How to ask for a pay raise???

[Kspice]

Hi everyone,

I'm a first time poster, long time reader.

I will be graduating this December from a BSN program in Illinois. I have been applying to many hospitals and want to make my first nursing position as positive as possible. I recently received a job offer from level 1 hospital in the ICU. They will reimburse me $5000 of my tuition for a 1 year commitment, they will pay for my NCLEX test and review courses. After I get all my certifications I will be making about $25/hr. I still have other interviews coming up, but they are only giving me 5 days to make a decision. I would really like to start in an ICU, however I would also like to be in the Chicago area and this hospital is in a rural setting. I want to ask for a 5% increase when I call the HR person back. How should I go about doing this?

Thanks,

Kurt

[darlink]

You should count yourself lucky you are getting a job offer without having taken your boards yet. I would take that job in a heart beat. New grad jobs here in California are so scarce and so many of my classmates are struggling to get jobs and they have their licenses. I had to take a job in a small town 2 hours from my home and am not getting paid what I would back in the big city, but it was a job and I wasn't going to turn it down.

Darci

[BusyNurseBusyMama,RN]

Sweetie, read all of the wonderful advice offered to you and then run screaming to the phone!!! It's a good offer as is; take it and then be thankful.........

[the bridge]

Everyone is eager to start off making as much money as possible upon graduation. And there is nothing wrong with that. But this employer is definitely offering you a great opportunity that is worth considerably more than a 5% percent raise. It would be wise for you to work for at least a couple of years and gain experience. After a couple of years in a job, you can ask for a raise. But you would also be in a better position to look around and see what else is available. But definitely, take the job and good luck!

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

In my experience hospital pay is not negotiable. They have a "wage scale" and they start you at a level that corresponds with your years of experience. Unless they start you at starting pay and you have lots of experience to change their minds with, you can't win by asking for more. You will instead turn them off. This is not business. Nursing is set up in a structured way more like military or civil service than a flexible pay environment. Our beginnings come from a very different era than most business environments. Humility is expected in the new nurse, no matter how many letters are after HIS or her name. I agree it would be in your best interest not to ask for it.

[knitsocks77]

I could respond but it looks like everyone else already covered it. I've seen other posts around with similar themes...for a long-time reader you must have missed those other threads. When I graduate in May, I'll be lucky to get promoted where I already work so for you to have an offer at an ICU already I wouldn't push my luck.

[NCFlyGirl]

Consider the following; You are a brand new grad with absolutely NO "independent" experience. As an actively working 30 year RN in a Level 1 trauma center (OR first response trauma team) I have never thought it a good idea for a new grad to work in ICU. By first working on a general medical floor for at least a year you would hone your observation skills preparing you to excel in an Intensive care setting. ICU nurses that are fresh out of school are too prone to missing the simple obvious, and yes I spent 10 years in ICU. Aside from that pearl of wisdom I would seriously consider taking what they are offering you. I do realize that $25 dollars an hour is not a phenominal amount of money but we all knew nursing would not make us rich when we made the decision to enter the field. Best of luck in your new career.

[Mike A. Fungin RN]

Ask for a 5% pay raise? Why don't you just call back and say, "Give the job to someone else."

[owlcrn]

this is what i can tell you from my experience. i graduated with my rn in may of 08, got a job in a small 8 bed icu. they reimbursed my tuition of $5000. the job offer was this. up to a year of training, 2 year contract after the first year of training @ 18.50 an hour. i jumped on the chance. now looking back....not so glad i didn't take the advice of so many others and worked a year on the med/surg floor. it has been a very trying year and a half. and, oh yeah... every bit as stressful as nursing school! you see what i lacked was the confidence you would get in that year and the general knowledge of how to just be a nurse. then there are the other things like the other nurses not trusting you because you have no experience to back you up (really to back them up) and now looking back i totally see their point. i say if you really, really, really want icu then it's a great offer. be prepared to work your very hardest ever and be totally committed to your new job for the next year at least.

i am now just getting comfortable at my job, there is so much to learn everyday and i have never had such stress in my life. will i stick with it? we'll see what the next year brings but at this point.... probably not. too much stress, too many cranky nurses, too much responsibility, too little pay for that amount of stress.

good luck,

new rn in the icu

[tlapierre]

Wow an offer in ICU, my dream job. I graduate tomorrow and have 9yrs of CMA experience and I'm having trouble finding a job. I say you take it, forget the 5% and be thankful. The $5000 is awesome, and their only asking for a 1yr committment. One of the local hospitals in my town was giving 2500 and committment of 2yrs, needless to say when the economy hit the skids those offers were taken off the table. Congrats on your graduation and you should take the job.

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

I think the first year is incredibly stressful anywhere. It takes 6 months to get some confidence and 1 year to feel you have mastered the role. Med-surg is no picnic for a new grad either. The thing is, when I graduated it was only one semester after my critical care rotation, so those skills were still pretty fresh. After a year on Ortho I was a bit rusty when I then went to telemetry which included being pulled to ICU/CCU and ER. I almost wish I would have gone straight to ICU while I felt pretty knowledgeable, instead of having to struggle through the transition. I think there may be something to be said for going in as a new grad if you feel you are ready for it and if the place is supportive.

[Professor_Mike]

Don't bother asking. Three reasons. 1. As a new grad, you have nothing other than a body to offer. You have no experience and in an ICU, you will cost the institution between $60,000 to $120,000 to orient. 2. They are already sweetening the deal with the other perks you stted. 3. The economy and dearth of jobs for new grads.

[prisonnurse02]

Being a new graduate and starting in ICU, I don't think I would be asking for a raise already ! They have offered you a very good deal. If you can't live with that deal and that offer, maybe you should look elsewhere.