I'm a new RN and at this point I'm still trying to figure out whether to focus on continuing my education or start gaining more work experience in different settings.
I just have a quick question. I recently read about a salary range for RN's of $46,399- $93,833. To me that is a very wide range, and I was wondering how realistic a salary of $90,000 is for RN's in today's job market? Is that something only a select few can hope to achieve? And how many years of experience does it take to get to that level?
I'm assuming your talking about the VA jobs? 90k would be at the top of the range...46k at the bottom. I would assume you would be starting at 46k, and there is a step-wise grade level (GS) associated both with number of years of employment, plus performance. I would also assume the nurse earning 90k at that employer had 25+ years of experience.
I work in the Midwest and with 2.5 years of experience, without my night shift differential, I'm below the average. With my differential, I'm barely at the lowest average wage listed above
It completely depends on where you live. And yes, new grads do make $90K+ year in Northern California. But it is extremely competitive. Over my eight years of nursing, I have never made less than $40/hr. But that is because I have lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, NYC, and Hawaii while working at huge academic institutions. But even within California, the difference in pay between sand diego, orange county, Los angeles, and northern California is up to 30%.
The cost of living is a HUGE factor in salary from region to region. It also depends on your lifestyle and ultimately what will make you happy in life. While I lived comfortably in Northern California, I would need a huge downpayment and a double gross income of $300K to afford buying more than a studio sized condo.
I recommend gaining as much nursing experience as you can for 2 reasons: 1) you will be higher up on the pay scale regardless of where you choose to work. 2) It will make you more competitive and qualified when you apply to continue furthering your education.
You never know what opportunities lie ahead!! And FYI, for example, a post year grad NP in California does not make as much money as an experienced nurse. AND though the cap salary for NP's may end up being higher than the cap of an RN, it is not common to find a job with the same hours and flexibility as working as an RN.
After 8 years of ICU experience, I just applied to the UCLA ACNP program. It's all a personal choice. Good luck to you!
2009, Pennsylvania R.N. average was approximately $63,000 per year. That was a statewide average. New-grad salaries seem to range $22 - $25 per hour in western PA. (LPN average was about $40,000 per year. New-grad LPNs get about $14-$15 per hour to start, here.)
Back in 2010-2011, "they" were saying travel nurses often earned over $100,000 per year plus were getting relocation assistance and usually their housing provided. That's not PA, it was nationwide. But you'd need at least 2 years of experience to be hired, at least at that time.
My sister is in North Carolina where pay is supposedly low. She works a lot of OT plus has 30 years experience. She has hit the $100,000 figure for a couple of years, but working much OT and per-diem and private duty plus her regular night shift job.
It depends on where you live but I wouldn't focus on money so much as quality of life. I would rather work three twelves a week making decent money than work myself to death for great money. I'm pretty low maintenance and could live nicely on 60k/yr. New grads start at 24-26 dollars per hour in my area.
It depends on where you live but I wouldn't focus on money so much as quality of life. I would rather work three twelves a week making decent money than work myself to death for great money. I'm pretty low maintenance and could live nicely on 60k/yr. New grads start at 24-26 dollars per hour in my area.
Working 36 hrs/week at $25/hr isn't going to give you a salary of $60k. Even working 40 hrs/week at that pay won't give you that salary. When I worked in the hospital, I worked 3 12s and I barely broke $60k after 5 years. And this is in an area that pays about 10% more than the salary you're describing for new grads.
It's a trade off. I was willing to take the pay-cut for the quality of life. Working 40 hrs/week in the hospital is never actually 40 hrs and my hospital didn't pay overtime or for time you stayed past the end of your shift. Now I'm back to working 40 hrs, making significantly more money but I'm in a different environment so when 4:30 comes, I'm out the door.
At that base pay I would be making 47k a year and that isn't including weekend and shift diff and holiday pay which is double time and a half at a facility I work at. Most new grads will be stuck working lots of weekends and nights. Plus there are those mandations which happen on average four or five times per month.I know a nurse who told me she broke 60k a year. She is working on her third year. I don't expect to make 60k out the gate but could easily make that in my second or third year.
Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
Hi All,
I'm a new RN and at this point I'm still trying to figure out whether to focus on continuing my education or start gaining more work experience in different settings.
I just have a quick question. I recently read about a salary range for RN's of $46,399- $93,833. To me that is a very wide range, and I was wondering how realistic a salary of $90,000 is for RN's in today's job market? Is that something only a select few can hope to achieve? And how many years of experience does it take to get to that level?
Thank you in advance! :)
i easily made 90,000 in acute care ER, of course i have 41 yrs experience, as a director of nursing in ltc, 75,000-80,000, in fairly rural SE Texas.
Specializes in Peds, Hospice, Home Health, Dementia.
I am currently asking the same question. I have 4 years pedi HH experience and am proficient in ventilators making $60k/yr as an LVN in San Antonio, Tx. I am set to graduate as an ADN this coming summer and hope to move back to my home town San Diego, Ca. What kind of salary can I expect to get with the prior experience I have, but in making the transition from HH to hospital and LVN to RN? I am not sure that I could afford to do it I am also curious about the job market there, you tend to hear so many different things. I am assuming I will just have to wait until I graduate and start applying anywhere and everywhere! Does anyone know about transferring my license from Tx to Ca? From Ca to Tx it was merely about paying $250.. I am hoping it will be just as easy going back to Cali. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank You and Happy Holidays everyone!
RN licensure is different from LVN. Why not take the NCLEX but have your school send the information to the state of California instead? That way, you are just applying for a CA license, not transferring it.
Check out the Ca BON website about applying for a CA RN license. Depending on the TX BON and how quickly they can send over your information will depend on how smooth the transaction will be. It will cost upwards of $165 for your CA RN license.
As far as LVN to RN salary, I believe they do not take into account your LVN experience when deciding salary. Well at least not in a government pplsition such as UC's. They literally take your years as a Registered Nurse, add them up, and follow their salary chart. I could be wrong, but I just applied to UCLA and that's what they did to me in nurse recruitment. Granted, I've never been an LVN and have been an RN for 8 years. But they seemed strict on this method. They even counted the times I was unemployed due to maternity leave as not part of years experience.
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emcadams
113 Posts
I'm assuming your talking about the VA jobs? 90k would be at the top of the range...46k at the bottom. I would assume you would be starting at 46k, and there is a step-wise grade level (GS) associated both with number of years of employment, plus performance. I would also assume the nurse earning 90k at that employer had 25+ years of experience.