Hey so young nurses, are we really making "that much"?

rian16 · Sep 22, 2014

I graduated with a BSN degree and inky earning $20.74 as a new grad. With benefit deductions, I only get 2k per month. I can def. say I'm not making enough to have a decent lifestyle.

TU RN, DNP, CRNA · Sep 22, 2014

Well whichever way you want to say it- he is stirring the never ending debate of BSN is above someone with ADN. Be it by paying more for tuition or bigger salary

A thank you to SHGR and PMFB for (correctly comprehending) explaining my post. I did mean that tuition for an associate's degree in nursing (or other allied health professions such as radiologic and MRI technicians, diagnostic medical sonographers) yields comparable pay rates to bachelor's prepared nurses - and in my observations - comparable employment opportunities. YMMV, but BLS.gov estimates that the job growth for both of the aforementioned allied health professions will be faster than that for registered nurses (ADN and BSN alike). Even still, I observe ADNs being employed in equal numbers as BSNs.

As for "he is stirring the never ending debate of BSN is above someone with ADN". BSN (4 years of post-secondary education) is a higher level of education than ADN (2 years of post-secondary education). Do I expect more from my degree than my ADN colleagues (with the exception of those with previous life or employment experience), at least in the form of higher pay or greater employment? Logic tells me that I should. I've dedicated 2 more years of my life and thousands more in tuition. This is why I can't stand when generations before my own claim that we have this over-inflated sense of entitlement. Reason tells me I deserve better, not childishness. By the same reasoning, I (as a BSN) don't expect to make as much as a MSN-prepared nurse. That degree is "above" mine, required more time and effort, and deserves greater compensation and employment opportunities.

KarynicaRN · Sep 23, 2014

Sad to say, but here in Southern Illinois I'm making $22. an hour. All RN's at this long term care facility start at the same wage no matter how many years experience.

tarotale · Sep 23, 2014

Sad to say, but here in Southern Illinois I'm making $22. an hour. All RN's at this long term care facility start at the same wage no matter how many years experience.

that really is SAD ouch. I used to live in Chicago for short while, so I never imagined hourly to be that low in the north!

the low wage and crap treatment brings me to seriously consider this lately: case management type of nursing that explores the business side rather than the clinical side. I am kind of getting tired of all the bs from clinical side of nursing; no doubt there will be a tundra of bs to deal with in case management and utilization management, but I am very business oriented in nature and I rather work for companies than patients. I heard CM and UM at least gets treated as valuable with exp and certs because they bring reimbursements in, save costs, so saving docs or hospitals money. I'm getting pretty tired at bedside, so definitely considering this "suit nursing" after 2-3 yrs.

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Jan 1, 2015

So you won't do med surg, long term or rehab. You abhor free loaders. Prefer patients of a higher socio-economical background. Tell us all WHY you became a nurse? Between these reasons and your total disregard for complete assessments, I cannot for the life of me figure out what you're doing in this profession

PMFB-RN, RN · Jan 1, 2015

Do I expect more from my degree than my ADN colleagues (with the exception of those with previous life or employment experience), at least in the form of higher pay or greater employment? Logic tells me that I should. I've dedicated 2 more years of my life and thousands more in tuition. This is why I can't stand when generations before my own claim that we have this over-inflated sense of entitlement. Reason tells me I deserve better, not childishness. By the same reasoning, I (as a BSN) don't expect to make as much as a MSN-prepared nurse. That degree is "above" mine, required more time and effort, and deserves greater compensation and employment opportunities.

The argument against paying BSN prepared RNs more than ADN RNs is pretty powerful. That being that an RN with a BSN is the equal of the RN with an ADN. There isn't anything the BSN brings to the table that is not offered by the ADN. It's not like a hospital can assign more patients to the BSN prepared RN, or that the BSN RN has an expanded scope of practice, or has clinical skills that the ADN doesn't have. The BSN RN doesn't bring any more money into the hospital than an ADN RN does. Our wages are determined by the market, not what we think we deserve.

allnurses Guide · Jan 1, 2015

The argument against paying BSN prepared RNs more than ADN RNs is pretty powerful. That being that an RN with a BSN is the equal of the RN with an ADN. There isn't anything the BSN brings to the table that is not offered by the ADN. It's not like a hospital can assign more patients to the BSN prepared RN, or that the BSN RN has an expanded scope of practice, or has clinical skills that the ADN doesn't have. The BSN RN doesn't bring any more money into the hospital than an ADN RN does. Our wages are determined by the market, not what we think we deserve.

Not that I agree with it, but there is a large recent research study that discusses exactly that.

Sent from my iPhone.

ArtClassRN, ADN, RN · Jan 2, 2015

I ponder about this all the time. If you are a RN now by this point, you know you don't make that much, but still most of us admit that "well, still among our friends, I make decent money." Are we?

I've been a nurse for 3 1/2 years, and I make around $72,000 (in the Midwest) doing something l like. That's decent money to me. Some of my friends make more. Others make less. I don't really care.

I have been a nurse now about year and half, and I really wonder if people at my age group make as much as or more than I do; I live at Dallas, 1yr and half exp making $25/hr + $4 for nights ($29), and $34 for weekend nights. I think it comes to about $3100-3600 a month after taxes :angrybird1: , and I don't know about you, but to me, that doesn't feel very much.

Then quit and do something else.

I have friends who are teachers, architects, interior designers, and etc, and seeing the way they spend, I doubt that I make more than they do.

Looks like you have some ideas on what career you will change to! Nice!

If I even increase the times I eat out by little bit, I can clearly see my budget affected by it,

So if you spend more money, your budget is affected. Sounds reasonable to me.

and it seems like everyone and their grandmother eats out everyday and they still have money to buy other stuff.

I will have to check this out with everyone and their grandmother. (Some of which are nurses, so not sure how this is going to play out.)

Or maybe they are broke and living by paycheck to paycheck because they are not saving up any monies?

I dunno.

Ah... I really wish I made enough not to really care whether I eat out today or not.

So look into some of those sweet baller careers you mentioned earlier.

And by the way, I am single and childless... well, I forcefully support millions of lazy freeloaders with my sweat-stained money, so I guess I have lots of children. So, what do you think?

What do I think? I think you should get off the cross, because we could use the wood. Not for nothing, but most likely a good portion of your salary is paid for with the same tax dollars that you seem have such problems with when they go other places.

You are unhappy with your salary as a nurse. Leave the profession, I wish you the best of luck.

You are unhappy that tax dollars (at least some of which pay your salary) go to, in your opinion "millions of lazy freeloaders." Perhaps laying off the Fox News a bit could help here, but additionally you could leave the country and see if you like the taxes you find in your new home. I again wish you the best of luck.

Happy New Year!

AC

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jan 2, 2015

Based on this thread and the OP's most recent one (https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/do-you-carry-966544.html#post8284957) it seems like he/she is not really interested in being a nurse.

As a new nurse, you shouldn't be rolling in the dough, you're brand new to the profession, therefore you start at the bottom. I highly doubt that your teacher friends are making more money than you are, as I have been an RN for 7 years and my mother has been a teacher for 40 and I make more money than she does. Architects make more money than nurses, in many places they also must have master's degrees. Some professions pay better than others, it's just the way the cookie crumbles.

I think nurses make a decent salary all things considered. I make tens of thousands more/year than my best friend who has a PhD. When I graduated from college I made more money than all my friends, other than my one friend who'd gone into finance. Her company also laid off 75% of the recent college graduates they'd hired in '07 when the economy tanked in '08 though.

If you don't think you're making enough money and want to eat out more, pick up extra shifts or find a per diem job. Based on the numbers quoted, I think you make a plenty decent salary for someone with a year of experience.

bradons · Jan 2, 2015

I'm a young nurse and have made over 100k for the last three years. Over 135k this year. And it's cheap to live where I live.

Regina Phalange · Sep 14, 2015

I can honestly say that I am a bit jealous. I am a new grad & I was recently offered a med-surg internship position with 1k biweekly and 2k a month. I am not sure if that's just during internship or if that's my new nursing salary.

I do remember the nurse manager saying that while the internship is going on, i would have a fixed salary regardless of the number of hours i work (they require 36) & once I get on the floor as a nurse, i get salary with OT pay.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Sep 14, 2015

My $23 and change an hour comes out to almost $50k/year with differentials. Around here, teachers start around $30k, police start around $35k... heck, my previous experience in hospitality netted me $22k/year after taxes, and that was $10.50/hr - more than most unskilled workers make around here. In fact, I checked city-data.com, and the estimated per capita income for my city in 2013 was $24,565. So the average person in my city makes less than half of what I make. That's unreal to think about, because I don't feel like I'm terribly rich either.

I read a book called "Nickel and Dimed" once for a college class (economics? Can't remember) and at the time that book was written, 85% of the US population made $14/hr or less. Think about that for a minute - more than eight out of every ten people in this country make less than HALF of what we do as night shift nurses. The average American is pretty dang poor.

...And this is terribly personal, but I'm wondering how the heck you get so much after taxes, OP. $3100-$3600/month after taxes does not compute. I only make $2/hour less than you (which should really only make a difference of about $300/month) and I come home with around $2200-$2400/month after taxes/deductions. I'm guessing you have more deductions than I do. I would kill to bring home $3100-$3600/month after taxes.