Nurse trying to scare me away from RN/Nursing in general

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I'm a CNA and will be starting (hopefully) LVN school this fall, but last weekend one of our agency RN's came for the holidays and I started asking her about her job and stuff. She is a 60 year old woman who has been in the business for decades, and told me she only makes $30 an hour. I said "but the LVN's here start at $27!" she said "I know, aweful isn't it?". She said everyone will try to glamour me about how much money I'll make as a nurse one day but the truth is they're more underpaid than they let on.

She told me just to stay away from the hard dirty work of nursing and go into computers (uhm, no) or maybe go to something higher than RN one day.

My goal is to one day be a nurse practitioner, but that could be 10 years down the road since I have to be an RN first for 2 years with most NP programs.

Are RN's really this underpaid though? Everywhere I read says RN's make 70-80 a year, is this woman right or is she just an unfortunate exception?

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Specializes in Delivering Quality Patient Care :).

Hopefully she's just trying to push your buttons with her comments. She's probably more overpaid than she lets on.:smokin:

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If she is 60 and has been a nurse for decades she has to make more then that an hour

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Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.

She's right you should not do it for the money.

I'm a new RN, my base pay is less than thirty but with differentials, bonuses and OT, I'll make about 63k this year working less than 80 hours every two weeks.

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I think it depends on the area, I know near me in Albany new york it's about $45. hr on their job posting site, however in Cooperstown, NY it is somewhat lower and is a smaller area.

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I just created an account after using this site as a resource to jumpstart into various threads for de facto nursing school reputations in my area...so to start off...Hello : )

I am no expert but after reading what seems to be a gazillion nursing forums, BLS data, and various county/state reports for areas I'm interested in...the 60 yr old RN is right and wrong. Its the Law of Averages: depending on the area, your level of training could yield lower or higher pay/opportunity. Keep a pulse on what is happening within your County/State - that will be an indicator of what awaits you in the next 5-10 years from what I seem to be gathering.

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Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

oh please, my sister in canada with her BSN started at $25 and was up to $31/hour in less than 2 years once she met the canadian residency requirement, that RN is either very lazy and hasnt upgraded her credentials in decades or pulling you leg or maybe sheś just doing contract work part-time or something.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

I subscribed to a thread on here a while back. It took me a while to find it, but it contains nurses who openly posted what they make yearly across the U.S. Again, it's an old thread, but you can look through all the posts to get an idea. Some you'll find to be very low and some to be very high. In hindsight, nurses are vital members of the healthcare team and will always be underpaid for the work they do.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/how-much-money-530444.html

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Specializes in critical care.

Salary.com is a great site for checking out potential salaries for your area. In my area, $30 an hour would actually be an acceptable pay amount. But, it is true that you shouldn't go into nursing for the money. With absolutely anything in life, you will burn out fast and hate your job if you're only going for a paycheck.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

Texas - 54 grand a year - but I do not work weekends or holidays nd normal daytime working hours. Not a hospital nurse. I have 18 years of experience and the compromise is well worth it for me.

I hear new grads hear start anywhere from 21 to 25 an hour. It seems the further south you go the lower the wages. The sun shine states are the worst!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

It may well be $30.00 an hour. I will tell you that in this profession it is entirely possible for wa seasoned nurse to be making less or the same as new grads. With all the layoffs and "restructuring" at the hospitals and "downsizing" that went on.....many were the senior nurses because they did make the most money. Then when these seasoned nurses went to find jobs we couldn't find them......a year passes and many have accepted jobs at entry level pay because they need work.

Very sad frankly...:mad:

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30 bucks an hour and she's 60?! I don't believe that! I'm in MS most rn's supposedly (not sure) start off with about 25 an hour. My friend's mother has been a nurse for over 40 and specializes. She makes as much as a doctor, therefore, she's having a hard time finding another hospital to hire her.

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