Hourly vs. Benefits

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I have been offered an RN job for my state. It's basically exactly where I wanted to be in nursing, so I wasn't worried about it paying considerably less than the jobs offered to my peers.

But, when I tell people about the offer, I am constantly being told how great the benefits for the state are. I've now been informed of exactly what those benefits are, but, this being my first job with benefits, I'm not really sure how they compare.

I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on this. I know without using real numbers to compare you won't be able to give me a real estimate on what benefits are "worth," but I was hoping to hear some experiences/opinions. What's a good amount of vacation/sick time? How much of a salary cut are you willing to take for better benefits?

In case you were curious of real numbers, I'm starting at 23.21/hr., 3 weeks vacation, 3 weeks sick, 11 holidays, apparently "great" medical/dental, pension/retirement plan.

Like I said, I'm new to benefits so I'm going to talk with some friends in the same system. I'm wondering if these benefits make up for my lower salary. Most friends working in private hospitals in town are starting at 28-32/hr.

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Benefits from governmental agencies are rarely matched in the private sector.

For comparison: I have never had more than 6 paid holidays, and 2 weeks vacation annually is the standard until you reach 5 or more years of service.

You are probably also virtually guaranteed raises on an annual or other basis ... these can be hit or miss in the private sector.

IF - this job is really what you want to do - government benefits are hard to pass up.

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Awesome, thanks for the info.

Yep, definitely the job I was looking for. It's the state psych hospital and it's what I've wanted to do from the start. Like I said, it's never been about the money - I'm just starting to realize, given my benefits, I might be on my more even ground with my peers than I thought.

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Anyone else? What's typical as far as vacation/sick days/holidays?

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Typical in my region is 3-4 weeks of combined vacation and sick time per year -- going up a little after you have been with the same employer for a few years. We get 6 holidays in addition to that.

The biggest benifit may be your retirement plan. As you didn't give details, I can't judge that -- but a lot of people underestimate how much they are worth. Government jobs often have retirement programs that are MUCH better than the private sector.

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I worked for the state. Our medical was NOT better than the private sector and the dental was actually worse (2x higher monthly). Retirement benefits were really good, though, and so were holidays and paid time off. Raises are NOT guaranteed, though. There have been none here in 3 years. My mom works for a state hospital and hasn't had one in 2 years either. I now work for a hospital that is not a state job and they have not had a raise in 2 years either, though. The economy isn't the best and that drives a lot of it. I think job satisfaction is very important, too, though. Congrats on getting a position that you want!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

If you want to quantify in relation to salary, the 'cash value' of benefits for healthcare jobs usually add from 15% - 25% to your salary in terms of monetary value. Normally, governmental jobs and those that have > 3 weeks vacation + all the usual holidays & separate sick time (not just PTO) are those on the higher end. If they have a nice tuition reimbursement & pension plan, the total edges up to >25%. So - the 'hidden paycheck' can be a pretty sweet deal. Frankly ANY employer-contribution type pension plan these days is becoming a rarity... most have converted to a partial "matching" 401k type of deal. For comparison sake, a 'good' employer-contribution pension is 6% of your salary (deposited into your pension account without requirements for you to contribute).

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Typical in my region is 3-4 weeks of combined vacation and sick time per year -- going up a little after you have been with the same employer for a few years. We get 6 holidays in addition to that.

The biggest benifit may be your retirement plan. As you didn't give details, I can't judge that -- but a lot of people underestimate how much they are worth. Government jobs often have retirement programs that are MUCH better than the private sector.

Sorry, like I said, I'm totally new to benefits (especially retirement) so I'm running it by some friends who work for the state.

From my understanding, I have 2 options to choose from:

Opt 1 - Employer will match up to 12%, and if I leave anytime before vested (5 years), I get back what I put in.

Opt 2 - Employer puts in 25%, I put in nothing. If I leave before vested, I get nothing.

Pension = time worked x 2.5% x average of monthly (highest 36 months). You can buy 5 years.

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Benefits are worth their weight in gold. You are looking at a job that you want. Your salary will go up, but even if it doesn't I bet you get at least double time and a half for holidays worked, meaning time and a half for working the day, and another day off. I retired after thirty five years and have a great retirement, take option 1. I don't know what your living situation is, but is the $23 more than you have been living on? My mother worked for the state, and she had the best insurance available. Are you unionized? I hope so. It really gives you a lot of job security. I paid almost $800 for COBRA for health insurance until I was 65. I don't know what state you are in, but those benefits are definitely worth more than you friends are getting in the salary difference. Go for it...it is the job you always wanted. Best of luck, let us know what you decide.

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

I had the privledge of stewarding a small business for almost 18 years. I'm glad you are asking questions about the value of benefits; it is too common for people to take them for granted.

I agree benefits are often worth their weight in gold.

"In case you were curious of real numbers, I'm starting at 23.21/hr., 3 weeks vacation, 3 weeks sick, 11 holidays, apparently "great" medical/dental, pension/retirement plan. "

Let's do the math... 3 weeks vacation (most non medical get 1 week; 2 if they are in management). That's 3 x 40 x $23.21 = $2,785.20 in pay for not working.

While hopefully sick time will not be abused. That's a potential for $2,785.20 in pay.

11 paid holidays = 11 x 8 x $23.21 = $2,042.48.

Medical can vary a lot based on your age and health. At my age, a "cheap" medical plan can run $300.00 per month; $3,600 per year.

Since we never offered dental, I'm not familiar with dental insurance prices. Retirement plan depends on how they work it.

For me, if I get into nursing school, graduate, pass the NCLEX, if I get a starting job with those numbers, I would be happy (and yes, the hourly is less than the average in our area... but those benefits tied to the hourly weigh in a lot).

Thank you.

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Benefits are worth their weight in gold. You are looking at a job that you want. Your salary will go up, but even if it doesn't I bet you get at least double time and a half for holidays worked, meaning time and a half for working the day, and another day off. I retired after thirty five years and have a great retirement, take option 1. I don't know what your living situation is, but is the $23 more than you have been living on? My mother worked for the state, and she had the best insurance available. Are you unionized? I hope so. It really gives you a lot of job security. I paid almost $800 for COBRA for health insurance until I was 65. I don't know what state you are in, but those benefits are definitely worth more than you friends are getting in the salary difference. Go for it...it is the job you always wanted. Best of luck, let us know what you decide.

We have been living almost exclusively off of my wife's salary which was right around 23/hr. We weren't just getting by, either - we paid off both cars and are moving into a cheaper home within the next year.

I'm almost 100% going to accept the offer, just trying to get a handle on the benefits first. Thanks!

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Good day:

I had the privledge of stewarding a small business for almost 18 years. I'm glad you are asking questions about the value of benefits; it is too common for people to take them for granted.

I agree benefits are often worth their weight in gold.

"In case you were curious of real numbers, I'm starting at 23.21/hr., 3 weeks vacation, 3 weeks sick, 11 holidays, apparently "great" medical/dental, pension/retirement plan. "

Let's do the math... 3 weeks vacation (most non medical get 1 week; 2 if they are in management). That's 3 x 40 x $23.21 = $2,785.20 in pay for not working.

While hopefully sick time will not be abused. That's a potential for $2,785.20 in pay.

11 paid holidays = 11 x 8 x $23.21 = $2,042.48.

Medical can vary a lot based on your age and health. At my age, a "cheap" medical plan can run $300.00 per month; $3,600 per year.

Since we never offered dental, I'm not familiar with dental insurance prices. Retirement plan depends on how they work it.

For me, if I get into nursing school, graduate, pass the NCLEX, if I get a starting job with those numbers, I would be happy (and yes, the hourly is less than the average in our area... but those benefits tied to the hourly weigh in a lot).

Thank you.

Thanks for the insight! After learning more about benefits this last week, I definitely think people take them for granted often. Heck, I always have. I've always just looked concerned myself with hourly salary and health coverage...never really thought out how important the rest can be.

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