were in it for the money, I'd have quit before I started because it's not worth it if all I get out of my job is a paycheck. There are plenty of other professions that pay similarly and require a lot less stress. I'm sorry you are feeling discouraged, OP, but maybe you need to go back to your old job if all you want is a pay check.

Also, as far as holding your breathe for better pay as a PA or NP, don't. You may see an increase going from a entry level RN to an NP/PA but it's going to be really hard to get anyone to hire you without relevant experience beforehand and once you achieve that experience level, you'll essentially have negated the pay raise. Like I said, I have my MSN. I worked for a year after getting my BSN and then went back to school to be a midwife (working full time the whole way through so as to not accrew too much debt). I could not get a job when I completed my program because I did not have experience as an L&D RN (I worked on a vent unit before going back). So I switched jobs to get that experience and now have found that I love the RN role in labor and delivery. Who knows if I'll ever use that midwife certification now (keeping it current just in case) but financially, it'd probably end up being a step back now if I ever did.

Just my two cents. If you wanted false encouragement, sorry, you'll have to look elsewhere. In my experience, nurses are real and tell it like it is. Best of luck to you.

mrsjonesRN · Nov 12, 2015

25 an hour? New grad? Wow I don't make that and I've been a nurse 5 years. I make 19.05..base pay. And that's icu.

If you get one year under your belt and don't have family obligations, you may Want to try travel nursing. That is what I am going for next year.

michellehale65 · Nov 14, 2015

Your comment was very offensive!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2015

Your comment was very offensive!

Welcome! Which comment do you feel was offensive? There are more than 100 comments and responses in this thread at the present time.

If you feel a post/comment is offensive, report it to the moderation team by clicking on the small yellow triangle icon that appears at the bottom of the questionable post.