Missouri has lowest pay?

[2bNurseguru]

From waht I am reading in the previous threads, it loks like St. Louis has one of the lowest pays for nurses in the country. Is this true? I know the cost of living is not that high but there seems to be other states with low cost of living but much better pay for nurses. I wanted to go back and pursue an RN but I am getting discouraged by the low starting pay since I currently make $19/hr in my current position as Community Nutritionist. I thought that combining RD with RN credential would put me at a competitive edge but the salaries are really discouraging.

[BeccaznRN, RN]

The low new-grad starting salaries are just that.....starting salaries. You could always negotiate for a higher salary based on your experience and previous degree. The cost of living in the St. Louis area is pretty low and there are some fabulous hospitals to begin your nursing career in! St. Louis is a great town, IMO, with a rich history and plenty of things to do and see. The salary may be a bit of a trade-off, but also your salary will go up as you get experience! Gals that have been nurses for 15-20 years where I'm doing clinical hours are making around $30 an hour. And the hospitals here have great benefits!

Best of luck to you!

[2bNurseguru]

The low new-grad starting salaries are just that.....starting salaries. You could always negotiate for a higher salary based on your experience and previous degree. The cost of living in the St. Louis area is pretty low and there are some fabulous hospitals to begin your nursing career in! St. Louis is a great town, IMO, with a rich history and plenty of things to do and see. The salary may be a bit of a trade-off, but also your salary will go up as you get experience! Gals that have been nurses for 15-20 years where I'm doing clinical hours are making around $30 an hour. And the hospitals here have great benefits!

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the reply. That doesn't seem much though considering what it takes to go though nursing school, students loans accumulated and also what it takes to be a nurse. That salary is pretty discouraging especially after 15-20 years in the field. I currently make $19/hr with only 5 years experience and no students loans plus a 8-5 job. I really want to go into nursing but the numbers make me feel like I will be going backwards instead of foward.