LVN/LPN New Grad California Salary 2019-2020

[unknown_]

Hello everyone,

I have decided to go to a private school to become an LVN and because for sure there are people on here that will tell me to just go for my RN, I'll just answer that too. I'm choosing the LVN path due financial reasons, I got bills to pay and a family that I need to care for. This route I feel is the best for me and my family. Personally, taking it step by step is what comfortable for me. I also want to make sure that nursing is the right path for me. I just thought I'd ask out of curiosity how much new grads get paid in California specifically in LA are since there are no recent threads (2019-2020).

How long until you found a job after passing the class and of course getting licenses? How many interviews? What was your starting rate? (if you are comfortable can you please include which area) Did you negotiate or just took whatever they gave? Please feel free to drop as much details as you like ?

[gfrivera89, BSN, RN]

It depends on where you work. I’m from the Bay Area. When I graduated my LVN in 2013, I worked for an agency I believe getting paid $15 per hour. Then I worked for a Skilled nursing facility about a year later for $23. Then a year after that I got into Kaiser getting paid $39 starting and now get paid in the $40s.

[unknown_]

1 hour ago, gfrivera89 said:

It depends on where you work. I’m from the Bay Area. When I graduated my LVN in 2013, I worked for an agency I believe getting paid $15 per hour. Then I worked for a Skilled nursing facility about a year later for $23. Then a year after that I got into Kaiser getting paid $39 starting and now get paid in the $40s.

Thank you so much for the information. As a new grad in LA now, what do you think is a reasonable starting rate? and when you were a new grad were you/did you negotiate or just took the whatever was given to you at first?

[gfrivera89, BSN, RN]

I have never worked in LA but I know a few people who transferred down there from the Bay Area and they took like a $10 pay cut. Not sure if that is the same for the whole area down there. And I didn’t negotiate as a new grad and wouldn’t imagine negotiating because you are new and should take whatever is offered to get the experience in so you can later apply to other jobs that pay higher. Like I said I started off at an agency getting paid $15 per hour which was sad cuz the CNAs would tell me that they got paid $18 where I would go fill in at but it was a sacrifice I made to gain experience and get it on my resume. A few short years later I landed a job starting at $39 so was worth the low paying sacrifice.