$8.25 an hour...*** is this normal?

[Sugarcoma, RN]

Wow this thread makes me very sad. I have never worked as a PCA/PCT/CNA but I have worked with them and know how hard the job is. In MI one of the techs told me she started out at 12.00. I thought that was pretty low but 8 bucks an hour in CA???? That is ridiculous. No way you can attract and retain good people with that kind of wage.

[ctmed]

Wow this thread makes me very sad. I have never worked as a PCA/PCT/CNA but I have worked with them and know how hard the job is. In MI one of the techs told me she started out at 12.00. I thought that was pretty low but 8 bucks an hour in CA???? That is ridiculous. No way you can attract and retain good people with that kind of wage.

One agency recruiter explained it to me like this:

Of all the work programs and certificate programs out there, CNA is the shortest and (relatively) least painful of them all. 2 weeks to 2 months of school versus 2 years plus prereqs/ possible wailists or BS is very attractive to a lot of people, including single parents and those with landlords hovering with an eviction notice. As such, it attracts very many folks. Since more and more folks are hunting for something else to do with the economy, MANY people have CNA. Supply and demand. Retaining people is not necessary if you have your HR computer hard drive filled with applications of hundreds of applicants.

CNA pay used to be a little higher (adjusted for inflation) even six years ago. But, back then there were a lot more jobs that were easier to get and less stress, so less folks took CNA.

EDIT: Do not feel too bad or depressed, though. I know of LPNs in my area who are doing CNA work for 12-14/ hr. You think going to school a short time for no pay is bad, imagine going through a year and a half of bootcamp with a couple of thousand student loan for no cash!

Edited Dec 17, 2012 by ctmed

California has an abundance of something that has always pushed wages down. I use to drive a truck and they would pay these folks $8hr to haul tomatoes during the tomato season. I never drove tomato trucks for that reason. Last summer I made $12hr driving a truck out here in rural Oklahoma, but that's because there is an abundance of dumb uneducated people willing to work for nothing. I make $9.50hr as a CNA here and I love it, but the pay does suck. I paid all my tuition with my dump truck money last summer and took a break.

I would not take $8.25 for CNA work. That would be considered caregiver/resident aide that someone has no experience or has not gone to a CNA program or doing non-medical work. It usually depends on the agency or facility but I know here caregivers/resident aides get paid that money because they are not experienced or it is non-medical work. CNA's get paid $10+ depending on the shift. I would look around and call around. Hospice usually pays good and you get mileage if you are looking for home health jobs.

Surprising. People where I live can get $10-15 an hour without even needing a certification (as just a caregiver)

I'd say put up fliers, check out retirement communities, and other places for work. I heard IHSS isn't much better than what you have (paying minimum wage), but simply being a caregiver might better if you cannot find a better wage. In southern California, minimum wage is practically unlivable!

Oh woww yaw make that low over in CA? In Pa, CNA's start out with $10 and can make up to $18 but If I were you, I keep the waitress job and work part time as a CNA to atleast get some experience in a healthcare setting, it will definitely help you in nursing school especially clinicals AND

Nursing Assistant - Psych Medicine - P/T - Nights - 3980, Job in Orange, United States - Jobs at University of California, Irvine - Healthcare Careers

check that out. Not sure how close it is?

[pnkgirl25]

Yup! I already applied for that. Thank you!

I work as a ma/na and make $20 an hour. I work in a jail though.

[WannaBNursey, ADN, ASN, RN]

I was offered around $8.00/hr at an ALF, but that was an ALF, I've never been offered less than $9.00 for anything outside of ALF. I would personally be offending and start applying at McDonald's. What's the minimum wage where you live? In Florida it's $7.79, you'd do better to flip burgers and not be responsible for another person's well-being.

That seems real low. I've worked as a PCT for 8 years at the same hospital and dept. When I first started back in 2004 I stared off making $8.10 an hr and that was with experience. 2012 I'm making $12.72 an hr. And I live in Texas and not in a big metro city.

If you have two years experience being a care taker, and you're being offered only minimum wage, then that isn't fair. I hope you didn't pay for your CNA training, because if you did, then that would suck. I'm extremely out of luck, because I don't have any experience and I am passed my state exam for CNA back in November.

If you really want to get into the medical field, then take any job and go to an LVN or RN program part-time.

California isn't the best market for CNAs, and the Los Angeles area is extremely bad.

California has an abundance of something that has always pushed wages down. I use to drive a truck and they would pay these folks $8hr to haul tomatoes during the tomato season. I never drove tomato trucks for that reason. Last summer I made $12hr driving a truck out here in rural Oklahoma, but that's because there is an abundance of dumb uneducated people willing to work for nothing. I make $9.50hr as a CNA here and I love it, but the pay does suck. I paid all my tuition with my dump truck money last summer and took a break.

Did you ever try cross country OTR, or did you just do local. I did some research, and even trucking companies that pay for you to get your CDL pay up $37,000 in your first year. Once again, that's interstate trucking with a CDL. I didn't know you could be uneducated obtain a CDL. The test requires reading skills.

Nursing Assistant - Psych Medicine - P/T - Nights - 3980, Job in Orange, United States - Jobs at University of California, Irvine - Healthcare Careers

check that out. Not sure how close it is?

There are going to be 200 people applying for that one position. I hope they at least have five openings. Don't mean to sound negative, but I think that the OP would be better off sticking with her server job and going to a nursing program (LVN or RN).

Even with if she becomes an LVN, she can use her credits towards RN school when she is ready. You can't even use credits you get in a CNA program towards an LVN program in California. I don't know how it works in other states.

[pnkgirl25]

If you have two years experience being a care taker, and you're being offered only minimum wage, then that isn't fair. I hope you didn't pay for your CNA training, because if you did, then that would suck. I'm extremely out of luck, because I don't have any experience and I am passed my state exam for CNA back in November.

If you really want to get into the medical field, then take any job and go to an LVN or RN program part-time.

California isn't the best market for CNAs, and the Los Angeles area is extremely bad.

No, thank god I did't pay a lot for my CNA training or I would be MAD! I was all signed up and had paid my deposit for the CNA class at a local adult school. The program was $1500 and I paid a $200 deposit. A few days later I was online and ran across the goodwill website and it said they were offering a CNA training program for $150 TOTAL. I sent in the application, did two interviews and was lucky enough to get in. Paid $150 total and this included CNA and HHA and uniforms, shoes, watch, state test, CPR certification...the whole nine yards. I called the other school back and got my deposit back. I passed the state test and received my certification last month. While I was doing my CNA I was also taking a phlebotomy and EKG couse at the local community college. Passed those too so now I am a CNA, phlebotomist and have EKG certification. I start the LVN program in a few weeks and plan to work my way thought LVN school.

I have been applying to PCT positions in hospitals. I have had 5 interviews and most of them said they will be contacted people back after the new year. So at this point I'm just waiting....every job I interviewed paid between $14-$18 an hour

I know the only thing that even got my foot in the door at many of these hospitals was the phlebotomy and EKG training.

So my advice is if you have the time and can handle the school load get those too. It was sooooo hard (I's a single mom and in the middle of a divorce with no support system) but I knocked them all out and it paid off. I am sure one of these jobs will pan out for me.

Edited Dec 28, 2012 by pnkgirl25

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

You can't even use credits you get in a CNA program towards an LVN program in California. I don't know how it works in other states.

I completed my LVN training in southern California in 2005, and all of the CNAs in my class were granted advanced placement and credit for a portion of the first quarter (fundamental nursing bedside skills such as bed-making, bed baths, transfers, showers, toileting, vital sign checks, etc.).

The amount of money exchanging hands in a hospital has to be 10 times higher than a nursing home. Simple things like the food served are drastically different. I bet the nursing home where I work serves a $1.50 dinner while the hospital food costs upwards of $5. Driving a truck over the road for 15 years is enough. Local trucking jobs doing farm work in California pay horribly. I have no idea how non English speaking citizens get a CDL ANYWHERE, but they do. It is against federal law to drive a truck if you don't speak English. I personally witnessed a Federal DOT cop questioning a eastern European truck driver from the east coast and he couldn't answer simple questions like "what is your load? Made me mad, but what can you do? Under the law he was supposed to shut him down, but he didn't.

People are lined up around the block to be CNAs. What isn't appealing about a job that requires only a month's worth of schooling? You get to wear scrubs! And a name tag! And a stethoscope! And sometimes a clipboard to record vitals!

Corporations love us because we do rough work for piddly pay. And heck, if we get bitter and quit... the next CNA in line gets their scrubs and name tag and the cycle starts again!

You could hire two "PCT's" for the price of one LVN! It's just like truckinusa says... Why hire someone who costs more when there are others who are willing to work practically for free?