Nursing Educator Salary

Specialties Educators

Published

Hello Everyone,

I am interested in getting my MSN to be a college nursing educator. You know the professors who took us to the hospital for clinical and lectured in class? That's what I want to do..Just the feeling of taking nursing students to hospital for clinical excites me!!. I love teaching. Anyways to get to the point, I was wondering how much does a professor makes who teaches at ADN programs?. I checked in google and I am getting all different kinds of number. So if anyone can pls give me an idea, that will really help!. Waiting for feedback. Thanks guys!

I am an instructor. I make 55k for a 9 month contract. Summers are optional and not guaranteed as we do not run clinical in the summer.

As an adjunct (doing only clinical) I made approximately $40/hour. For the clinical hours only, not grading. This is a great second job, in my opinion. And it is a great way to "try out" being an instructor.

First off, you never go into teaching for money. Ever. It has to be something you love. There are benefits. No weekends, no holidays, school breaks off. In some cases you may receive reduced tuition for your children. You are eligible for student loan repayment programs. It is by far the hardest job I have ever had. It is disheartening that most people discourage teaching. We need knowledgeable, competent, enthusiastic faculty and unfortunately the money is just not there.

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Specializes in critical thinking and problem solving.

I've been teaching for 30 years, and coaching NCLEX for the past 8 years. Believe me, I don't do it for the money. If teaching is a vocation for you or you can teach one or two evenings a week as a supplement to your clinical work, it is very rewarding. There's nothing better than the gratitude that comes back to you when a GN passes the NCLEX. It's a sense of purpose that it worth more than a million dollars. I highly recommend it.

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Specializes in Occ. Hlth, Education, ICU, Med-Surg.
Hello Everyone,

I am interested in getting my MSN to be a college nursing educator. You know the professors who took us to the hospital for clinical and lectured in class? That's what I want to do..Just the feeling of taking nursing students to hospital for clinical excites me!!. I love teaching. Anyways to get to the point, I was wondering how much does a professor makes who teaches at ADN programs?. I checked in google and I am getting all different kinds of number. So if anyone can pls give me an idea, that will really help!. Waiting for feedback. Thanks guys!

No definitive answer to this question except for you WILL take a significant paycut from a hospital-based position.

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I have also been teaching for almost 30 years. It is very sad that the students who graduate from our ADN program will be making more by the end of their first or second year than I do! However, I love the impact I have on the nursing profession of the future.

Now that I am beginning to look at retirement strategies, the poor pay is really hitting home -- there is no way I can live more than a minimalist lifestyle with my retirement benefits. Maybe I should have stayed at the bedside and done teaching part-time? NO....at least I know the students I helped "train" will be able to provide the care I need in the future.

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Specializes in LTC, Medical, Rehab, Psych.

What I find interesting about this is the idea that bedside nurses make $$$. You're kidding, right? For the amount of responsibility and liability, nursing is hardly lucrative. It's a "job job" for most of us at best. I work on-call and earn more than my peers with similar experience but it's hardly an income to brag about. I'm just the supplemental income in my family, not the breadwinner, and I earn the average salary for my area on PART time work.

I am personally actually considering obtaining a teaching cert to teach biology, chemistry, life science and health for middle/high school students (I have a non-nursing science degree). Will I earn less money? Yes. A whole lot less? Not really, considering it's a 9-month work year. Will I work harder every day? I WORK VERY HARD NOW and I deal with about as much s#$% as a lowly teacher any day of the week (I would argue MORE). The difference? I literally won't be wiping up s$%^ when my aid is busy. Besides needing to do a little babysitting (I don't do this now?), I can't quite figure out why it would be any worse. And could I do it for 10-15 years? (This would be my Third career) Sure I can! If I can put up with nursing, I can put up with ANYTHING.

If you want to teach nursing, go do it. To hell with the "extra money." Think about everything you WOULDN'T have to do anymore. Oh, I'm sure there's something.....

Bedside nursing is a burnout job. With the many newer stricter regulations coming down the cue (see fewer rights for nurses), I'm getting myself out while I'm still young enough to do so.

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To compare, I was making 75k/year as a bedside nurse, and I was and still am the primary wage earner in my family. I make 55k/9months as an instructor.

I work the bedside PRN and bring in another 20k or so by working summers and occasional weekends. So I'm about even.

However my retirement from the college is far superior than any bedside job I have ever held.

There are pros and cons, just like with any other job.

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I stopped letting money be my motivating factor long ago. I work 2-3 adjunct jobs per semester. All are part-time; some pay hourly, others give a set amount of money for the semester. I am also given hourly pay each week for the work I do at home (such as grading papers). Yes, educators make less money. Educators also do not work 12 hour shifts coming into contact with blood and bodily fluids. I don't come home from my educator job feeling completely defeated and exhausted. I don't spend my time running around like a mad woman, holding my pee and starving. I don't have to deal with all of the politics that come with hospital nursing, and being adjunct at the college, I don't worry about it there either. I think it really depends on one's perspective and what they find most important. And as others have mentioned, educating can be very rewarding! :)

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Specializes in Tele, Stepdown, Med/Surg, education.

I live in St. Louis. The going rate is 60k. Adjunct is like 4000-4500 a semester. Sometimes they don't take out taxes. I am always working from home evening and weekends. Prepping, changing/editing, reading, powerpointing, podcasting, thinking of new ways to motivate the " entitled" generation.

I love teaching but man I know I work 60 hours/wk

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Specializes in Tele, Stepdown, Med/Surg, education.

I agree but some days I do feel a little defeated í ½í¸”

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Depends on the state. I was an adjunct clinical instructor here in NH while I was getting my MSN for FNP and made $50/hr doing it. I did it one day a week (Sat or Sun) for a full semester and made $9800/semester just doing Jan-April. Again, I was getting my MSN as a FNP so you don't need your CNE, at least in NH. A lot of places will take NPs and give them clinical instructor jobs. I've interviewed at other schools that have wanted to pay me $28-35/hr which just isn't worth it for me given that I was making $50/hr elsewhere. While I was in grad school it was good to have the extra income when my husband's car needed repairs, tuition, etc.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Education, research, telemetry, med/surg.

I think it depends on where you go. In my area, I am getting paid more as an educator that I would as a bedside RN. They pay pennies around here, because the market is so saturated with RNs.

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Specializes in OB.

What about online adjunct faculty? Can anyone give a ball park expected salary for that? Thanks!

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