Making 100k salary/ income as a nurse?

Nurses Career Support Nursing Q/A

I am interested in what specialties are making 100k. I have 3 daughters in nursing school and can advise them on a lot, but not necessarily give them a big pic of the financial opportunities from across the nation. I am a 25 year RN and have a 65k salary, but double it most years with ot. not much fun working 68-72 hour weeks though. please tell me your specialty, experience , salary, and salary with diff and ot. oh, and where you r in the USA thank you all and hope your practice is professionally and financially rewarding

Oh, I'm ICU but travel doing med surg/tele/ICU depending on what's around when I complete an assignment. Right now I'm doing tele and take home $2400/week.

Colorado as a new nurse in community health--->$60,000/year. 

It's expensive to live here but the job market is great and so is the quality of life.

I have a question, and most RNs are free to laugh cause I'm sure the ones with experience would probably never do this. If I'm a new grad..and say I get hired on at a hospital doing med surge and my schedule at work is 3 12's for the week...what if I wanted to work at another hospital that scheduled me 3 12's around my other 3 12's? As a second job? Is it doable? Is it recommended? Is it possible? Is it even legal? Has anyone ever done that when they were a new grad or now? I'd only do it for the extra experience and extra income considering I have student loans to pay back and just want them out of my life as soon as possible. (Who doesn't? I have yet to meet anyone with a mortgage to say they love their mortgage)..

This could be something for the OP. Btw, I'm in Las Vegas and not a nurse yet, just trying to get there and be done with school so I can enjoy life!

***Edit: Oh, and I'd probably do it for a year straight because I just hate living as a college student and not having my own money. After that, resign and work either one that I liked the best or keep doing it until I got sick of it. 6 days a week with one day off. I know as a CNA I could work doubles if I wanted to if the hospital or clinic was short CNA's but if nurses typically run 12 hours a day or more, that being a double shift doesn't sound possible or legal. I know one RN that did a triple shift and it was on accident. I hear those are illegal.

in philly? average.

Really varies. Average starting pay for a new grad between the major hospitals is around $30/hour. Goes up at the union hospitals, less for CHOP. Annual raises change dramatically. Hahnemann barely had them (sure it's changed now they're union) and Penn was $5.00 per hour at the end of year 1. Someone out of school can make around 58k/year with 0 OT, day shift straight 36. In my first year I made a bit over 65 with my OT, and working night. I think the state is around 70k/year average.

Specializes in ICU.

I had coworkers crack the 100k mark last year.

I probably would have cracked it myself if I wasn't going to school full time. I worked 5-6 12s a week all summer long, and picked up overtime in the spring when my class load was a little lighter. My base pay is 47k, but my W2 tells me I made 82k, and that was with no overtime during the fall semester because I could barely even work FT.

Making $100k is not about experience or specialty - all nurses in my hospital without advanced practice degrees are on the same pay scale. There is no different pay for different departments, and max base pay caps out well below 100k at my employer - I believe it's somewhere around $75k.

Cracking $100k as a bedside RN, in a low to moderate cost of living area, is about how much you're willing to kill yourself for your employer. Bonus points if you work somewhere especially short staffed - the more short staffed the employer, the better the bonuses are for coming in for overtime. We have several tiers of bonuses and have been on the highest one for more than two years now. Time and a half + $190 flat per shift +$5/hr + $1200 bonus if we get 128 hours of OT in 12 weeks. Of course, as you would expect, it's a crappy, high stress work environment where having more patients than we're supposed to is common.

Do you want $100k, or do you want a good job? In most parts of the country, as a bedside RN, you can't have both.

Specializes in Case Manager, Solid Organ Transplant Coordinator.

I am on the late freight with answering this question. I haven't read the other comments but I've worked in solid organ transplant for 11 years and it's a 6 figure job in most states with the certification/BSN included. Now if they are young and just starting out they probably will not get 6 figures. I was a RN for 12 years prior to becoming a transplant coordinator. I started as a transplant coordinator in California making $80k and after a year was making 6 figures thanks to union contract negotiations...but I also love what I do. The key is loving the job. The money will come once they find their passion.

I've been a nurse for going on 9 months and like many people said it's all about where you work. I was able to get into a management position at about 85k/yr with extremely good benefits and retirement. So it all depends on where you live and what you want to do.

On a side note, with the way current tax brackets are if you're shooting for 100k I would go for more like 150k. If you're breaking the 95k mark the new tax bracket basically makes it redundant until you're up over 110-115 unless you have a really good tax man.

Specializes in ER, Med-surg.
TheAtomicStig_702 said:
I have a question, and most RNs are free to laugh cause I'm sure the ones with experience would probably never do this. If I'm a new grad..and say I get hired on at a hospital doing med surge and my schedule at work is 3 12's for the week...what if I wanted to work at another hospital that scheduled me 3 12's around my other 3 12's? As a second job? Is it doable? Is it recommended? Is it possible? Is it even legal? Has anyone ever done that when they were a new grad or now? I'd only do it for the extra experience and extra income considering I have student loans to pay back and just want them out of my life as soon as possible. (Who doesn't? I have yet to meet anyone with a mortgage to say they love their mortgage)..

This could be something for the OP. Btw, I'm in Las Vegas and not a nurse yet, just trying to get there and be done with school so I can enjoy life!

***Edit: Oh, and I'd probably do it for a year straight because I just hate living as a college student and not having my own money. After that, resign and work either one that I liked the best or keep doing it until I got sick of it. 6 days a week with one day off. I know as a CNA I could work doubles if I wanted to if the hospital or clinic was short CNA's but if nurses typically run 12 hours a day or more, that being a double shift doesn't sound possible or legal. I know one RN that did a triple shift and it was on accident. I hear those are illegal.

Many nurses work a full-time 36 hour job and a second per diem/PRN job (which can vary in hours from as few as one shift a month to one or more a week). The per diem job usually pays more/hour as it has no benefits. The reason for this is that per diem jobs are very flexible and it's possible to schedule them around your full-time job.

It's essentially impossible to work two full time Nursing Jobs, because no full-time job is going to agree to schedule you around another full time job. You absolutely would run in to scheduling problems. It also makes no sense- most jobs have available overtime, and you would make far more working those hours somewhere where you're paid overtime than working a second job where you're somehow at 72 hours without overtime.

You also probably can't and definitely shouldn't take a second job of any kind while you're still a new grad. You have a *lot* to learn in that first year, which will include didactic classes outside your work time and a lengthy orientation- take the time to learn it properly. Any job that would be willing to hire you PRN as a new grad (and there wouldn't be many) is NOT a place you should work. PRN jobs are typically intended for experienced nurses who need minimal orientation to a unit and specialty. New grads typically need and get 3-6 months of orientation before being allowed to practice independently. You can see why good employers would be reluctant to hire people who need months of orientation for a job where they might only work one shift or less a week, right?

"Anesthesia nurse" is an advanced practice role that requires completing years more of highly competitive school and an additional licensing process.

Travel companies do not hire new grads for the same reasons that new grads aren't hired for PRN jobs- they are looking for experienced people who can hit the ground running in an under-staffed unit.

I make north of 100K as a med surg RN...but it takes me 2 years as I am a 0.6 w/ +1-2 shifts pickup per pay period. I raise my child, go to concerts, and travel. Although I would like to make more, I would not love to imbalance my life with more work.

I'm late replying to a few people who had a problem with my comment, but sometimes I wonder if you ever think about your money and appreciate how much you make compared to someone who does not or didn't have the opportunity you have to be where you are today. I'm not talking about starving children in Africa. More like, if you feel like this career isn't about the money, would you do it for a lot less at what you and all the other nurses in existence that work for the sick put up with? Sometimes you HAVE to think about yourself. Not "putting yourself before patients" but how much I've worked and can I afford a vacation?

I don't know what new grads get placed in and I accept that ignorance that is the experienced nurses' punching bag. The problem is seen, the solution is then made. Was it a good quality solution? No, not what I was looking for. "Nursing isn't about the money" also sounds like "I work 24/7 365 and have no problem if nursing salaries dropped to minimum wage". When I say I hope I get into nursing school, I think I know what I'm willing to deal with and sometimes, not 24/7 365, I'd like to think about taking time off occasionally to reduce some burnout, if I ever come to that point which I guess is common amongst nurses.

As others have said; it really is all local...

Here in NYC RNs are already pulling between 75k to near 94k per. It is not uncommon for a RN to do her (or his) three twelve's at their main gig, then pick up another eight (or 12 if their body can stand it) shift someplace else. This and or pick up some overtime. Either way you can earn around 13k -14k more per year. That is enough to push many close to if not above 100k per year.

Salary: Registered Nurse in New York City, NY | Glassdoor

I am a WEO nurse and even with an extra shift per week, I am no where near 100K more like 70. This is NC though Agree with PP about where you are and cost of living. I am in school for informatics and I am told it has the potential for 6 figures. Time will tell.

How are you liking Informatics? Are you taking Nursing Informatics or Health Informatics? I live in Charlotte and am looking at furthering my education for a higher salary earning. Thanks.

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