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Discussion

How Much was your First RN Paycheck?

I'm just wondering. I'm not trying to get in nursing for the money, but I have heard a lot of other nurses complain about how low their income was as a new nurse.

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    In 1996, central MO hospital $10.40/hour!!!

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    • Expert

    South Central Pennsylvania in 1977. Staff nursing in a level III NICU.

    $4.51 per hour. $.25 differential for evening hours, $.50 for nights. $.25 (I think) for weekend hours ... and $.50 per hour for being the Charge Nurse.

    When I left after 2 years to go to graduate school ... I could make just over $6.00 per hour is I were in Charge on a weekend night shift! And getting over that $6.00 mark was a real thrill.

    2 years later (at age 26), I was working in Chicago with my MSN as a CNS -- making a salary of $25,000 per year. I felt rich.

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    1994 my starting pay was $13/hr.

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    In 1996 I started at $12.60/hr.

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    In 1981, $9 and some change, an hour. Minimum wage was 1.23 or so. Almost 9 times the minimum wage!

    Now, less than 5 times the minimum wage........

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    My paychecks have been consistently about the same as my prior job as an office manager/chiropractic assistant. My actual pay is greater but now I have benefits & 403b contributions withdrawn; previously I only had taxes taken out of my checks, so the $5/hr boost in pay was eaten up.

    Even now after several yrs & raises, I mostly bring home about the same (unless i have a lot of OT & sometimes my checks are smaller than what I used to bring home if the OR is slow) because I increase my retirement contributions each year.

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    In 1997 my starting wage was $14/hr. and I thought that was amazing. By the end of my career I was making $30+/hr. Now my son is an RN who makes $57/hr. I shoulda stuck with it!

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    Started 2 years ago (2017), earning $28.50

    Left that job because I didn't feel like I was being compensated well compared to my workload. Sought another job, same type of work, and now I'm earning almost $10 more than what I used to earn.

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    In 1983 I was making like $4-5 per hour...too long to exactly remember

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    2015, made $28/hour

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    $39 base pay, $3.50 night differential for med/surg in NYC in 2008. I just tried Googling what that hospital pays a new grad now out of sheer curiosity, to no avail.

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    in 1991, started around 11-12 an hour, made about 30k the first year with OT, which I thought was a big salary!

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