Why is it a crime...

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

It's not a crime to want a job that pays well. I would not slam you for that. You will soon find out that whatever you are paid is not enough for what is expected of you as a nurse.

bewitched · Sep 2, 2010

I feel that nursing is a good fit for my personality, as well as my interests; I have always been fascinated by medicine and the biological sciences. But when people ask, I will tell them that if nursing only paid minimum wage, I wouldn't do it. I very much like the fact that nursing has salaries that start at reasonable and only go up.

And economic climates like our current one may seem severe, but over the next fifty years of my career, there will surely be ups and downs, and this one will only be a blip on the radar in the scheme of things. I would not (and am not going to!) let the current recession or lack of jobs keep me from being a nurse because it won't ALWAYS be that way. And no matter how bad the economy gets, people will ALWAYS get sick and need care.

But then again, I'm just a student, what do I know.

nursejoy1, ASN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

I absolutely love what I do but I would only do it for free if I were filthy rich. When I became a LPN 9 years ago, I chose LTC because it paid about $3/hr more than the hospitals offered. Though I would love the experience of hospital work, I chose to stay in LTC as an RN because I now make $5/hr more than the local hospitals offered me after my recent graduation. I do think you should have a good heart to be a good nurse, but the money is also important. I have bills to pay and a family to support.

rn/writer, RN · Sep 2, 2010

Occasionally members post threads that seem to suggest that nursing is such a noble calling that the financial end of things should be secondary. Doesn't take long for others to come along and set those members straight. For a very select few, nursing is such a burning passion that they would do it for sheer love of the job. For the other 99.9% of us, putting a roof over our heads and feeding our families is also a calling, one we hear loud and clear.

Of course, you have to be able to make ends meet and have a little bit of security at the end of the day. Anyone who says otherwise is not grounded in the reality that most of us share.

On the other hand, I would discourage anyone who has no interest in nursing from looking only at the financial end. Doing a job you can't stand just because it pays well is still not a good way to live.

Love of nursing and desire to earn a decent paycheck are not at all incompatible. But either of those alone is probably not a good situation.

You sound like you will do just fine.

Awright162 · Sep 2, 2010

I think people just get annoyed at the fact that people only want to enter this field for the money and they feel that these people are unaware of the fact that nursing is a very demanding job (well it is if you make it to be that way).

Also, nursing is a very close or personal and dangerous job. You are really going to be in dangerous situations. If you are in it for just the money that way of thinking may make you aware of the realities of this job.

I'm not a nurse, but I imagine that those are some of the reason.:heartbeat

Awright162 · Sep 2, 2010

I forgot to mention. I'm only doing this for the money.

linzjane88 · Sep 2, 2010

I am only in nursing school now but I think the pay definately had something to do with it. I,too, had a "desk job" that paid almost twice what my husband brought home, but I left because it was sooo mindless and boring!

I wanted to be a Medical Lab Technologist. One day I was looking on the local hospitals job postings and realized in two years I could be an MLT (starting at $21) or an RN (starting at $29). Thats when the logical side of me jumped out and I decided nursing was "it" for me.

I don't think nursing is a job you can do if you don't have a good chunk of heart in it.

gymnut · Sep 2, 2010

There is a big difference between the word also and the word only. It's the word only that gets a lot of people riled up and it's understandable.

Nursing is a very demanding job both physically and mentally and often requires a lot of sacrifice especially when you first enter school and then have the dreaded first year nursing run. If nursing didn't pay well hospitals would have 3 staffed because those are the rare few that actually would work for free because their passion runs so deep.

The people who only go in it for the money are only fooling themselves and hopefully will be weeded out in a short while to make way for the nurses who have a true passion and caring first and want a great salary and job stability second.

I'm not saying that all people who go into the job for the money will do poorly but in my personal experience people who have an "Eh it pays the bills" mentality tend to do their jobs half a$$ed and the only time I want a nurse to be half a$$ed is because they're so great they worked it off. :)

gymnut · Sep 2, 2010

I forgot to mention. I'm only doing this for the money.

Are you really only doing it for the money or do you have a general interest in caring for others? Do you know what nursing all entails?

I bring this up because when I worked at a customer call center a co-worker of mine put in her two weeks and said she was quitting to become a nurse. When we asked why she said because she saw an ad for an RN position that paid $35/hr. She then began to go on about all the things she could buy with that money.

Now this was a woman who HATED dealing with the customers, had continuous problems with people telling her what to do, didn't want to have children because they were too messy, had a phobia of vomit and constantly complained about her aging grandmother and how gross her various ailments were.

Yup sounds like great nursing material to me :icon_roll

If your attitude is similar then I suggest you run for the hills into another career because you'll never make it. However if you have a big heart and generally want to care for others and have an interest in health care and money is the larger percentage of why your choosing nursing then go for it!

Like linzjane88 said you have to have a good chunk of heart in it in order to do it.

Leelee2 · Sep 2, 2010

If your employer told you they couldn't pay you anymore for all you do...would you still work there every day and do what you do for free?

No, i wouldn't. I do think my pay is a fair pay. When it comes to satisfaction, there is nothing better than using my nursing degree to help others in volunteer settings (my city, my church, respite care for friends/family, etc)

That is when i really enjoy nursing. No politics involved~

highlandlass1592, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2010

I agree with your posting. I love what I do but in no way would I ever do it for free. Yes, there is a satisfaction from trying to help people but let's face it, it is a job. And what's discouraging to me, is it's not a job that pays you for your experience. Let's face it, been a nurse for 12 years now...in NO way am I compensated for my experience. New grads, when they are hired, are being enticed into work with a salary not too far off from mine. Just read an article talking about starting wages with GM for assembly line work..they make $1 more an hour than me. And I"m responsible for someone's life..am still trying to pay off school loans...and they are working assembly line to make cars. Seems like another example of priorities being screwed up...I'm tired of being taken advantage of, tired of not being paid for what my skills are worth...tired of being beat up by team members who look down on me cause I'm not credentialed as a PA but do the same work they do (and because of my critical care background, can handle emergencies better than they do)....Good grief, I'm just tired. Today is one of those days where I wonder why in the he-- I do this.....sigh