Nursing Debt and Salary in Canada

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Hello,

Im just wondering if I can get some advice from Canadian Nurses. I currently have an undergrad degree in Business majoring in accounting, but am looking to go back to school for Nursing. I have been accepted into a program for the fall but am weighing the cost/benefits of the debt I would have to take on. I currently have about 27k in debt from my first degree, and would need to add on to it. I have a sister who is a nurse and she clears about 75k per year (working OT) 100k gross in nova scotia. My current job only pays about 40k and this is after a few years of working and getting several raises. Although my debt would significantly increase- it seems as though there is potential to pay it off quickly. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated, or any advice about the earning potential in other provinces as well.

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Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.

I'm thinking that being an OT in Nova Scotia sounds picturesque and lucrative. Also I am surprised that the take home pay is so high. I thought Canada has really high taxes to pay for health care

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Im just wondering if I can get some advice from Canadian Nurses.

Your post has been moved to the Canadian Nurses forum with the goal of accruing replies from nurses who live and work in Canada.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
I'm thinking that being an OT in Nova Scotia sounds picturesque and lucrative. Also I am surprised that the take home pay is so high. I thought Canada has really high taxes to pay for health care

The OP was referring to OVERTIME not occupational therapy. Provinces in Canada do have higher taxes than many US states but overall, I think the average Canadian has more security. The typical nurse in Canada will have a take-home pay about 25% less than their gross pay; with the exceptions of BC and Ontario there are no additional premiums for basic health care. Premiums for extended health benefits are in the range of $50 a payday and that covers things like prescription drugs, physiotherapy, chiropractic, dental and vision care and others. Not a bad deal.

JMAC17, the potential income for a full-time nurse at the beginning of his/her career varies by province with PEI, Ontario and Québec paying the least while Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan are neck-and-neck. Nova Scotia's full time nurses work the most hours. Alberta has the highest shift diffs for nights and weekends, Saskatchewan has the highest for evenings. Alberta also has the highest overtime pay rates. It's quite possible to pay down student debt fairly quickly as a nurse if that's your priority. But the hard part is to find a job these days.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hello,

Im just wondering if I can get some advice from Canadian Nurses. I currently have an undergrad degree in Business majoring in accounting, but am looking to go back to school for Nursing. I have been accepted into a program for the fall but am weighing the cost/benefits of the debt I would have to take on. I currently have about 27k in debt from my first degree, and would need to add on to it. I have a sister who is a nurse and she clears about 75k per year (working OT) 100k gross in nova scotia. My current job only pays about 40k and this is after a few years of working and getting several raises. Although my debt would significantly increase- it seems as though there is potential to pay it off quickly. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated, or any advice about the earning potential in other provinces as well.

Starting pay for a new grad RN in NS is approx $60,664 a year but this doesn't include nights and weekend pay or Overtime.

How long has your sister been qualified?

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She has been nursing for about 7 years. She does pick up a lot of overtime and has a lot of banked OT hours as well.

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thank you

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It's quite possible to pay down student debt fairly quickly as a nurse if that's your priority. But the hard part is to find a job these days.

This is surprising to me - It seems the nursing graduates that I know had no problems with employment- often times getting several offers.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

That used to be true. For the last couple of years it's been harder and harder for new grads to find work other than casual or temporary positions. My unit hired about a dozen new grads last year and almost all of them are gone now because their temps ended - meaning the people whose shoes they were filling returned to the workplace.

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Hello, before looking at the salary I would see if you are actually interested in what nurses do though. Accounting is very different from nursing and you might end up being in more debt if you start nursing and end up not liking it. I went through the same thing trying to figure out how to go about going into a business management program instead because I thought my personality was not really meant for nursing as I am very introverted. It's also very hard to find a job in nursing now but if you have connections and seems like you do since your sister is a nurse then you might land a job quicker than some people like me :) Good luck in your decisions though it's all up to you in the end.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Many recent grads are hired into casual or temporary positions to start. Casual has no guaranteed hours, so you could have full time hours one month and two shifts the following month. Full time positions are not easy to get anymore, depending where you live.

I am in Alberta and I worked full time permanent nights for four years. With the shift differentials I made over 80,000 my first year nursing. My loans were paid in two years.

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Your sister is grossing well over 100k to net 75. Trust me as I netted over 80 last year and I live in a VERY high taxed province.

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