How did you feel when you got your first nursing paycheck?

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    Joe V
    Editorial Team / Admin

    Joe V

    7 Articles; 2,625 Posts

Specializes in Programming / Strategist for allnurses.

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All that time in nursing school had to pay off sooner or later. I'm sure many felt elated, many were ecstatic, and many just wanted to blow it all away. Do you remember your first paycheck? How did you feel? Did you celebrate? Please share your stories...

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Waiting for soo long....

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

My first job as an RN paid $8.16/hour. I clearly remember multiplying that out and saying to my husband, "That's over sixteen thousand dollars a year! I think we're rich!"

(It was 1980)

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I thought I was going to have a stroke when I saw a comma inbetween those numbers!

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Specializes in Medical-surgical telemetry.

Very satisfied :laugh:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Surprised! Because my first nursing check was only $19.03 and this was not in 1903! There was a problem with payroll...

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I thought that's how much I made in a month, now I make it in one pay period. I moved across the Red River to MN a couple of months later and more is taken out every month than when I lived on the ND side of the river.

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Grateful!

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Specializes in Critical care, Trauma.

After going from working every other weekend as a certified medication aide while in nursing school (less than $200/month, not even enough to cover gas to clinicals, but at least it was somthing), to working a 40-42 hour work week as as LPN at a job that paid 60% more per hour....I opened my online banking and couldn't believe my eyes! I "print screened" it and emailed it to my husband! :)

It was an amazing validation for a year of hard work, especially considering so many people in this economy are having problems finding jobs with much more advanced degrees!

Can't wait to see what it will be as an ADN, but it's hard to beat the contrast from 8 hours/week as a CMA to FT LPN. =)

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I was lost. Here I am, 23 years old, with almost 2,000 dollars in 2 weeks. WOW! What do I go and do now, ? after paying bills, I still felt rich, do I spend it recklessly? .....oh no. my mom taught me better than that. but after almost 2 years of working, I feel like we don't get paid enough for the **** we deal with

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Double what I made as a tech! I thought yay! I'm going to pay all my bills off!

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Happy, that I finally can stop living off of my Dad. That it was proof that I do work hard, and I don't quit.

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