Is the pay really that bad??

Jo Dirt · Aug 4, 2008

Any ideas on how we nurses can change our future wages without going into more debt to further our education? I am the primary bread winner in my family, so going to school isn't an option, even if I had the $$. Working is enough to kick my butt, I can't imagine having the energy to go back to school. It would be time to retire even before I got my student loans paid off LOL!!
So seriously, what can we do as a group to raise our wages to be more in keeping with all we do?

I'm the *only* breadwinner in my family of 2 adults and 4 children. It's rummage sales and Medicaid and Payless Shoes for us. Unfortunately, I've realized about the only way you will have a chance to climb the ladder in most cases (in this business) is to keep going to school.

I'm so sick of school I think I will puke, sometimes. To be honest, I dread it. But I have to keep going. It's an unfortunate reality. Nursing is not a career where hard work alone will give you advancement. My husband is a jerk but he is supportive of my schooling for the most part, and I understand this makes things so much easier.

Any job that is so stressful on a daily basis is probably not a job worth keeping and is probably not a job that all the pay in the world will compensate for. I work at a nursing home where there is plenty of drama, but it's mostly from the staff. I've got my routine there and I'm paid better than if I was working at an acute care hospital.

Jo Dirt · Aug 4, 2008

Now, its my choice to have 3 kids. But when I had them I thought I'd have a husband to help support them. Instead I have an exhusband who lives in another state and doesn't pay any child support.

It could be worse.

At least the ex husband isn't laid up in your house using even more of your income and resources to support him.

I guess that is looking at the bright side.

MB37 · Aug 4, 2008

I'm only about to be a GN, so I don't yet know what it's like to actually work as an RN. Preceptorship was helpful, but I know it's not the same as being solely responsible for ICU patients full time. I have never thought of $40,000 a year (approximate starting salary in FL) as a lot of money. Is it an adequate amount for an entry-level position? I guess, it is more than my husband or brother made right out of school. I'm not right out of school, this is my second bachelor's degree, and I couldn't get a relevant job to save my life with the first one. I bartended, and made >$40,000 every year. However, I'd maxed out. I'll be taking a slight pay cut my first few years as an RN.

One reason I chose nursing is that there ARE opportunities for advancement. You can get multiple certifications in your specialty, or follow a clinical ladder program if offered by your hospital. You can work float, agency, or pool. You can (gasp) move into management, although you likely won't see a pay raise at first. You can return to school and get a master's or beyond. All of the high level managers at my first-choice facility are RNs. Most have an MS as well, but they all started as working nurses. We all make choices in our lives, and you shouldn't choose nursing or any other career "for the money." You probably won't get rich, at least not without further education, but you can probably provide a roof over your family's head and put food on their plates. Most nurses I know live an average middle class lifestyle, although I'm sure the ones with many children and no spouse are a little worse off. Many own a home, several support a child or two without a spouse, and they tend to drive nicer cars than I do. I'm quite sure I'll feel underpaid by the time I get my second paycheck, but the actual amount is not that bad. It'll be enough for my husband and I to quickly repay our (minimal) debt, purchase a house in the near future, and get our cars repaired in a timely fashion/finance a new (used) one when needed. It's also a career that, as I progressed more through school, I realized that I genuinely enjoy and am quite good at. That's the most important thing with any career.

RNgonewild · Aug 4, 2008

Of course I'm on the side that nurses don't get enough compensation for what they do and what they are worth, but look at it this way: if the nursing shortage wasn't an issue or if hospitals figure a way to dumb down our jobs(hiring MA's, CNA's, techs, etc to do our jobs) or plane loads of lower paid foreign nurses, there would be nothing for us to fight about. At least they can't outsource our jobs, like many others such as auto workers, customer service workers, any manufacturing jobs, etc.(well of course they can "in-source"). So to me the nursing shortage is a good thing(think of supply and demand). I hope it keeps going until I retire. And I don't want them to lower standards to become a nurse either. Did I read somewhere above that a graduate nurse was starting at $13 an hour? Where the heck is that?

allthingsbright · Aug 4, 2008

I make 49,000/year w/out working extra shifts or holiday/wkend pay included in that number. That # is just my base plus diff for nights and three 12's a week. I have 6 months experience. I usually pick up one extra shift at least per pay period and work 3 major holidays a year. That boosts me quite a bit. So I would say I make about 55,000 or so but dont bring that home after taxes.

Not too bad for a two year degree and as a new nurse. :) I'm ok w/ it!!!! My husband is in banking and says the median income for this country is below what I make. Yeah, its not the BIG bucks, but do we as Americans ever HAVE or MAKE enough????

djc1981 · Aug 4, 2008

Everyone always says "you won't get rich doing this job". Well, how many jobs DO you get rich at? If they were plentiful, we'd all be rich!! 99.9999% of all jobs you don't get rich at. Bankers, businessmen, teachers, accountants, artists, etc. don't get rich either. Maybe the rare cardiothoracic surgeon, lawyer from Yale or MBA from an Ivy League school ...yeah, that's about it. So, of course, you won't get rich from nursing...or practically any other job. That's not a genuine complaint, IMHO. :twocents:

Genetics56 · Aug 4, 2008

Everyone always says "you won't get rich doing this job". Well, how many jobs DO you get rich at? If they were plentiful, we'd all be rich!! 99.9999% of all jobs you don't get rich at. Bankers, businessmen, teachers, accountants, artists, etc. don't get rich either. Maybe the rare cardiothoracic surgeon, lawyer from Yale or MBA from an Ivy League school ...yeah, that's about it. So, of course, you won't get rich from nursing...or practically any other job. That's not a genuine complaint, IMHO.

There isn't any job out there that a person would become rich with when you look at the wage per hour worked. Doctors are at the top of all professionals for wage per hour earned.

The big money comes with fringe benefits, business deals, investments and others alike. A little over 90% of our economy is driven by those with the most money. The more money the rich spend, the better the GDP is. The less money the rich spend, the weaker the GDP is. When the rich don't spend, it puts more pressure on the middle class more so then the poorest people of our country. For instance, it costs over 1 million dollars a day to run a single oil rig.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 4, 2008

Everyone always says "you won't get rich doing this job". Well, how many jobs DO you get rich at? If they were plentiful, we'd all be rich!! 99.9999% of all jobs you don't get rich at. Bankers, businessmen, teachers, accountants, artists, etc. don't get rich either. Maybe the rare cardiothoracic surgeon, lawyer from Yale or MBA from an Ivy League school ...yeah, that's about it. So, of course, you won't get rich from nursing...or practically any other job. That's not a genuine complaint, IMHO.

I've said that before - that nursing is a middle income that most of us won't get rich off of. (Of course there's the young and ambitious who can get rich by the time they retire through working overtime and smart/lucky investments, they are the exception). It's not a complaint as you imply, it's more of a response to "nurses make such good money"....yeah it's good but I ain't living a life of luxery either.

Every person at the end of the day feels they are not paid enough and are exhausted -- retail, banking, education, business. It's a universal human trait to feel we are worth more than we get. Nursing doesn't have some magical monopoly on this.

Sometimes before we count our blessings, when we're dog tired from overwork we just need to vent a little. That's what I like about Allnurses, people understand.

oceansouljewels · Aug 8, 2008

I am sorry - I have thought about nursing for years!

One aspect that scares me is the the language and spelling I see in these posts! I mean it. I have met some terrifically interesting and intelligent nurses, I have also run into some people that flat out frighten me with the lack of functional educational skills. No, this is NOT found in every field, because I'm not aware of the hierarchy in nursing, I'm sure there is one - but in few other critical fields like this can one find someone close to illiterate taking care of the lives of others. If I want to work as a nurse, I want to work with similar minded, bright, articulate people. What aspect of nursing does this group gravitate towards?

hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2008

There isn't any job out there that a person would become rich with when you look at the wage per hour worked. Doctors are at the top of all professionals for wage per hour earned.
The big money comes with fringe benefits, business deals, investments and others alike. A little over 90% of our economy is driven by those with the most money. The more money the rich spend, the better the GDP is. The less money the rich spend, the weaker the GDP is. When the rich don't spend, it puts more pressure on the middle class more so then the poorest people of our country. For instance, it costs over 1 million dollars a day to run a single oil rig.

Trickle down economics is not a viable economic plan.

myty23 · Aug 8, 2008

I am sorry - I have thought about nursing for years!
One aspect that scares me is the the language and spelling I see in these posts! I mean it. I have met some terrifically interesting and intelligent nurses, I have also run into some people that flat out frighten me with the lack of functional educational skills. No, this is NOT found in every field, because I'm not aware of the hierarchy in nursing, I'm sure there is one - but in few other critical fields like this can one find someone close to illiterate taking care of the lives of others. If I want to work as a nurse, I want to work with similar minded, bright, articulate people. What aspect of nursing does this group gravitate towards?

I don't know who you are talking to. But in general, people don't usually get formal with their writing on forums and blogs. It's the internet, not a school essay. Now I do agree that simple spelling errors can get on my nerves a little bit too, but I'm sure that I've had some errors here and there being that I type fast and with my emotions sometimes and don't always proof read things before I post. I haven't really noticed a whole lot of really bad grammar on this forum. Maybe a few here and there. Besides, what exactly does that have to do with this topic? Maybe you should have started your own post about grammar and spelling???

ibatwoman · Aug 8, 2008

I have read some of the posts; I have been in the profession for 28 years and I wont work overtime, you cant pay me enough to work overtime. I do not feel that a nurse of any kind anywhere needs to work overtime. We should have good pay and benefits, period. I work paycheck to paycheck, and I could make more money doing overtime, but if I did, I would be out of nursing in a heart beat. I dont enjoy nursing like I did 28 years ago.

Nursing will have more nurses available in a short period of time that dont speak English because we NEED them and they will take the lower pay. Makes ya proud to be a nurse and soon we may be without a job because of the nonEnglish speaking nurses.