Houston! "Oh you're an RN, nurses make great money"- Seriously....

[taapple]

I am trying to figure out why the general population seems to think that Rn's make great money. Granted I've only been a nurse for 2 years now but I work 3 twelves plus call as a PACU nurse and after insurance and taxes, I take home less than 50K/yr. I am making 25.50 base plus a 3.50 diff. for part of my shift and i get 3.50/hr. for on-call pay. Sounds not too bad on paper but 48K/year and I work my butt off. When I think back to my college days of waiting tables in a sushi bar, there were many nights when I took home $20/hr. I recently did a salary compare on monster and it says the average pay for nurses in my area is around 60K with the low end around 56K! Hmmm.... I'm not even close!

So, now that I'm done with my whoa is me story:) Can someone please tell me if it gets better, is my pay the norm here in Houston, do I need to find another hospital??? I am physically exhausted after my shifts so the thought of picking up over time is not an option. Besides the last time I did that, taxes ate up most of it. I need some advice b/c with student loans due, bills, etc.. this pay barely cuts it! What else can I do as an RN that might offer better pay? Any ideas??? Thanks!!!

[Conqueror+, BSN, RN]

Im in PA will be moving to Texas in Jan. mostly LTC and some rehab.

[foxyhill21]

Houston RN makes the highest salarys in the state of texas. I know a new grad that was working in houston and moved to dallas and took a 12,000 pay cut.

[Conqueror+, BSN, RN]

ouch !

[cuteRn2be]

where to find agency?

[LadyT618, MSN, APRN, NP]

Houston RN makes the highest salarys in the state of texas. I know a new grad that was working in houston and moved to dallas and took a 12,000 pay cut.

DAYUM!!!!

[jspacegirl]

As a new grad in Dallas, I am expecting to gross over $60k in my first full year working nights at 84 hours per pay period. I don't think that is bad at all for a new grad, and it is more than double what I made as a new grad working in advertising!

[txnursingqt]

I'm not in a med center hospital and I make only about .50 less than people I know with the same amount or a little more experience than I have that are in the med center.

The thing about agency is that it's unpredictable and you don't get benefits.

I don't know what agency you are looking at but most of the big ones do offer benefits, including health insurance, 401K matching, and vacation time.

[txnursingqt]

Did any of you see where Presby Plano and Presby Dallas are offering $45 an hour for their "winter plan" now you do have to work at least 2 holidays and agree to work at least 16 weeks between now and April 2009. I am just astonished and can't wait to get done with NS!!!!

Doctor's also ran a similar ad this weekend and are offering $42 plus shift diff.

Both are hiring for med/surg, ICU, women's services etc. Now that pay is what I am talking about!!!! LOL

[lvsmith]

Ok, I've been an RN for 5 yrs and I made 31.50 at memorial hermann, and I make 32 for PRN at Planned Parenthood, but the most MD anderson wanted to give me was 27.50. B/c of this I have turned down both positions I was offered. I thought they were considered high paying and even higher b/c they were in the med center. But that was like a slap in the face after making much more at memorial hermann (not med center).

[ddoosier]

What does Memorial pay a SICU RN with 3 yrs experience?

[junipermine]

I think it all depends on which crowd is discussing the nurse's pay. To be blunt, poor and working-class people are more inclined to think that RNs are paid well. For instance, the person who gets paid $11 hourly to work at a call center will be prone to believe that the RN with the $25 hourly rate is earning "big bucks."

I come from a lower working-class family with only 2 college graduates (one cousin is an RN and the other cousin has a BA in early childhood education). The remainder of my family members are either high school dropouts or high school graduates who are very alienated from the realm of higher education and the professional workforce. Many of my relatives are unemployed due to lack of skills or educational attainment. The ones that do have employment tend to be working in low-paying service occupations or temp agency work.

Anyhow, they think I earn a whole lot of money, regardless of the fact that I'm an LVN. If I was standing in their shoes, I would probably think so, too. My mother is presently unemployed and my father earns $12 hourly at a major retail store, so I can understand and appreciate their limited perspectives.

That's good perspective. Makes a lot of sense. Helps to look from someone else's shoes every now and again. I agree that it seems to be the agency nurses that make all the money with the exception being those that have a lot of seniority on staff. Plus, it helps to specialize. My pals working M/S don't make nearly as much as those working ICU... ya know?

And as far as the Houston to Dallas move and the big paycut?!?!? Why would they do that? I live in Dallas (well, the suburbs anyways) and I know plenty of RNs that are banking and some of them came from Houston too. I guess they mostly work agency though. I dunno.

[junipermine]

where to find agency?

Well from your screenname I'm thinking you aren't quite done with school.... is that right? You might want to work direct with a hospital for a while and then look at agencies because I think that most of them want to see a couple of years under your belt before they get you working. Are you already a LVN/CNA or anything? Because then maybe you could get in now and start working RN when you get a chance. There are a lot of agencies around - one that I know of in Dallas is Quest Group - maybe they are a good place to start since they are from here. I'm sure some of the other nurses could give you some agency names too.