Is this something i should follow through with?

aprnKate · Aug 17, 2016

I get what you mean by the pay cut. I suppose if you are an experienced nurse and already have a high salary it wouldn't be worth it for some to take a pay cut. For me, when I graduated NP school I had 6 years of experience but for be it was a pay raise because I was only getting $26/hr at that time. I worked ER, Cath lab, PACU, and Radiology but I didn't think much about the money. What really motivated me to become a NP was that I thought that this role will be intellectually stimulating for me. I also saw nurses in their 50's and 60's still working the floor and have back pain from lifting patients and I thought NP was a good investment for my future. While I admired my ER coworkers that were older & more experienced than me, I also did not see myself doing back breaking work and would not want to risk having any back pains that would limit me to enjoy my quality of life.

I guess if you want the same salary that you are making now with the same benefits, then prepare to move around the country. What you are looking for may not be available in the metropolitan area or maybe hard to find. The best advice I could give you is to become a NP not for the money but become a NP for personal growth and fulfillment

Jules A, MSN · Aug 17, 2016

I think it depends on the market in your area. Would ACNP be a better choice for your interests? There is no way I would have taken on the responsibility and 24/7 availability required to work as a NP if I wasn't making significantly more. It can become problematic working under the highest scope of your licensure in my opinion so that is something to consider for NPs still working as RNs. Good luck with whatever you decide.

allnurses Guide · Aug 17, 2016

I got accepted into an Online Family Nurse practitoner program. I am still debating if this is something i want to do or not.

This is a big investment of time and money. Talk to local NPs and make sure you shadow several. You should be 100% sure about your choice before you even consider schools. I can't urge you enough to consider local brick and mortar programs if available. If not, then take due diligence in researching quality programs.

I make $120,000. Working only 3 days a week, 12 hour shifts, and my job is done. I am reading reviews of FNPs making 80-90,000 every year, and i want the education, but i also do not want to spend 60,000 on school to get a future FNP job that is decreased in pay, with twice the responsibility. Does anyone else come across this issue?

First and foremost, don't think about being an NP for the money, there are easier ways to make money, only do it if you have a desire for the role of provider.

Second, most RNs making >$120k are either working overtime or night/weekends/both. If not, they are very close to the salary ceiling. Novice NPs may start out at less but have a higher earning potential over the course of their career. Additionally, some NPs are willing to take a temporary pay cut to move to more standard workweek.

Third, as you mention later, many NPs view the NP role as more sustainable over the full course of a career than bedside nursing.

I also hear that i cannot work in ER and inpatient with FNP as well. Am i limited with my job choices?

That is not true, actually many ERs prefer FNPs over all other types. Hospitals right now are free to hire any type of NP within scope.

I like working in the hospital and being able to multitask and do all of the things the floor nurses do. What if i become an FNP and want to work back on the floor again. I will need to regain all my skills. Maybe i can do FNP on the side? and work part time as an RN? If anyone has any advice on whether or not to continue with this or not, please let me know. I really do enjoy the 3 days of work and 4 day vacation every week. In the future, I just dont want to regret not doing the school thing if i say no to it now. Any and all advice and comments accepted!!!

You need to do a lot more research and figure out what you want for yourself over the next 5-10-15+ years. If you are thinking about working part time as both then you aren't ready to invest in NP school yet. What role do you want to be in? What hours do you want to work? You can always go to school later, but once the money is spent you don't get it back. Plus once you BC as an NP then you are on an employment clock for hours for re-certification in 5 years.

babyNP., APRN · Aug 17, 2016

You may make more now- but what about in 20 years? A np with 20 years experience is almost certainly going to make more than a nurse with 20 years experience. But in the meantime you would have done back breaking work and dealt with the dissatisfaction of not becoming a np. I'm a np and work 3 twelve hour shifts a week- if you want that kind of schedule you'd probably have to do something in-patient, though you also then likely resign yourself to working holidays for the rest of your career. Good luck with your decision.

ps- making $120k as a nurse working no OT with 6 years experience is extremely unusual and if you ever change jobs, more than likely will not be making that much elsewhere.

DrCOVID, DNP · Aug 17, 2016

First and foremost, don't think about being an NP for the money, there are easier ways to make money, only do it if you have a desire for the role of provider.

Please, please, please, tell me what the easier way to make 100k consistently per year is.

I have been trying to find method to find a way to retire early including starting my own business, trading stocks, selling a product etc, and I have found that working a regular job is perhaps 'easier.'

Yea, also I think if you're at 120k you're working OT or you live in one of those high COL areas.

CoolLikeThat · Aug 18, 2016

I also hear that i cannot work in ER and inpatient with FNP as well. !

This depends on where you work. I have been working as an FNP in the ICU for 3 years and we have several other FNPs working in the ED, Hospitalist and for various other specialties that split time between the clinic and the hospital.

Riburn3, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP · Aug 18, 2016

I would love to know where three 12 hour shifts per week equates to $120k a year. That's over $60 an hour. Gotta be California.

Pay like that for nurses is the exception rather than the rule, and to be honest, it likely isn't worth going back to school if the money is the be all end all decider. Although FYI, lots of ER's prefer FNP's above all other providers, and they are easily some of the best paid.

I know I personally wrestled with going back and getting my NP for similar monetary reasons, but I was busting my hump working overtime to be knocking on the door of 6 figures. Now I have normal hours, a great schedule, and now that I have some experience and do some side-work, will be knocking on $200k a year just a hair under 2 years out of school. I also chose a local public university that was hybrid online with several in person on campus visits throughout the program that only cost about $17k for the whole program, and I worked throughout it. I can't imagine forking out the kind of money you're quoting for an online program. I precept some students from some online schools and it blows my mind how little the oversight is in their programs. It's kinda scary.

One thing I will say that isn't stressed enough is how much different the roles are, and for many NP's, how much greater the job satisfaction is. Going from staff nurse to medical provider is entering into a different realm of care, and I think many of us appreciate the greater autonomy and respect that comes with the role. I loved my time as a bedside nurse in the CVICU, but it doesn't compare to how much satisfaction I have as an NP. It honestly feels surreal at times.

AAC.271 · Aug 18, 2016

Wow. Lucky job you have. Definitely a paycut, but if you like being a provider, why not?

nthestar55 · Aug 18, 2016

Thank you for that information, i appreciate it and all of your guyses feedback! Yes i make 71 dollars an hour in California, and literally 12 hour shifts are all i do. The work is not easy though, as we are on our feet all day. I work for a prestigious hospital as well, that is well known in the country. I dont know if that has anything to do with it. I dont pick up overtime, but i do work every other weekend. I do feel like i would like the satisfaction of being a NP. I am paying 60,000 for this school because it has good reviews (Simmons online), and the experience is like a classroom setting where you need to attend and participate in online lectures. I still prefer regular classroom type schools but this way i dont have to drive anywhere to get it done. I cannot simple learn by just reading material etc....I need to be taught properly and i feel this program will help me to do so? Anyway, thanks for your input!

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 18, 2016

Have you considered other advanced roles other than FNP? There are other roles that would get you out of the staff nurse position, but keep you on the hospital pay hierarchy, thus avoiding the big salary drop while still getting you away from the physicial stress of the staff nurse role. Or are you committed to the FNP outpatient role?

I am thinking of roles such as CNS, CNL, Acute Care Practitioner, etc. or Staff Development Specialist. Such roles are usually physically easier on the body (desirable as you age), build on your skills as a staff nurse, and pay at least as much as a staff nurse and usually pays more than staff nurse roles.

db2xs · Aug 18, 2016

Thank you for that information, i appreciate it and all of your guyses feedback! Yes i make 71 dollars an hour in California, and literally 12 hour shifts are all i do. The work is not easy though, as we are on our feet all day. I work for a prestigious hospital as well, that is well known in the country. I dont know if that has anything to do with it. I dont pick up overtime, but i do work every other weekend. I do feel like i would like the satisfaction of being a NP. I am paying 60,000 for this school because it has good reviews (Simmons online), and the experience is like a classroom setting where you need to attend and participate in online lectures. I still prefer regular classroom type schools but this way i dont have to drive anywhere to get it done. I cannot simple learn by just reading material etc....I need to be taught properly and i feel this program will help me to do so? Anyway, thanks for your input!

I imagine you're in the SF Bay Area, maybe even UCSF or Stanford. If $71 is your RN base pay, then your NP base pay after six years will more than likely exceed what you're making now if you decide to stay in the SF Bay Area.

Is your program full-time, two or three years? I'm in a three-year, part-time AGPCNP program that is also online (with on-campus requirements once a year) that is also on the East Coast, and it does not cost that much at all. I hope the school is providing you airfare and all of your clinical preceptors for that amount.