I need a nurses opinion

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2004

$13.80/hr as a CNA? Wow.

Where I live, LPNs make $10.-$15. and hr. LPNs where I work make between $11. and $11.50 an hr. Most RNs make $18.-$20. an hr. cost of living is high here, too.

My best friend is an RN doing home care peds in KS. She has been a nurse for over 25 years. She is making $16. hr, agency, no benefits.

We must be in the wrong states.

sweetcheekers · Aug 2, 2004

In my area which is a community of 10,000, I will be starting at $17.40 an hour when I get my RN license. That is slightly above average for the surrounding communities. (It is at a hospital, and there is additional pay for nights, weekends, or PRN shifts.) In larger area hospitals (for example, DesMoines, Cedar Rapids, or Davenport) the rate for a RN new grad is around $25 an hour to start. Its good pay for around here, but how many people would do what we do one time for $50 let alone over and over all day long. I mean think about it; if you walked up to somone on the street and said, "Excuse me, will you clean up this pile of $@#* that has the potential to contain harmful substances that could pose a threat to your welfare for $50." What do you think the answer would be? And that's mild, could be phlem we are asking them to dispose of. (After examining it for color, consistency, and odor, of course.):chuckle

jemb · Aug 2, 2004

Don't know where you live, but here new RN's start in the high $20s/hr. With experience RNs can make much more. $70,000/ year is pretty normal.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2004

I've read from other posts that RNs in PA make very good money. You stand to make 10 to 15 more an hour as an RN. It's all relative and even controversal whether RNs are fairly compensated or not. But my understanding is that in PA it's not that bad.

NewEastCoastRN · Aug 2, 2004

You live in a pretty good area to make more money than average, especially if you are willing to work in a more urban area. I live in Baltimore and make 25.30/hour after 1 year of experience. The salaries are continuing to rise for new grads as well in this area, so you can expect to make much more than that when you are done with school.

shllby1 · Aug 2, 2004

thanks for all the replies, i used to live in baltimore and i know they pay really good there, now i do live near a few cities i could commute too and still have that "country living" and i know that the hospital in frederick,MD start there RN'S out at like 25 an hr, i think thats pretty good, but i do still think Nurses are definatly under paid..

Marnaby · Aug 2, 2004

I live and work in Boston. I just graduated from nursing school in December and I make $25/hr on an intermediate cardiac floor. Not bad for being such a fresh face.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Aug 3, 2004

Hi, i am working towards becoming an RN and i love the nursing profession and i cant imagine doing anyting else, i have been a cna for 10 yrs now, i have to be honsest though one of the main reasons why i want to be a nurse is because of the flexibility and the money, i live in pa now i am from maryland, and i have been reading the forums and i see alot of people say how under paid they are ect...I am wondering if i should rethink being an RN and maybe stay as a cna and do something else in the medical feild, i make 13.80 as a cna and 15 on the weekends, we have a thing here called surgical tech, which starts out at 16-28 and hour, has anyone heard of them and have any advice.
Thanks,
Michelle

do whatever makes you happy

If its money as an RN nowadays. I reached 6 figures every yr now for the last 10 years now.

zenman · Aug 3, 2004

do whatever makes you happy
If its money as an RN nowadays. I reached 6 figures every yr now for the last 10 years now.

Is that from nursing or golfing? By the way, I broke my a** skydiving! :chuckle

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Aug 3, 2004

thats from Nursing.

which pays for my golfing

and my skydiving

and I never landed on my ***, I did sprain an ankle though.

veteranRN · Aug 3, 2004

OK, I want to know, did you all start out making real good money or has it been through pay increases? Last year I got excellent evaluations but only got .25/hr at one job and .50/hr at the other. My facility pays a % for an increase and supposedly a 2.5% raise is an excellent evaluation. It seems after only 4 years at one job I've gotten only 2.50 in raises.