New to California, pay rate questions

caliotter3 · Jan 27, 2014

Keep an eye out for the job listings on craigslist. Often, they will contain pay rates. Also look at any threads here that are a listing of pay rates. There will be a difference depending upon the type of hh that you engage in, intermittent visits or extended care. Not much available at the RN level in extended care, so be prepared to get told you will be getting the LVN rate if you choose to do this type of work. Few agencies increase the hourly rate for an RN over an LVN anymore. And keep in mind that many agencies in

SoCal have been lowering their wages across the board over the last several years because they have been able to take advantage of "the economy" as an excuse. You have to be able to "state your case" to prevent being victimized by lowballing.

annacat · Jan 27, 2014

Wow!

Thanks for the reply. That explains the low offer. I definitely don't want to take the LVN rate. I worked way to hard to get through my bachelors degree program and have excellent training from a very prestigious hospital.

I will definitely not be settling and would rather take a hospital job and get paid a decent wage.

I will see what I can do to work with them but if they won't come up I will be looking else where.

I really appreciate your honesty!

Sam J. · Jan 27, 2014

I have a job offer but it seems low for this area. I was definitely expecting to make more money in Orange County than I did in Baltimore.

It seems almost everyone in here wants to move to CA. It defies logic that places that are so expensive (welcome to Orange County, isn't it gorgeous??) pay nurses so low. HHA in much of this state pay RNs at LVN level, and LVN pay in most of CA is slipping backward, slowly but surely. If more people came to CA for an extended visit before moving here, more people would stay away from CA. It's shocking, but the nurse unemployment rate is so high all over CA, this trend will continue.

If you do an online search you'll get an earful of information:

-How much does xxx agency pay in Orange County, CA?

-Worst agency to work for in Orange County, CA?

-Best agency for RN work in Orange County, CA?

-Why is xxx agency in Orange County, CA, so awful to work for?

You'll get real time pay indicators, and other business practices, and might even find an agency (or other job) that is highly recommended.

As far as CL- the truth is that many if not most of the nursing jobs posted don't exist- they are simply gathering information from people, and it's amazing how many people send in resumes to those ads having no idea who posted them. See for yourself how many of those ads don't have phone numbers, physical addresses, or even the name of the 'company'. Why? One reason I'm aware of is that they can tell employees, hey- if you don't like your job or pay I have 200 resumes here from nurses that would LOVE to have your job. And the downward pay pressure continues.