I am still a 5th semester nursing student in my BSN program. And today I was just wondering how much money I will make when I graduate. Then the following is the math I did in my tiny brain:
I live in around St Louis area. 38K is not that bad. I just have a huge amount of educational debt I have to pay back after I graduate. lol. I was not serious to get food stamp. lol. I was just surprised that a new grad can't make as much as what I was excepting before, like around 50~60K (that's what people always say about the average salary nurse can make). I guess I will wait to get that average nurse salary after I finish my grad school. hope I can afford to go there after working 3 years. that's my goal. lol.
I am still a 5th semester nursing student in my BSN program. And today I was just wondering how much money I will make when I graduate. Then the following is the math I did in my tiny brain:
I think I may need to request a food stamp when I graduate...... my engineering friend can make double when he graduates:uhoh3:
In 1994, I started my first job as an RN and was being paid 12.50/hr plus shift (and the diff wasn't that good). I was raising a teenager, and I did it without food stamps, etc.
There are many people (and even more as the recession deepens) that are doing okay with much much less. How many children do you have and where do you live, that you would need food stamps?
Hopefully, before you started nursing school, you did the commonsense precaution of finding out what nurses actually make as opposed to what people "think" we make, so you should have been prepared for the pay rate and planned accordingly. If you didn't, well then you will hopefully learn to investigate better in the future.
Well, a new chemical engineer has a BS degree. A grad nurse makes more than half of that 65K...and that is with an associates degree. (That is what sux about the BSN.... not a lot more than the ASN pay!) Depending upon where you live, you can earn 65K+ as a grad nurse, so ya kinda have to qualify the statement about the engineers....and their salaries do not vary as much with COL...trust me, I have lived in some high cost areas...
My hubby's ex-W earned $55K her first year as an RN (I saw the w-2) working 26 hrs/week and that was in Greenville, SC!! My brother is in his 3rd year after earning his ASN/RN....he earned $125K last year in Manhattan. Don't think either would get you food stamps!
I knew Greenville pays the most in SC nurse salaries but that is a great salary.
Oh I was floored as well when I saw that! I am not sure which hospital she works for, but I'll ask my hubby and get back to ya'll.
It was irritating for him because she worked 26 hrs per week and the other hours were classes for her BSN that the hospital was paying for. (She got her hourly pay while in class!!!) What irritated him was she would complain that it was SO HARD working and the HE just couldn't understand....
This was right after his first tour in Iraq (early years with the violence and death) where he was in full battle rattle in 140 degree heat, lived in a tent that the AC could lower to 100 degrees, worked 14 - 16 hour shifts 7 days a week. Had a gun pointed at him by an insurgent no older than his son and had to kill the kid. Had to watch a man burn to death because he was driving an oil tanker that hit an IED. No, he had no idea how tough YOUR work was! :icon_roll
We only saw her pay because they were finishing their divorce and all income had to be disclosed for CS to be properly calculated.
Gotta remember 12 hour shifts and only 3 day work weeks too.
So your formula is 20*72*26= $37,440 sorry for the bad news, but on the otherhand ... by working one extra shift each pay period (20*80) + (4*30)=1,720, 1720* 26= 44,720 + differentials
Lentils and Beans baby. I lived on $2 a week for a couple of months that way supplemented with fruit grown in the backyard. Not the best diet but it shows you can make alot out of nothing.
Don't worry, I got the humor in your title, but really, you will be fine. Unless you have taken out massive amounts of student loans (which is why I always try to caution friends/family/posters to be careful on what they borrow!) the payments shouldn't make or break you. You will need to live on a budget, but I'm not sure why the word equals poverty and despair for some, lol!
I have known several people (and read numerous more stories about) who took out pretty much the maximum amt of loans they qualified for each semester b/c they either went to an over priced school (for their particular field, don't spend $80K in education for a career that only pays $30K unless you have other financial backing!!) or wanted to live comfortably while going to school. They graduated (or will graduate) and found that their new jobs don't cover nearly enough of their monthly bills b/c of the loan payments. Either way, both actions were quite foolish and if people would stop to take a moment and CALCULATE what they are doing to themselves, they wouldn't be in these situations. It's really sad actually. Just started the job you love only to find out you need to take up a part time at McDonald's to put food on your table
Anyways, I'm not suggesting you did this! Just that I know people who have.
Where I live you certainly couldn't live off that. It would be difficult in several areas of the country.
Unless you live in certain areas of california, or major cities, in the majority of the areas in the country you could live off that salary, and in a large number of areas you could live pretty well. For instance there is almost no where in ohio that you could not live off that at least decently comfortably.
wshy_no1
5 Posts
To TinkerNurse,
I live in around St Louis area. 38K is not that bad. I just have a huge amount of educational debt I have to pay back after I graduate. lol. I was not serious to get food stamp. lol. I was just surprised that a new grad can't make as much as what I was excepting before, like around 50~60K (that's what people always say about the average salary nurse can make). I guess I will wait to get that average nurse salary after I finish my grad school. hope I can afford to go there after working 3 years. that's my goal. lol.