for the love of money...

[BABYJADE06]

I had a discussion with a nurse that works on my floor about what makes people get into nursing in the first place. She made a comment that she is tired of people getting into nursing for the money and she disagreed with my response to her comment. I said that even though I do not believe people should choose any profession solely on the basis of money, that money does (and should) play a HUGE factor in choosing any career. I'm all for loving what you do but at the end of the day there are bills that need to be paid. I believe as long as you treat your patients with the dignity and respect they deserve that your reasons for choosing nursing as a career shouldn't matter. I have absolutely no problem with a nurse who goes into the profession for money as long as they are good at what they do. I honestly do not believe nurses are paid that great anyway considering all of the responsibility that falls on their shoulders. Sometimes I read posts on here and people say nurses are paid more for less education than many other profession. I also look at it as most other professions do not have the responsibility that nurses do so it is really hard to compare. What are your thoughts on this?

[demylenated, BSN, RN]

I agree, nurses don't get paid a lot!!

BUT, we DO get paid above the normal college degree. I, as an LPN, make more money than 2 of my friends that have a Bachelors degree in business, and 3 that have a bachelors in human resources. I AM AN LPN!! As an RN, it'll be a long time till they can dream of making the money I will.

I agree with both sides. Those who get into nursing SOLELY for the money get into it for the wrong reason. They are usually the ones who have NO CLUE what being a nurse entails... They are usually the ones weeded out in school... but some make it to the floor, and they are the ones that we have to constantly pick up the slack on.

You can usually tell the difference between someone in nursing JUST FOR THE MONEY, and someone in it for an actual profession that gets paid pretty good.

[BABYJADE06]

I agree, nurses don't get paid a lot!!

BUT, we DO get paid above the normal college degree. I, as an LPN, make more money than 2 of my friends that have a Bachelors degree in business, and 3 that have a bachelors in human resources. I AM AN LPN!! As an RN, it'll be a long time till they can dream of making the money I will.

I agree with both sides. Those who get into nursing SOLELY for the money get into it for the wrong reason. They are usually the ones who have NO CLUE what being a nurse entails... They are usually the ones weeded out in school... but some make it to the floor, and they are the ones that we have to constantly pick up the slack on.

You can usually tell the difference between someone in nursing JUST FOR THE MONEY, and someone in it for an actual profession that gets paid pretty good.

I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Teachers, fire fighters and police officers also have lives in their hands. In my opinion, they don't get paid nearly enough.

This fight has raged on for many years.

[BABYJADE06]

Teachers, fire fighters and police officers also have lives in their hands. In my opinion, they don't get paid nearly enough.

This fight has raged on for many years.

Agreed! I will be the first person to say that those professions are severly underpaid for what they do. The previous post did not mention those professions they mentioned someone with a degree in business that's why I responded with that post.

[demylenated, BSN, RN]

I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

You may have misunderstood my post...

I didn't say we should not get paid more, I actually said we don't get paid enough. I replied to the OP that people DO get into nursing "for the money" because when they compare a bachelors in human resources to an LPN or ADN, nurses make more money. I did not comment on the rightness or wrongness of that... just pointed it out in reference to the OP's remarks.

[Guest717236]

I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Long before this economy changed , having a steady job that you enjoy is more important to me than a job with big bucks where you are laid off every few years..

I left a job in management for nursing, took a pay cut initially but never looked back.

Over the years I more than made up for the pay difference because nursing

work was steady and at that time secure. I was able to navigate my career

choices rather than have my profession (management) downsize me every few years.

In the changing healthcare system, having more than one specialty is a good idea so you can weather the changes and keep working.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Teachers, fire fighters and police officers also have lives in their hands. In my opinion, they don't get paid nearly enough.

It depends. I used to live in Massachusetts, where fire fighters, police, and teachers were extremely well paid.

[surgicalcap]

I have typed this reply four times. LOL The money in nursing is good, the availibilty of jobs is good. I know people that are out of work for years with no hope of finding a job that has college degrees. I live in a small area and change jobs frequently looking for the right fit. The money is pretty much the same and I am very happy. I got into nursing because, I wanted a job. I stay in nursing because of my patients. I agree that some people get weeded out but some people actually find that it fits them and they are good at it.

[Spikey9001, BSN, RN]

I agree that nurses should be paid more. The nature of our work demands it. How do you justify paying other majors more money than us when they don't have lives in their hands?

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Around here bus drivers get paid more then I do (with much better benefits I might add)...then again, I suppose they have people's lives in their hands too (that being the case, you would think they could find the turn signal!!).

Sorry, little pet peeve of mine.

A few years ago I was talking to a friend who was director for an ADN program (non-profit for what it's worth). When talking about what responses were acceptable for "why do you want to be a nurse?" she thought it was okay for someone to include in their answer something about a good salary--if they phrased it in a good way:

"Why do you want to be a nurse?"

not so good answer: "for the money!"

better answer: "because I can help people and serve the community doing something I love while also earning a salary that allows me to create a better life for my family"

[opossum]

Seems like money used to be more of a motivator back when signing bonuses were in existence...in this economy, maybe we're seeing more of a passion for doing the work?

As a new grad, I can safely say that nursing jobs for us are SCARCE and the money is "meh" compared to other degrees. And this is not a job you could do for very long if your motivation is solely financial.