Is the pay really that bad??

joshuaha · Jul 31, 2008

I make that amount, and I am pretty darn comfortable!

CraigB-RN, MSN, RN · Jul 31, 2008

PArt of the problem is people definition of enough or not enough money. You never going to make the money a superstar athlete will or a movie star, and everyone myself included could always use more. However base on my nursing licesne alone, it's the first of Aug and I've make just short of 60k. I work 6 12 hour shifts a pay period and one 12 hour overtime sift. I had some specific needs so in March I worded was to much overtime.

Now name me one other occupation were you can make that, with just a 2 year degree, or 4 year degree but that's a topic we won't get into now. Now in some placed, you won't ake that kind of money. I'm a specialty nurse so I do make a little more, well maybe a lot more than you average LTC nurse.

Doing anything for hte money, is setting yourself up to be unhappy, because like the saying goes, money can't buy you happyness.

Jo Dirt · Jul 31, 2008

I hear of nurses complaining about making 50k a year working a couple of shifts a week and this is what floors me. I'm an RN working at a nursing home 4 to 5 days a week and I don't make that much.

I don't know what people are griping about. I guess it's human nature to complain when there is plenty (never know the value of water until the well runs dry kind of deal). I'm trying not to get on that trip. I remember my brief stint as a CNA working myself ragged making $6.50/hr and looking at what I do now for $25/hr I can't really complain. This income isn't making me wealthy, for my large family my children still easily qualify for Medicaid and free lunches at school, but so far I'm not in the food stamp line. I guess there is something to be said for that.

NurseyPoo7 · Jul 31, 2008

I think a lot of people say Dont go into nursing for the money because:

1) The amount of stress, fear of being sued, and the acuity of pts we are getting increasing since everyone in our society is getting older and in worse health

2) Most people who go into nursing JUST for a paycheck and not for the love of nursing arent successful

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Jul 31, 2008

you won't get rich but you will be able to feed the family. when you look at the salary a nurse makes along with their benefit package in the big picture, it's pretty pathetic. you have sick time on the books you can't use, you have horrible health benefits with none at retirement. you hold people's lives in your hands everyday you go to work and if you're meant to be a nurse, you take this very seriously, everyday, despite staffing. most repairmen make the same money we do and at risk.....a washing machine? a car?......not to minimize either. teamsters are laborers and they get breaks, lunch, benefits, sick days and holidays. nurses eat on the run, no breaks, work holidays and in the most bug infested enviroments short of the CDC....and you can't get sick.....it's against the rules. when the govenor closes the roads due to snow or flooding.....we go to work.

having said that......if your heart is into it, it takes a special person to do what we do. it takes a special person to keep the compassion at the bedside. if your heart is pulling you to us....come! we'd love to have you! just come in with your eyes open. understanding the limitations, accepting them, will make you a happier person to work with. good luck in your decision. maybe i'll see you on the floor! :nurse:

hbgwan, LPN, LVN · Jul 31, 2008

and to me it seems like there is a certain stigma about money and healthcare. "don't go into it for the money." right - you're absolutely right. if you're chasing dollars then healthcare isn't the place. yeah, there are jobs in healthcare that make good money. but there are jobs that pay just as much if not more in other areas. if you're after money, go into business.

however, to those who say "don't go into it for the money" and think that the people in healthcare who are looking to make good money are in it for the wrong reasons, let me ask you one question. if you're so righteous about not working for the money why do you not volunteer your time and services instead of receiving a paycheck? see how many of them shut up.

nurses have mortgages, car notes, student loans, credit cards, kids, utility bills and cell phones. heck - they even like to eat from time to time.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Jul 31, 2008

If you go into any profession "for the money" and not because you have a desire/drive/compassion/calling/what ever you want to call it, you will never make "enough money". I know people that make over $100,000 a year, complain about the amount and that they hate their job. Its from making these observations at a young age that I knew I had to go into something that I would enjoy, and not something because it "made good money"; because being happy in your job is worth so much more.

myty23 · Jul 31, 2008

I definitely agree that nobody should go into it just for the money. If my heart wasn't in it, I wouldn't be pursuing it. I started out in college 6 years ago wanting be a nurse, but got caught up in working, starting a family etc. and thought maybe I didn't need school. I've since found out how wrong I was. The road I'm on is a dead end (career wise) and not only that, I have no passion for it. I find my days so dull and monotanous and just have no drive to do this for the rest of my life. I've been laid off a couple of times (because of closures) and I feel that I've had a big wake up call from those layoffs to get my butt back in school and go into nursing. Which is what I wanted to do from the beginning. I love this forum and reading all of the posts, but I have to admit that at times it can be discouraging when I hear all of the bad stuff and then when people complain about the pay it makes me wonder why, being that I'm making so very little and have no passion for what I'm doing at all. The pay in nursing would such a blessing for me AND I would be doing the job that I want to do!

RNperdiem, RN · Jul 31, 2008

The money in nursing is pretty good. Unlike our salaried friends, we get paid for overtime at time and a half too.

I think people start complaining about money when they feel unappreciated or stressed, even if the money is good, even if the money would not make the working conditions any better.

ohmeowzer RN, RN · Jul 31, 2008

i don't mind my pay , i just put a new pool and a hot tub in ... and will put some fruit trees in next year.... i love my pateints but i'm at work like everyone else .. i like a roof over my head and food in my kids bellies ...

mianders, RN · Jul 31, 2008

I think a lot depends on how long you have been a nurse, what area of nursing you go into, and where you live. In the area I live in starting pay for new grads is around $20hr- $24hr. Experienced staff nurses make $30hr-$36hr. Then you have to add in benefits (ins, retirement, vacation, holidays, ect.). Agency nurses can make quite a bit more than this but usually do not have the benefits. Then there is OT. I know nurses that make 100k/yr, but they work themselves to death. It all comes down to what you think is good pay, and what you are willing to work to make it.