Nurses pay

a_clay · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by sierranic
From what I have seen, I think RN's get paid less in my state then most of the others. I am not a nurse, hope to be someday!! But I do have a friend that works at the hospital and she stated that they hire RN's at $15.57/hr starting out. I am also told that hospitals have a tendency to pay less then other locations, but searching at some of the local hospitals to work, I think we have 8-10 within 20 miles of me, the most I have seen was in the $16/hr range and the lowest was in the $14/hr range. The sad thing is that I currently have a job that pays more then what some nurses start out at, and my job didn't require a degree..... Go figure....

Many times when people think about how "little" they are getting paid they don't take into account the cost of living for their area. I'm originally from western KY and the pay was about the same as you in Iowa. BUT, I had a huge 2 bedroom apt. for $275 per month. Now that I'm in Dallas, TX I could probably get a job as an Rn (if I were out of school at about $21.00 per hour but you can't hardly find a decent place for less than $500.00 per month. Cost of living is a BIG factor in the pay that we receive much of the time.

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 9, 2004

Originally posted by Geeg
The starting salary is usually attractive to lure you in, but you will max out very soon.

yes. when new grads start out at $5-10 dollars less than veterans with 15-20 years, HOUSTON WE HAVE PROBLEM HERE! I have serious heartburn with this. Which is why I intend to break away from bedside nursing before I hit 10 years. That is the plan, anyhow.

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Feb 9, 2004

I've only been in the US (Phoenix) for 2 months, but I'm already earning over $60,000 with overtime. I just bought a brand new car too. I'm feeling the pinch right now because I have to continue paying my mortgage in the UK, and the exchange rate right now is horrible, but if I didn't have that I'd be very comfortable. I work extremely hard in ICU but I love the challenge and the rewards are many. There are more financial opportunities here than in the UK, and more chances to improve wages each year. In England you can only get so far and there is little room to earn more. I did best when doing full time ICU agency there.

The average starting wage for a nurse in the UK is £16,000, but when you take into account the exhange rate, that works out at about $30,000 anyway. Tax in England is higher too, but I actually took a pay cut coming over here, as I was earning about £40,000 in London as an ICU agency nurse...that's about $80,000. However, the cost of living in London is extortionate so it works out pretty even in the end. I don't think that's a bad wage, and I know that after a short while I will have the possibility of earning even more. I remember being poor and having crappy jobs, so I am just grateful to have this amazing and prestigious job that I love, and to be paid well for it.