How much $ do RNs start out at?

Michele G. · Jan 30, 2005

Thanks for your input Vortex72. Yes, I am refering to Rn not LPN salary. I was reading in the Florida Forum that 36,000 is about average. Florida is a "right to work" state and we don;t say state taxes, so that being said, I am not going to stress over the $$ issue. Oh and lol about the avg. amount trashmen make, my hubby works for waste management and he only makes about 25,000 yr

I just moved back from Orlando Florida to NY, I'm sorry to say but Florida is not paying RN's enough. I only made $42,000 last year on Nights and every other weekends (7pm-7am), and I am not a GN, I was working there for 2 years. $36,000 is not enough, the cost of living in Florida is not cheap anymore, some things are more than NY and the quality is just not as good as NY, such as food, and Resturants, and hair cuts ect. The housing in Florida is also starting to go up, and the public schools are not good at all. When I was working in Florida on nights, for 30 patients we only had one Clin. Tech, and no secretary, so for $42,000 a year I had to do 3 jobs - change linens help with baths, empty urine hats record I&O's do vitals signs every 4 hours, answer phones, answer call lights, and do everything else a secretary does, plus be an RN. Also, atleast 1-2 nights a week I would be the charge nurse!! and still had to take a team and do all the above work, plus worry about staffing and assignments for the morning, and handled any problems that occured throughout my shift, and help with new addmissions and sometimes I would be the one to take the new addmission. I was starting to not feel appreciated, and started to get burnt out only after 2 years. Fortunatley my husband got a job offer in NY and we decided to move back to be with Family and friends. In NY, I hear the pay is a lot more, in the high 60's, (and I won't be doing the work of 3 jobs) which I do think is what an RN deserves no matter where you live, we are all doing the same hard work...Saving lives!!

Michele

cilky · Jan 30, 2005

That will be the day my life revolves around nursing!! I have a life & NURSING is now just a job to me. I might add,that while at work I give my best,but once I give report,I walk out that door & am not a nurse again till I walk back in. After 34 yrs in the medical field,I have to laugh at the newbies & their,"I'm going to save the world,cause now I'm a nurse" attitudes.This is my opinion only,so don't get offended or your dander up & if you do.....oh well !!!!!
Happy Holidays, :Snowman2:

oh thank god, another RN who feels the same right now, for me thats all it is, job, i love what i do, hate corporate america, cant find a management team in rehab facilities that know what the hell they are doing. (me wonders how the hell most of them got those positions) anyway, same for me, when i am there im there and when i walk out the door, another life waits me

LilRedRN1973 · Feb 20, 2005

I was just offered a position at the largest hospital in Reno, NV. I will be graduating in May 2005 and will be making $26.35/hr. That is after the 10% shift differential has been added in. It's not all about the money because if I cared more about the money than the job, I would not have chosen a position at a hospital 30min away but would have gone with the $28/hr job at the hospital 5 min. from my house. I don't care to work at a private hospital that has under 300 beds when I'm just beginning my career. I want to work in a large teaching hospital that has a trauma ICU (where I will be starting my career as an RN), even if it means being paid less.

I do wish the pay were a little higher here because apparently, we are now the 10th most expensive place to live in the nation. A moderate house (1500 sq ft.) in a decent neighborhood will easily run you around $350k a year. Gas is $2.00/gallon for the cheap stuff here. I miss the days of living in Houston where our house was $100k for a 2000sq ft in a great neighborhood with terrific schools. My husband and I will be lucky to find a house here we can afford and that's with us pulling in $100k a year, combined.

I'm not going into the nursing for the money, but it will be nice to start making what I will right out of school and not have to go through what a lot of new college grads are facing....a hard time finding a job. Plus, I love that with nursing, there are so many lateral moves. If you don't like direct patient care, there is a multitude of other "nursing" jobs you can do. There are so many places to work in the nursing field. I can't imagine what other 2 or 4 year degree offers such a variety of jobs. I love my job (I've been in the ICU for over a year now) and can't wait to start as an RN there. But I do plan on going back to obtain my Bachelor's and then my Master's. I won't always be able to provide patient care (have a strong family history of RA and have beginning symptoms of it) so I plan on getting more education so I can continue to work in the field of nursing, even after my hands won't cooperate! = )

Melanie