new grad salaries

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Hi, I graduate Dec 2012 (and do not know what type of nursing I want to do yet). The problem is, my husband lives and works in DC and i stayed behind with my children in Charlotte, NC to finish nursing school. We are trying to decide if we will move to DC, or if my husband will relocate back to Charlotte and need to know what new grad salaries are like in both areas. If I move to the DC area, it will most likely be the Maryland suburbs of DC. Also, since I do not know what area of nursing I will be working in, I will just assume (for now) med surge in the hospital for the purposes of this post. Any info would be great!

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I think that every location and hospital has different starting wages. This might be a good idea to ask this question under U.S./Washington D.C. nursing at the top of the page. If you haven't already. Washington DC Nurses

I know in my area, grad nurses start around $20/hr. Also, one needs to take into account if they are working nights which may have a $1-3 differential. And, what degree one has: ADN/ASN, BSN, etc. I know its a minimal change. As for what area in nursing, I couldn't say. I know I'm still debating on what area I'd like to be in too. Honestly, I will just be happy to be employed in a hospital after graduation! :lol2: I can understand how you must feel about this. I do feel Med-Surg will give you a rounded foundation for one's nursing skills. From there on, its one's own preferences of what one likes. I've known people who have jumped right into their specialty of choice and others who have not.

Best wishes! :)

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I know that salary.com reports wages based on zip codes, I'm just not sure how accurate it is. It might give you a rough estimate. Good luck!

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Hi, I graduate Dec 2012 (and do not know what type of nursing I want to do yet). The problem is, my husband lives and works in DC and i stayed behind with my children in Charlotte, NC to finish nursing school. We are trying to decide if we will move to DC, or if my husband will relocate back to Charlotte and need to know what new grad salaries are like in both areas. If I move to the DC area, it will most likely be the Maryland suburbs of DC. Also, since I do not know what area of nursing I will be working in, I will just assume (for now) med surge in the hospital for the purposes of this post. Any info would be great!

Btw...I have been on many salary sites, but these do not seem to give me an accurate picture since most of what I have seen are most likely for experienced nurses and not new grads. From what I have researched so far, salaries are around 50K in Charlotte and 75K in the DC area.

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New grads make anywhere from $24/ hr to just short of $28 in the greater DC area. I don't believe there are any that are actually $28/ hr or higher. Differentials for nights and weekends have a significant range, as well as variations in how they are calculated. I would say the annual range around here is going to be 45K- 60K, though you're only going to get up to the higher end of that if you work straight nights. Many hospitals in this area rotate days/ nights, though some do actually hire for a specific shift.

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On salary.com it shows a range of salaries, so if you assume that you are on the lower end of the spectrum (new grad) it could be helpful.

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Per my school, NG pay in Charlotte is approximately $20/hr.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Hi. I'm not from any of those two areas, but because I've been on AN for a while and seen other nurses on here talk about salary, I did see one who is from the D.C. area discussion she makes very good money. I think she said around $70-80K doing PRN. I remember her mentioning at her age of 23 most of her friends weren't making nearly that much in their other jobs. Heck, it made me think about the possibility of D.C., but cost of living is a factor.

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