I'm looking for some advice on salary negotiation. I've applied to several residency programs but have found out many of them offer a salary between $20-$30/hr during the residency. I understand that during the residency, you are not a fully active employee and the hospital is investing many resources in you, thus a lower salary is justified. However, many residency programs do not include a pay raise in the contract once the residency is over. Although you have to factor in location and cost of living as well as experience, this report says the average RN salary is $79k per year, almost double some of these residency programs.
Am I being overeager by thinking that new grads with BSNs (and even additional Bachelor's and Master's degrees not related to nursing) deserve a pay raise once the residency is over? And is negotiation usually not an option with these programs? Without doing a residency program, you don't receive as much training and support but have the potential to make double the salary - it seems like a big trade-off.
