Comparison of US and UK pay

RGN1 · Feb 23, 2007

Thanks XB9S I wasnt trying to say I didnt work hard in the UK i did of course who doesnt. I was just trying to point out it is busy here too and you work as hard just in a different way.
I try very hard to try and prepare you all for a little reality but maybe I should just keep quiet, as I end up annoying and not helping.

We all really appreciate your posts Madwife - your advice has always been & continues to be invaluable. Please don't stop!

It's just that the NHS you left is much changed now & life in the UK is different too - there is sooooooo much stealth tax going on it's untrue & the latest plan is for pay per mile driving - we'll all have to have black boxes in our cars & be charged per mile according to the time of day. That's on top of extortionate car tax, TV license fees, wheelie bin chips to charge us if we throw too much rubbish away, CCTV cars to snap you & fine you if you dare to park even a few minutes on a yellow line - even if you have a flat tyre (that happened to a friend!) etc etc.

I promise you I don't see the USA through rose tinted glasses - partly thanks to your info - but I just want to get out of the UK & as we have friends & property in the USA it makes sense to try there. If I really hate it I'll move on to Oz!! :lol2:

english_nurse · Feb 23, 2007

all aboard the next bus to OZ

i will drive lol

Silverdragon102, BSN · Feb 23, 2007

all aboard the next bus to OZ
i will drive lol

:lol_hitti

arys1075 · Feb 24, 2007

in addition to what the members of this forum say, better you try to work there, nothing will lose but everything will gain as long as you work with contentment. there are also some differences, advantages & disadvantages & lot of things to be considered depending on your circumstances & needs.

"the joyful heart is good medicine" :roll

i am a
rn
working in the us. i am just beginning to look into the comparison of pay and cost of living. if i moved to the uk, can i expect to make more or less? can anyone give me any information on this? also, is the shortage of nurses in the uk comparable to the shortage we have here. any information would be greatly appreciated.

Belinda-wales, RN · Mar 2, 2007

well I know feel a little bit qualified to answer this question the cost of living from wher I lived in the UK and gilbert AZ I feel is about the same by the time everything evens out that is some things more expensive in UK than Usa and some things more expensive in the usa than UK but i think it ends up about even. Now for wages well we earn twice as much here in the us than we did i the uk and we are near the bottom of the pay scale here and planning to move up and was near or at the top of the pay scale in the uk as thay say sate side you do the math.....

RGN1 · Mar 2, 2007

I dont know why you would only be earning £7.67 per hour. Band 5 point 3 at £19166 PA is the lowest start point for an RN (as quoted by the RCN) and that works out to £9.80 an hour so even if you are newly qualified you should be earning way more tham £7.67 an hour. Wherever it was that paid you that are totally ripping you off. As for relaxing in a jacuzzi, get yourself off to BandQ, they do some great offers on whirlpools!!

I took that figure right off the last pay slip I got from my NHS trust - which I left in Jan 2006. Although I just noticed I wrote 67p instead of 76p but 9p isn't exactly much! That figure admittedly didn't include fringe benefit but that only adds a few 100 £'s annually.

Couldn't fit a whirlpool in my silly little terraced house that has a current market value that is more than it cost to build my huge 5 bed US house. Could get one in the garden but most of the year it would be too cold to use plus I'd make the neighbours ill as they would have to look at me in my swimmies - no-one close enough (bar using binoculars) to my US house to see!

english_nurse · Mar 2, 2007

aww im sure you look great in your swimmies :):)

english_nurse · Mar 2, 2007

well I know feel a little bit qualified to answer this question the cost of living from wher I lived in the UK and gilbert AZ I feel is about the same by the time everything evens out that is some things more expensive in UK than Usa and some things more expensive in the usa than UK but i think it ends up about even. Now for wages well we earn twice as much here in the us than we did i the uk and we are near the bottom of the pay scale here and planning to move up and was near or at the top of the pay scale in the uk as thay say sate side you do the math.....

Im sure you and Mr OG will not be at the bottom of the payscale for long :)

RGN1 · Mar 2, 2007

aww im sure you look great in your swimmies :):)

If you're into cellulite & stretch marks I do

ZippyGBR, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2007

pay is not the be all and end all

just as a question

how much are US based nurses paying finto their pensions ( and for what final outcome e.g. NHS pension equals 1/80 of final salary per year worked up to 40 years of contributions ) for a 6 % employee contribution

does tyour pension include life insurance ( not sure if the NHS one is 3 or 4 times annual salary)

what about paid sick leave ( e.g. for NHS staff with 5 or more years service is 6 months full and 6 month half pay)

annual leave ( 27 leave + 8 public holiday days ,on appointment, going up to 29 + 8 after 5 years and 33 *+ 8 after ?10)

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 12, 2007

pay is not the be all and end all
just as a question
how much are US based nurses paying finto their pensions ( and for what final outcome e.g. NHS pension equals 1/80 of final salary per year worked up to 40 years of contributions ) for a 6 % employee contribution
does tyour pension include life insurance ( not sure if the NHS one is 3 or 4 times annual salary)
what about paid sick leave ( e.g. for NHS staff with 5 or more years service is 6 months full and 6 month half pay)
annual leave ( 27 leave + 8 public holiday days ,on appointment, going up to 29 + 8 after 5 years and 33 *+ 8 after ?10)

Pay may not be the be all and end all but it pays a high price in my books and so for a lot of my friends. I have paid just short of 21 years into super ann and I feel my pay out is a kick in the teeth, plus when I started paying as informed could retire at 55 now told won't get a penny until 65 but max payment is 30 years so relatively only got 9 years left to pay.

Once I move to the US my hourly rate will double compared to UK hourly rate and according to a few sources will be paying into a reasonable good pension . Yes vacation and sick time isn't as good as the UK but compared to working in a GP surgery here in the UK I only get 8 weeks full and 8 weeks half pay anyway for sick time

Myxel67 · Mar 12, 2007

once i move to the us my hourly rate will double compared to uk hourly rate and according to a few sources will be paying into a reasonable good pension . yes vacation and sick time isn't as good as the uk but compared to working in a gp surgery here in the uk i only get 8 weeks full and 8 weeks half pay anyway for sick time

not many hospitals here in the us have defined benefit pension plans any longer. most have 401(k) plans (for profit org.) or 503(b) plans (for nonprofit organizations. for these plans, the employee usually contributes up to 6% of earnings & hospital contributes 3% (50% match). the employee gets whatever money is there at retirement. there may be some union nurses out there who still have defined benefit plans. also us government still has both defined benefit and thrift savings plans (like 401(k) plans)

the nhs retirement benefit described amounts to 50% of pay for a nurse who works 40 years.

companies started terminating their defined benefit plans years ago as a way to recoup "actuarial gains" on the value of the pension funds and reduce future pension plan expense.