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Discussion

Is it worth it $$$$ perspective??

Just a question does the pay really go up down the road? Especially considering the future of healthcare? My wife is a RN doing both OH fulltime and ICU at a hospital a handful times a year just to keep her foot in the door. She is enrolled in a expensive NP program (20k/yr) the first few classes are online, but soon she will have to leave her current fulltime job to focus on school. She will continue to do ICU 1-2 days a week to keep our lifestyle, bills, etc under wraps and partially intact.

This is my deal as a future focused want to retire one day husband. She makes 81k/yr now doing OH and 32-37$hr doing ICU she is grandfathered in at that pay rate. Add to that her current fulltime job has 6% 401k match dollar for dollar and extra 3% on top of that as supplement. That's 9% of her 81k/yr that's stout very stout! She works 7-8am until 4-5pm M-F and the every so often emergency call here and there. It's a good gig!!

Financially I just don't see how this makes a ton of sense 50K+ in school, lost wages from a great job, and going by what I see locally searching Indeed.com, careerbuilder, etc it looks like new grads might make 80-85k/yr with benefits that are nothing like she has now. Moving is not a option since I make substantially more than her, our kids are grounded, family, and friends are here etc etc.

So, here is my question does the pay get better? Do NP's with 5yrs of experience make 90-100k in the south? My wife will get her way regardless because that is how I am:redbeathe:redbeathe:heartbeat:heartbeat her!! She only cares about improving her capacity and capability to help others $$$$ is a distant afterthought. She would have gone to med school, but figures she just waited to long to go that route, plus the time, the hours are just insane, and totally not worth it given our family dynamic and priorities.

So, again after reading my book of a post.......does the pay go up with experience? Can NP's make 95-100k with 5yrs experience or is this sort of a shot in the dark type of thing? Who ya know?

Thanks....ya'll are awesome btw I love my nursing wife to pieces.....heart the size of Alaska!!

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    I live in GA and it has come up in conversation that NPs around here (with experience, not sure how much experience) are making well over 100K

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    Living in Texas here and am making the equivalent of 95K...I just work about 22-24 hrs a week though. I've been out of school just a little over a year. If she could find a cheaper school that would be great. 20K a year is NOT worth it IMO but I went to a much cheaper state school.

    Just a little thought for your future: if she goes to work in a smaller private practice she may not have very good retirement benefits. However, working 12 hr shifts in the ICU on the side gets old, very very old. I'm in my early 40's and am in reasonable shape and I gotta say it was starting to wear on me.

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    No, in my neck of the woods, she would not make more than 70-75K. It isn't really about money... And 20K/year tuition is cheap, lol.

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    It is also about the type of work you do. It is hard to work 12 hour shifts in a stressful hospital environment as a floor nurse when you get older. How long do you think she would be able to do it? It is a very physically and mentally demanding job. NP job is still mentally demanding but at least you subtract the physical component.

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    • Author
    It is also about the type of work you do. It is hard to work 12 hour shifts in a stressful hospital environment as a floor nurse when you get older. How long do you think she would be able to do it? It is a very physically and mentally demanding job. NP job is still mentally demanding but at least you subtract the physical component.

    Wanted to add she works 7-8am to 4-5pm that's her full time job not shift work....she only works at the hospital to keep her foot in the door and that grandfathered pay rate **just in case**

    FWIW, her OH job is much harder than the hospital she only sees 4-6 patients in ICU and says that is a breeze compared to fmla, OSHA, 7-9 healthscreens, safety, chemical clearance, and all of the other jump through hoops her OH job entails.

    Maybe she just works at a awesome hospital idk she always talks about how low key and non stressful it is vs her Fortune 100 drama all day job!

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    If she thinks that she can do it until she retires then it is fine.

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    20k/year is very inexpensive for np school. Everyone I know has taken out loans for this. If she were to take a job in an underserved area her loans could be forgiven. However, she would make a small salary. NP's in my neck of the woods DO NOT make 80k and I live in the south. Also benefits are a thing of the past around here. No one can afford to pay them. Keep in mind that I am in a rural area you probably haven't heard of.

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    a girl i went to nsg school with has been a fnp for about 3yrs now, with a total of 6yrs as a nurse altogether. she told me she makes a base salary of $108,550yr in a internal med clinic. plus she got a $4,500 yrly bonus cuase the group in general made good $ this past yr. she basically works with 5 docs and 2 other fnp's. she sees alittle more than 15pts on most days. she claims the 401k is not as good as the hospitals, but she loves her job and feels satified in what she does everyday. this is in northeast ms.

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