How much experience needed to seek more money

[Mdsokol]

I am a 23 year old male, recent graduate nurse as of December 2015. This is my first career. I accepted a position in the OR in Feb 2016 as part of an accredited RN residency program. It is a nice program that ensures I am well supported with a preceptor for 22 weeks. I am finally on my own and I feel well prepared. The kicker is that I make a below average pay at $23.19/hr (~45k/yr). A big issue is that I am in Austin, Texas. The cost of living is high, and my pay is not enough to justify the high living expense. There are a lot of contract employees in my department, all of which make quite a deal more than I do. I understand increased pay comes with experience, but how much?

It's a bit of a loaded question, but at what point should I seek more money? My current plan is to tough it out until I have a year's experience under my belt and consider transferring elsewhere. Any suggestions?

[RegularNurse]

YoU are being nicked and dimed.

Unfortunately, staff nurses are usually assigned pay grades. You can always ask.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Never compare your salary to the salary of a contract employee. First, they are typically not provided benefits by the hospital. Second, they are given an extremely limited orientation (we're talking less than a week) and expected to be up and running solo. That's why their salaries are so much higher.

Have you looked at the average salary of nurses in TX? At your very limited experience (let's be honest, if you're just off orientation, you don't have experience), you should expect to be at the lower end of the average salary. However, working in the OR will offer opportunities to earn more money with call pay.

Many facilities have done away with COLAs. My facility has not given us one since 2007. Merit raises, on the other, continue albeit at a smaller percentage than previously. Whether you can negotiate a salary increase will depend on your facility's policies. If the policy is that raises are granted based on experience or annual reviews, you'll have to reach those time periods. Make yourself someone who will get a good annual review, and your merit raise (if it's offered) will reflect that.