I'm gathering that this is a theme in our field, unfortunately...
So after graduating and spending nearly a year of applying for positions as an APRN, I finally scored several interviews and a couple of offers. I'm particularly interested in one of the positions, which offers amazing health insurance benefits for my family (employer pays 80% of premium) but the salary that they offered me is embarrassing. Let's just say it's less than $70,000, but more than $60,000. Large University (i.e. state) position in a city w/population of approximately 100,000 people.
There are other APRNs in this same practice, currently with 10 years experience, who are making $79,000 - $83,000.
- No CME
- No productivity bonus
- 33 days of PTO, including vacation, sick, and personal days
- very good health insurance plans w/employer paying 80+% of premium
- malpractice covered
- excellent potential for career advancement (I plan to advance my APRN education)
My instincts tell me this particular position is The One; this is the position I'm going to love, love what I do, love where I am, and love my coworkers. The health insurance is extremely appealing and I'm assuming that is a big reason why they offer such low salaries. The other position I've been offered is $10,000/year more, but employer only pays 20% of health insurance premium, so I have to automatically deduct $16,000/year from my salary just for that.
I plan to make a counter offer but that is where I'm struggling. I'm truly dismayed at the low salary but I also feel very strongly this particular position is my calling. I need to be able to justify why I'm asking for more $$, considering I'm a new NP. Aside from figuring in CME and license/certification costs, what other suggestions should I make?
Specializes in Obstetrics & Gynecology,Medical/Surgical.
Thank you everyone, for your responses thus far!
I have counter-offered with Job B, due to CME, costs of maintaining licensing/certifications, and professional memberships, and am currently awaiting a response.
At Job B, the employer pays 83% of the health insurance premium (they are paying $1100-1300/month depending on the plan chosen). This is a difference between my paying $16,000 per year with a very large deductible for insurance to cover my family (I have young children, and we MUST have health insurance) or $3,400 a year with $0 deductible. Huge difference in take home pay!! So I take the salary they offered and add $16,000 to the salary, and that actually significantly raises it to the $80,000/year range. If I accept the other position (which the salary offer in the mid-70s but I would pay $16,000/year for health insurance), then I will still TAKE HOME LESS each year than I would with Job A.
Additionally, there is tuition reimbursement and retirement (401a or 403b).
6 month probationary period and then there will be a review. I am told that new NPs are typically not profitable for the first 6 months, anyway...and I fully expect I, too, will be slow to start!
I am extremely hesitant to turn down offers at this point, as I have been job searching for a year as it is, and though I'm working as an RN in my field, my family is struggling financially and my student loans are looming...
I actually disagree with PsychGuy. It is very possible to love your job. I LOVE the field I have chosen.
All of your responses are very helpful and I have pored over this site on this very topic. I, too, worry that accepting lower salaries only continues to hurt our profession but when you already feel you've few or no choices, it sure puts us in a bad place.
I actually disagree with PsychGuy. It is very possible to love your job. I LOVE the field I have chosen.
I like all my jobs and have loved some in the past however not once ever considered working for insulting wages to take or keep a desired one. For some reason nurses tend to get self-righteous about how much they love their job and justify working for crap wages something I don't understand but suspect falls under the the Lady doth protest too much theme. Avoid that trap. :)
I refused low ball offers because I need to be able to pay my loans and live. Also, I just spent 4 years in a BSN-DNP program. I simply worked too darn hard to get to this point to be low balled. I literally had to explain that to one practice that did not think I was being realistic as a new graduate. I just smiled and said I'm sorry but we are just too far apart on compensation. I couldn't believe some offers. A friend of mine was offered 69,500 for Urgent Care. These places wonder why no one is taking these positions.
Maybe they are expecting you to step up and make a counter offer. You never take the first offer. Doing so is unprofessional and keeps the bar low for the profession. That said, somewhere between 60 and 70K is a joke. I made more 16 years ago as an RN working agency/surgical staffing. Counter with 100K and see what they do. They won't give it to you, but somebody else will. You have worked hard, and your education plus years of hands on experience as an RN prior to becoming and NP are highly valuable. Nurses get low balled. even APRNs. It's a sad fact. Counter, then say no to anything below your decided market value. Let me them get hungry.
I agree that you should negotiate! You may not be able to get to a desirable or "fair" salary as that is extremely low compared to the average NP salary in (from what I gather) any region of the country but you have to try! I am also a new grad NP and I know how desperate it gets but if we accept these low salaries they will continue to get away with paying us so insultingly (IMO) low.
Specializes in Obstetrics & Gynecology,Medical/Surgical.
What would you all do for a position in which the current APRNs on staff, with 10+ years of experience, are being paid $77,000-84,000? (to be fair, this may just be their base salary and does not include bonuses or other incentives). It would definitely be arrogant for a new grad to come in demanding $100k base. I would be laughed out the door.
Salary information of every single employee is made public since it is a public institution. Also noted - physician residents in this system make between $53,000-56,000.
I have counter-offered with Job B, due to CME, costs of maintaining licensing/certifications, and professional memberships, and am currently awaiting a response.
At Job B, the employer pays 83% of the health insurance premium (they are paying $1100-1300/month depending on the plan chosen). This is a difference between my paying $16,000 per year with a very large deductible for insurance to cover my family (I have young children, and we MUST have health insurance) or $3,400 a year with $0 deductible. Huge difference in take home pay!! So I take the salary they offered and add $16,000 to the salary, and that actually significantly raises it to the $80,000/year range. If I accept the other position (which the salary offer in the mid-70s but I would pay $16,000/year for health insurance), then I will still TAKE HOME LESS each year than I would with Job A.
Additionally, there is tuition reimbursement and retirement (401a or 403b).
6 month probationary period and then there will be a review. I am told that new NPs are typically not profitable for the first 6 months, anyway...and I fully expect I, too, will be slow to start!
I am extremely hesitant to turn down offers at this point, as I have been job searching for a year as it is, and though I'm working as an RN in my field, my family is struggling financially and my student loans are looming...
I actually disagree with PsychGuy. It is very possible to love your job. I LOVE the field I have chosen.
All of your responses are very helpful and I have pored over this site on this very topic. I, too, worry that accepting lower salaries only continues to hurt our profession but when you already feel you've few or no choices, it sure puts us in a bad place.
I said most people don't "truly love" their job, and thats a fact. Plenty of research is there. It's possible but not at all necessary to have a good life.
What would you all do for a position in which the current APRNs on staff, with 10+ years of experience, are being paid $77,000-84,000? (to be fair, this may just be their base salary and does not include bonuses or other incentives). It would definitely be arrogant for a new grad to come in demanding $100k base. I would be laughed out the door.
Salary information of every single employee is made public since it is a public institution. Also noted - physician residents in this system make between $53,000-56,000.
Physician residents have nothing to do with NPs and I don't care if an employer who is offering a terrible salary laughs at me. I love LucyLou's suggestion to go in with what is a fair and decent counter although likely they will not agree to it.
As for current NPs often places will bring in new employees at higher rates as things change which is a shame for them but not your problem. I had a somewhat similar situation with FNPs in a hospital system where I went in at $70,000 a year more than their average. My brief response is thats a shame they are willing to work for so little and I quickly changed the subject. I got my rate which isn't negotiable, even as a new grad I had plenty of NP friends and Docs so I knew what the area would support and back then we didn't get or expect an orientation so I knew I'd be earning my wages immediately.
What would you all do for a position in which the current APRNs on staff, with 10+ years of experience, are being paid $77,000-84,000? (to be fair, this may just be their base salary and does not include bonuses or other incentives). It would definitely be arrogant for a new grad to come in demanding $100k base. I would be laughed out the door.
Salary information of every single employee is made public since it is a public institution. Also noted - physician residents in this system make between $53,000-56,000.
Why not? I laughed at a personnel director wanting to give me $55/hr on a fill in my free time job. She said that was the max they could pay an APN. I told her that was nonsense when iIcould bill $480/hr. I told her what I wanted, and she said their doctors barely make that. I said I didn't care and suggested she find better doctors.
It is very possible to love your job. I LOVE the field I have chosen. 
RNpandoraRN
98 Posts
Thank you everyone, for your responses thus far!
I have counter-offered with Job B, due to CME, costs of maintaining licensing/certifications, and professional memberships, and am currently awaiting a response.
At Job B, the employer pays 83% of the health insurance premium (they are paying $1100-1300/month depending on the plan chosen). This is a difference between my paying $16,000 per year with a very large deductible for insurance to cover my family (I have young children, and we MUST have health insurance) or $3,400 a year with $0 deductible. Huge difference in take home pay!! So I take the salary they offered and add $16,000 to the salary, and that actually significantly raises it to the $80,000/year range. If I accept the other position (which the salary offer in the mid-70s but I would pay $16,000/year for health insurance), then I will still TAKE HOME LESS each year than I would with Job A.
Additionally, there is tuition reimbursement and retirement (401a or 403b).
6 month probationary period and then there will be a review. I am told that new NPs are typically not profitable for the first 6 months, anyway...and I fully expect I, too, will be slow to start!
I am extremely hesitant to turn down offers at this point, as I have been job searching for a year as it is, and though I'm working as an RN in my field, my family is struggling financially and my student loans are looming...
I actually disagree with PsychGuy.
It is very possible to love your job. I LOVE the field I have chosen.
All of your responses are very helpful and I have pored over this site on this very topic. I, too, worry that accepting lower salaries only continues to hurt our profession but when you already feel you've few or no choices, it sure puts us in a bad place.