Is the pay enough?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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I was just wondering, for all the cna's/pct's who have a family...do you make enough to live off of? How much do you make? I'm 19, and I just had a baby so I was just wondering because I'm going to take an stna (what they're called in ohio) course in may or june. In august I'll be starting my pre-req's at a community college for nursing (don't know if I wanna do RN or LPN). as of right now I live with my mother, so the only bill I have to worry about is my phone bill (and gas money)

so yeah...thanks in advance for answering my question!

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Well, I will say that I don't have a family (just 3 cats and a dog) but even living on my own, it is NOT enough in my area (I live next door to you, in Indiana). I make a little less than $9 an hour right now (but in the past, I made as little as 7.50 and as much as 11.70). I have to pay my rent, utilities, groceries, internet, and phone on that. It is hard, to say the least.

Some facilities pay better than mine, some pay about the same. Depends on the area, the facility itself, and all kinds of factors. Generally aides start out between 8-11 an hour, some more, some make minimum wage.

Now, if all you have to worry about is your phone and gas, you shouldn't have a problem.

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Specializes in 6 yrs LTC, 1 yr MedSurg, Wound Care.

Most of the people I work with can't survive on CNA pay alone. I do ok because my husband has a decent paying job, but most everyone else has some sort of government assistance. If you are planning on moving out, I would suggest you go to DHS and apply for food stamps and daycare assistance for sure.

My facility starts at 8.00/hour and only gives raises of 25ยข once a year. However, it's one of the lowest paid facilities in the area. Hospice aides come in and they say they make anywhere from $9-$11 per hour. After about 6 months on the job you should be able to take a CMA class (medication aide, passing meds). That doesnt take but a week or two and the classes here are around $200. Having your CMA will bump up your pay. Ours make $11. This will help if you plan on going to nursing school in the future. Just like a CNA, it's a good learning experience.

Hope that helps!

Dondie

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You'll probably be making around $27,000 a year (from indeed.com's statistics for Ohio). And, from what I've heard it is better to just go the 2 extra years and do RN because the pay is $20-$30 higher (what they said) and they are phasing out lpn's nowadays...again from what I've been told :) Good Luck!

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I don't think lpn's are being phased out where I live...I see a lot of openings for them online. I've decided to apply to lpn programs this fall.

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NO!!!

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I don't think lpn's are being phased out where I live...I see a lot of openings for them online. I've decided to apply to lpn programs this fall.

LPNs are still heavily used in Long Term Care facilities, but many hospitals are doing away with them in favor of having more RNs and aides.

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