18 year old male. I've wanted to be a nurse for a couple years and will be starting to work towards my BSN this fall. I've volunteered at the local hospital on med/surg floors and the ER room to make sure this is what I want. I will be taking classes to be an EMT-B or ER tech during college in order to gain medical knowledge, contacts in the hospital, and experience in an acute care setting.
Med/surg floors are........eh...but I am absolutely in love with the ICU and ER. When I was volunteering on a med/surg floor a male nurse said he had worked 20 years as a nurse an was making 120k
My question is how possible is it for a nurse to make over 100k a year?
Does it pretty much require overtime to make that?
Whats the highest you have ever heard of a nurse making that wasn't a anesthetist or practitioner? And what did that require(overtime, certifications, years of experience, department,etc)?
I was thinking of becoming a charge nurse for the ER eventually. Good or bad idea?
I want to make it clear I am NOT getting into nursing for the money, but just like everyone I wouldn't mind making a decent amount doing what I love. I am just interested in how obtainable a "decent" salary is when it comes to nursing
After seven pages I think the short story is this. 100k Obtainable how? ______________ Floor nurse: (Associates/Bachelors/Masters (i know master prepared nurses working on the floor) Either live in a place with a high cost of living work in a department that requires heavy critical thinking, or the glorious OT. Other: (masters) Education equals increase in salary. No heavy lifting and no OT required in most cases. Good Luck...and welcome to the tax bracket.[/quote']
Yes, to review, ADN, live in an area with average cost of living, do work in critical care but the system I work for rewards years of experience and not specialty area, and I specified 7-8 OT shifts per year so like little more than one a month. I will emphasize that years of experience is vital.
Another big factor in rate of pay is to either be willing to change jobs for higher pay (not so much an option in this current economy) or be lucky enough to work for an employer that does market surveys and adjusts wages to match. I've seen adjustments upwards of 10% from those.
Specializes in Adult Critical Care, Med-Surg, Obs.
It is very possible to make 100K a year, it depends on 3 things
1. Willingness to work close to 50 hours a week or more
2. Diversifying your workload
3. Living in a an area with s significant base pay rate.
I am in the process of making 86,000 yr (net) and here is how I am doing it
I work at a facility that offers weekend contracts for 31-33hr depending if you work days or nights, but you have to work EVERY Weekend with little to no call ins. That equates to 33hr * 36 (3 consecutive 12hr shifts) = 1188/wk, 3500 /mo after taxes. That’s 44,000 a year.
I also do travel work at $40 an hour * 36 hrs = 4600/ mo after taxes. That’s 55,000/yr if I had a contract each time, but I take 2 week breaks in between 8 week assignments. So I make 42,000 instead. That’s 86,000 by working 72 hours per week at 8 week intervals. I know people who work two travel jobs at the same time who make $3000 a week after taxes.
So is it possible yes! With just an ADN? Sure, but it’s a lot of work. With an MSN in California, NY, TX you can gross 95 a year easy, plus there’s specially fields like dialysis (Fresenius in NY) that pays really well.
Bottom line, make a plan, get two years under your belt and make sure you enjoy what you’re doing.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
It is very possible to make 100K a year, it depends on 3 things
1. Willingness to work close to 50 hours a week or more
2. Diversifying your workload
3. Living in a an area with s significant base pay rate.
I am in the process of making 86,000 yr and here is how I am doing it
I work at a facility that offers weekend contracts for 31-33hr depending if you work days or nights, but you have to work EVERY Weekend with little to no call ins. That equates to 33hr * 36 (3 consecutive 12hr shifts) = 1188/wk, 3500 /mo after taxes. That’s 44,000 a year.
I also do travel work at $40 an hour * 36 hrs = 4600/ mo after taxes. That’s 55,000/yr if I had a contract each time, but I take 2 week breaks in between 8 week assignments. So I make 42,000 instead. That’s 86,000 by working 72 hours per week at 8 week intervals. I know people who work two travel jobs at the same time who make $3000 a week after taxes.
So is it possible yes! With just an ADN? Sure, but it’s a lot of work. With an MSN in California, NY, TX you can gross 95 a year easy, plus there’s specially fields like dialysis (Fresenius in NY) that pays really well.
Bottom line, make a plan, get two years under your belt and make sure you enjoy what you’re doing.
Hope this helps!
Dang man don't burn yourself out! I used to work like that too. However I have reached a point in my life where I simply don't need to work that many hours. I very rarely pick up OT anymore.
Specializes in Adult Critical Care, Med-Surg, Obs.
Dang man don't burn yourself out! I used to work like that too. However I have reached a point in my life where I simply don't need to work that many hours. I very rarely pick up OT anymore.
I love the floor I work on so its no issue, with the traveling, I balance life out with exercise and reading. I don't burn my self out because I take the two week breaks, sometimes I take 4 if I need more mental health days.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I love the floor I work on so its no issue, with the traveling, I balance life out with exercise and reading. I don't burn my self out because I take the two week breaks, sometimes I take 4 if I need more mental health days.
*** I hear you. You must be really attached to the area you are in. Otherwise I suspect you would go to a place were you could make more money.
Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.
It is definitely do-able and without doing nights, weekends, holidays or OT...... I work federal so the pay is public knowledge. However I'm 33 years into this game and if you work somewhere that pays for experience then it is a big boost. Education also definitely helps. I think nurse Anesthetists are the best compensated. Competition for admission into those schools is VERY competitive. It also helps to have a career strategy and to be willing to do work doing something you don't love in order to be well situated for what you want when it becomes available.
If you are really focused on income (nothing wrong with that) being willing to move to a geographical area with better pay makes a huge difference. Not all regions with high pay also have a higher cost of living.
My first year out as a Nurse, I made $78,000. Base is $22, I work night weekend shift which is an extra $15/hour. Also worked about one extra 12 hour shift a week, had a handful of Weeks throughout the year where I didn't work overtime, that's also including at a minimum of 4-6 weeks of paid vacation. I'm looking to make about $85,000 this year due to picking up the Charge Nurse pay.
I'm getting close to $100k, hopefully with a certificate, I can get a couple more dollars an hour.
It's very possible, but depends on where you are working. I know states that have an active union pay nurses very well. Here in California, a new graduate with an associate's degree or bachelor's can make $46 per hour..starting! Now imagine if you figure shift differential or holiday/overtime pay into that. Getting paid that amount and working full-time will earn you a little over 88k a year. Work some holidays or pick up 1 or 2 overtime a month and you will be well on your way making more than 100k a year. In the Bay area in Cali, I've known some nurses making almos $60 an hour starting. Some people may say the cost of living in California is high so that explains why they pay a lot, but really, living in California is not bad at all. So in Cali, a new graduate with no experience can make 100k a year.
Not sure where you are getting these numbers from. In Cali, the chance of getting hired as a new grad is very slim, let alone a new grad with ADN. As a BSN, new grad I was offered a position at Children's Hospital of LA and starting pay was $26, and a position at Loma Linda Children's for $28. Again, no where near those numbers. Yes, in the Bay Area you will get offered more but as mentioned already the competition is fierce!
Additionally, the cost of living in California, in my opinion is ridiculously high. From housing to gas to groceries. Also, keep in mind that the state tax alone is at 13.5%.
If you are a new grad and get a full time job in the Bay Area at an acute hospital you will make over 100k a year without OT. Hospital wage scales are pretty similar at all acute pay area hospitals. When unions negotiate they consider what neighboring hospitals are paying their nurses. There are new grad jobs but not a lot.
TiffyRN, BSN, PhD
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