FNP Oversaturation

Specialties NP

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I am in school for FNP. I keep hearing that it will be hard to find a job because of how many people are doing FNP. This has got me thinking I should maybe switch specialites. Is this gonna be a real problem? I live in a rural area and don't mind working here.

As much as there may be more pay in Norcal, the cost of living there is also very high. Side note, I am glad that bachelors is the preferred method for nurses nowadays, it should of been that way a long time ago.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.
ksisemo said:
These numbers are not AMA recommendations. They are based on the individual states' collaborative practice agreements.

No, this is "ideal world" scenario. The information for Michigan is completely incorrect. The grid makes it appear as if NPs are autonomous. NPs have less authority than PAs in MI.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
socal1 said:
As much as there may be more pay in Norcal, the cost of living there is also very high. Side note, I am glad that bachelors is the preferred method for nurses nowadays, it should of been that way a long time ago.

No necessarily true. The Bay Area of NoCal is extremely expensive. However, the rest of NoCal is not. Northeast California from Sacramento north and east has a very reasonable cost of living. I'm in a lovely rural area in NE Calif and am paying $750 a month rent for a nice 2BR 2BA house with a yard and I'm making as much as a new grad in the Bay Area.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Jules A said:
Yup my interest lines in my gross income and ability to support my family which are being destroyed as new people come in willing to work for less than established rates. I'm good at what I do but not so good that my employers will continue paying me $50,000-$80,000 more a year than the crop of new graduates who are flooding my local market willing to work for low wages.

In any profession, there is a disadvantage to being in the top 1% of salaried employees in that field, which is that it makes it harder to find a new job that will pay the same or more. That has always been the case. The term is "Golden Handcuffs." This is what you are experiencing. In addition, I don't understand why you are comparing your salary to that of new grads. You have a lot of experience and will always command a higher salary than a new grad. If you were to launch a serious job search, then your anecdotal evidence would carry more weight. If a prospective employer really wants you because of your experience, skills, and culture fit, then they will negotiate because they want YOU, especially if you can justify your compensation based on the revenue and value you will bring to the organization, as you have often pointed out. I guarantee that if you moved to California you would easily get a PMHNP position for $180 to $200K in an area with a lower cost of living than the metro DC-Baltimore area, which would be an effective 10 to 20% pay increase. If you went locums in California, you could get even more. Maybe you could get a California NP license and do telemedicine on the side to make some more $.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
djmatte said:
Did you seriously just compare the predictions of a federal agency that are found in clearly cited evidence to wage estimates from glassdoor et al which are literally an aggregate of opinion and non-validated information as if the two are equally invalid sources?

So you have an objection to individual state level estimates conducted by the state that indicate some states have a shortage of NPs that will persist to at least 2030?

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
ICUman said:
Maybe because she and many others are concerned with the health of the profession they practice in and want to be involved? But you don't understand that because you are a brand new NP and haven't seen the changes that have rapidly evolved in the NP profession in the last decade.

Why should it matter to you that people take active interest with that issue?

Personally, what I observe is that NP full practice authority is gaining traction, which is a good thing. As I have stated numerous time, having carefully watched the NP job market and compensation in California since 2010 (almost 10 years now), there has been no decrease in NP pay or job opportunities. This is also true in most of the Western U.S.

What I have an issue with is that there is a lot of negativity on this forum that can be very upsetting to NP students and new grads that does not accurately reflect reality. Most NPs I talk to in real life have never heard of this forum, are satisfied, and are too busy to participate in online discussions such as these. Since I have become busy at work, my participation here has dropped way down.

I am on here to provide some balance and reassure highly motivated and qualified NP students and new grads that this is a great career choice, as long as they have realistic expectations.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
Jules A said:
Yup my interest lines in my gross income and ability to support my family which are being destroyed as new people come in willing to work for less than established rates. I'm good at what I do but not so good that my employers will continue paying me $50,000-$80,000 more a year than the crop of new graduates who are flooding my local market willing to work for low wages.

Here is a recent survey indicating that NP salary is increasing, but that pay varies widely by region.

Bad Request

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
FullGlass said:
Here is a recent survey indicating that NP salary is increasing, but that pay varies widely by region.

Bad Request

I like the surveys because they are much more accurate than looking at the job search site information which as I have said many times is grossly under what I make even when looking specialty specific. I wish this was more detailed however because I wonder if the other 45% of NPs reported.

Lower rates? stagnant rates?

Side note I makes me sick that males continue making significantly more than females. C'mon ladies get it together. Know your worth and insist on it.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
Jules A said:
I like the surveys because they are much more accurate than looking at the job search site information which as I have said many times is grossly under what I make even when looking specialty specific. I wish this was more detailed however because I wonder if the other 45% of NPs reported.

Lower rates? stagnant rates?

Side note I makes me sick that males continue making significantly more than females. C'mon ladies get it together. Know your worth and insist on it.

Agreed. Quite shocking actually, and it makes me all the more likely to negotiate the heck out of my pay.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
Rocknurse said:
Agreed. Quite shocking actually, and it makes me all the more likely to negotiate the heck out of my pay.

Being willing to walk has made me over six figures. A majority of my jobs have started with me presenting my required rate, them saying no way, me saying ok thanks hanging up and getting phone call later with my original request. One time it took 3 months but the call came and not a peep about undercutting my rate.

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Jules A said:
Being willing to walk has made me over six figures. A majority of my jobs have started with me presenting my required rate, them saying no way, me saying ok thanks hanging up and getting phone call later with my original request. One time it took 3 months but the call came and not a peep about undercutting my rate.

Even as a new grad, negotiation isn't exactly out of the question...so long as you can sell yourself in the right light. I have extensive pain management background and in the world of opiate over-prescriptions, I found an ability to capitalize on my knowledge of establishing policies/procedures for opiate reduction and avoidance in the interview process. I pushed my first job to 100k and more time off when they offered 90 out the gate. Having other offers willing to pay to move and offering more leave made this negotiation easy. I usually encourage people to reach out far and wide even if they have no intention of moving as it gives more perspective to the local negotiations should you be lucky enough to find a local one.

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FullGlass said:

What I have an issue with is that there is a lot of negativity on this forum that can be very upsetting to NP students and new grads that does not accurately reflect reality.

For many, many people it is reality. There's no debating that.

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