New RN...Am I being under paid???

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Specializes in Trauma-Surgical, Case Management, Clinic.

I'm a new nurse working at a hospital in Mississippi. I work full-time and after taxes my take home pay is around $2,600 a month. That comes out to around $31,200 a year. I know that cost of living and salaries are different everywhere but this seems very low to me. I was under the impression that a nurse's salarly was more than that. I have a BSN, lots of student loans, and this is all I'm earning. I was making around $25,000 a year waiting tables part-time while I was in school and now I'm only making a few extra thousand working full-time as a nurse. Something is not right about this picture.

Am I being under paid or is this around what other nurses out there are making??????????

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It might be the area where you are working, but that is very low. If you want to put a spin on it for yourself, be thankful you are making anything at all. There are many nurses who can not get a job to save their life at this time. Better to be low paid, than not paid at all, and unable to draw unemployment or other public assistance.

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RNs in San Francisco earn from $45 to $55 an hour on average, but that is San Francisco. And it is almost impossible for an RN to get a job in San Francisco. Use that figure for comparison, if you want to get depressed.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

If you are going to be comparing pay ... be sure you are comparing apples to apples ... oranges to oranges. I notice that your OP said "take home pay," not total pay. When other people talk about salaries, they usually refer to the total pay before taxes and benefits are taken out. That would make the difference between your pay and their pay seem a lot bigger than it really is. That may be where you are getting the impression that everyone is making a lot more than you are.

For example, I have approximately 50% of my pay taken out for taxes, retirement, etc.: so, the figures for total pay and take home pay for me are VERY different. I have over 30 years of experience and make about $85,000 per year -- but my take home pay is closer to $42,000 per year.

So ... how much are you making per hour (or per year) before taxes etc. are taken out?

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
I'm a new nurse working at a hospital in Mississippi. I work full-time and after taxes my take home pay is around $2,600 a month. That comes out to around $31,200 a year. Am I being under paid or is this around what other nurses out there are making??????????

If that's your take-home pay, you're being paid more than new grads in my area are.

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I hear that the cost of living in MS is very low so your salary may not be that bad. In NYC a new grad RN can start anywhere from $62-$76k/year.

The thing is that a 1 bedroom apt can run from $900-$2500/month depending on what borough and neighborhood you want to live in. I have a co-worker who stayed in the Bronx and found a 1 bed for $900 and another co-worker who pays $2500 to live in a doorman building in mid-town Manhattan.

So Op, tell us a little more about your COL? How much is a 1 bed apt in MS? The average house? Utilities? $31k sounds low to people on the coasts but that 31k might buy more than 80k or 90kin San Francisco.

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Specializes in SICU, MICU, Med/Surg, ER, Private Duty.
I'm a new nurse working at a hospital in Mississippi. I work full-time and after taxes my take home pay is around $2,600 a month. That comes out to around $31,200 a year. I know that cost of living and salaries are different everywhere but this seems very low to me. I was under the impression that a nurse's salarly was more than that. I have a BSN, lots of student loans, and this is all I'm earning. I was making around $25,000 a year waiting tables part-time while I was in school and now I'm only making a few extra thousand working full-time as a nurse. Something is not right about this picture.

Am I being under paid or is this around what other nurses out there are making??????????

wow, 31,000 a year.. ur kidding me.. horrible.. maybe you might want to move.. !

where I live a new grad starting salary is about $75000 in New York... but then again the cost of living is high in new york.. so its a no win situation...

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

I'm assuming that you live in the midwest. When I started as a new grad, I was working in a city with a very low cost of living, and a glutt of hospitals. As a result, new grads like myself had starting salary's around $19.50/hr. I averaged $2200/month, if I didn't do any overtime. I am also assuming that besides student loans and any other debt you may have, that for where you live, this is probably enough to find decent housing, pay utilities, buy essentials, etc. I was able to live decently on such a salary, but the catch is at the time I had no student loans. Are you willing to work overtime? If so you could always pick up an extra shift or two. You can also look into a part-time or per diem job.

Good luck.

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I'm a new nurse working at a hospital in Mississippi. I work full-time and after taxes my take home pay is around $2,600 a month. That comes out to around $31,200 a year. I know that cost of living and salaries are different everywhere but this seems very low to me. I was under the impression that a nurse's salarly was more than that. I have a BSN, lots of student loans, and this is all I'm earning. I was making around $25,000 a year waiting tables part-time while I was in school and now I'm only making a few extra thousand working full-time as a nurse. Something is not right about this picture.

Am I being under paid or is this around what other nurses out there are making??????????

Have you had a chance to read through the following thread?

https://allnurses.com/mississippi-nurses/want-real-scoop-149651.html

It's from the Mississippi board. It started in 2006, but it has recent posts from this year towards the end. I just briefly looked over some of the posts. I'm guessing what you are making is about average, if you add what they take out for taxes. Hope it helps some.

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wow, 31,000 a year.. ur kidding me.. horrible.. maybe you might want to move.. !

where I live a new grad starting salary is about $75000 in New York... but then again the cost of living is high in new york.. so its a no win situation...

yea cost of living is a lot higher in NY and if we're getting paid 31k a year in this city as a nurse, something is not right. your salary is low but think about each area. just be lucky that you even have a job in this type of economy b/c lots of new grads are struggling to get a job even after 1-2 years. After you get your experience, just transfer out :twocents:

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Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.

IDK that sounds low. I make more doing LTC as an LPN in Buffalo, NY. But I've been one for 6 years and that's my pay before taxes, insurance, and my 401(k).

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Specializes in CCU.

I'm a new grad in oklahoma, and honestly I am disgusted at the starting RN wages here, around 18-19 hr. Some maybe making 20hr. And because I am in orientation, I am not allowed to go into overtime as an orientee. I think I am grossly underpaid here. Cost of living is not that bad but it aint all that cheap to me like others say it is when you factor in the commute and traveling expenses. Plus benefits arent that cheap. I dont know, I'm majorly disappointed and I'm thinking about getting a second job waiting tables myself.

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