OK, I have a big beef here. I'm currently in my first year of nursing, and I feel like I have to say something regarding nurses complaining about their pay.
Reading these boards, I just came across someone who said they make $34 an hour in Ontario, and they were telling someone that if they're looking to make money, go into accouting or something. THis just floored me!
$34 and hour!!!! How can you tell me that is not making money? Many many nurses who work in Ontario get WAY less than that.
I just really don't understand.
People are always saying, "if you're in this profession to make money, get out because you won't be rich." This is ridiculous. I live in SK Canada, where nurses make $24 starting (I think) or if not, it's very close to that figure. That is considered a WELL paying job. How can you not live comfortably on pay like that? I know many many many many people who make considerably less than that, and they do just fine.
Some nurses say that there is no money in nursing. Has anyone heard of a Nurse Practitioner? I know they don't make millions, but they do make more than RN's, some even make 6 figures. I am going to be one. Once I'm an RN, I'm working in the ER for one year, then returning to school for a 30 week course. YOu don't have to be a genious to do this either.
I know that you have to love nursing to be in it. You CANNOT be in it JUST FOR THE MONEY, but it makes me mad when people say THERE IS NO MONEY. Some areas pay nurses more than others.
I know it's a lot of work, it's stressful, and it's a hard job, and I know that many people (including me) feel that we should be payed more for what we do, but come on people. Doesn't it make you mad when people who make $34 an hour complain they don't have enough money? Do you spend foolishly? The cost of living in Ont is higher than SK, but $34 an hour is STILL much more than many many people in that prov make.
I graduated last May (2002) with my ADN...my starting pay was $17.05/hr, which is the starting pay at all the hospitals in this area, I did work nights for awhile and made a little more with shif dif, and I was so excited, thought I was making so much money, but NO. Once you add up car payment, rent, bills, all that stuff, it doesn't leave you with much. Now, I'm working agency and make between $27 and $34/hr, BUT I'm cancelled all the time, I can't even pay all my bills some times, because of having no work. No reliable income no matter how much your hourly pay is or your POTENTIAL income, is ALOT worse than making less money and having it guarrenteed , benefits, etc. So now I am going from the high pay, back to the low pay, which they may give me more cause of having a little over a year experience, but I doubt it. Just to have regular income and hours. Yes I wish I could stay at this job and get all the hours I need, but I can't. My house is almost done, which I'm only getting because of my boyfriend's income, they wouldn't even put me on the loan because of working agency, even though I make 3 times as much as him!
You have to way the pro's and con's. I'm still taking classes, because eventually I want to get my NP OR go into nursing education. I think it is going to be VERY hard. I know the program is 2 years FULLTIME. and that is AFTER I get my bachelors and masters. But there is a bridge program I'm going to go through. I have no idea how much NP's make, but I still want to do it or teaching.
Rustyhammer said : The "pay" is in loving your job.
Just because someone's hourly wage seems like plenty to you, doesn't mena that it is. Factor in the ost of living, the workload, and the health insurance
NP don't necessarily make more than RN's working the floor same thing for nurse managers. I know a relative who was making about $70k working as a full time NP and a floor nurse where I work would make around $95k Where I work floor managers are salary and they do make less than a full-time floor nurse and they have 24hr responsibility to the unit.
I don't think the complaint is about whether or not $34/hr is "enough," it's about whether you, with the same amount of schooling, would be able to secure a job at that same rate of pay or higher? If so, tell me the secret!
Temporary office employment starts at $8/hr. With a 4-year liberal arts college degree, entry-level positions are still often under $15/hr in an geographic area (major metropolitan area) where new grad RN starting pay is $25/hr. Secretaries with some college and years of experience often make under $20 as well.
Medical records people with years of experience are paid under $15/hr. After 8 month training, medical assistants' starting starting pay is around $10/hr. Take an LVN program which take a bit longer, and starting pay $16/hr, more in busy hospital units.
And those poor social work and psychology majors, many non-profit, counseling-type jobs pay closer to $10/hr and aren't any cakewalk. Of course, if they decide to get a MFCC (another few years of training) and build a private practice, then they can charge over $100/hr. But that's not a salaried position.
Now, the fact that work conditions of many nursing jobs are so terrible is a whole other issue. I don't care how well it pays, if the quality of care is constantly compromised, it's not worth it. I don't want to encourage understaffed facilities to retain harried staff with higher salaries; I'd prefer them to retain staff by creating a safe, well-staffed work environment.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Uhhhhh......I make $25.65/hr. right now, which is well above the average hourly wage for my part of the country, and pretty darn good for nurses with my level of education and experience. Compared with what my husband earns at his job ($9 bucks an hour after 4 years at the same place) and what we used to exist on when we were on welfare ($755/month in 1995), I feel positively wealthy. We spend every dime we make, yes, but it goes to support the lifestyle we've chosen (4 children, two cars, a big house with land in a very nice, safe neighborhood, and the occasional entertainment). Last year we grossed almost $65,000, and it just about killed me. This year, we'll be lucky to gross $45,000......but I've chosen part-time work in order to preserve my sanity, and that's worth more to me than making the big bucks. Sure it would be nice to earn more, and I can't imagine any individual or family NOT being able to live decently on the aforementioned $34/hr. Compared with what we were used to for some 15 years, we do very nicely on that amount combined. We have most of what we always wanted---good house & furnishings, cars to take us where we need to go, and enough to pay the bills & eat in the same month---and if it isn't always the newest or top-of-the-line, we don't care. After living in poverty for so long, we're just grateful for a solid middle-class lifestyle. I guess how well one is doing is all in one's perspective.......do you see the glass as half-empty, or half-full?
mjlrn97... the cost of living is different everywhere. I just pulled out the classifieds a 3 bedroom 1 bath in one of the lesser desirable areas in the South SF bay area is $385,000. This is not a new home either.just renting a room in a house or apt is between$400-$800/month. In the town the hospital I work is located in you can't find a house for under $700,000 and that is likely a 30 yr old 3/2. I can't afford to live where I work.Most one bedroom apt rent for over $1000/mos, two bedrooms $1400/mos.
To have property with land in this area you either had to inherit it or are extremely weathly. I work with many people, mostly CNA's where multiple families live in one house. Or a whole family lives in one rented room.
It is really sad that Silicon Valley has all this technology and wealth but the people that are going to take care of these techies when they need health care can barely make ends meet. '
It is great that you live where you can get all that for that salary, but not everyone can.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Actually, we rent the house and land for $1000 per month from an older man and his wife, who are retired Oregon State University faculty members. We do feel fortunate to have found this place; we used to own a manufactured home with only half the space & no property, and were paying over $1100 for the mortgage and space rent. So yes, we are lucky in that way, and even though the cost of living in Oregon has skyrocketed in recent years, it's still more affordable than some other parts of the country. We moved here from the San Diego area 15 years ago, when you could get a nice 3BR, 2BA house for 60K......of course, we could only afford to rent an apartment back then, but we were paying $300 a month for a 2BR, 1BA townhouse near OSU, and that was a far cry from the 400 sq. ft. 1BR firetrap we'd been paying $540/mo. for in So. Calif. Nowadays you can't touch a regular house for anything less than $150K, and rents are in the $500-1500 range for a 1BR apt. to an "executive-style" house overlooking a golf course. Still, it's not as bad as it is in other parts of the world.......and that arbitrary $34/hr. goes pretty far here even with the increasing cost of living.
I have visited a friend outside of Portland once. It is a beautiful place, lush and green. Lots of people have left California for your neck of the woods. It affords them a nicer pace of life a lower cost of living.
The cost of living is going up here too. But we still are having a house built, 1600 sf, 3 bedroom 2 bath, 2 car garage on about an acre of land out in the country in a new subdivision they are building...it's going to cost us $107,900. There are alot of older homes in the area for sale right now 3/2 ranging from$80K to 150K. On my income alone, we wouldn't have been able to get it and still live a decent life. I am not going to live on PB &J and Ramon noodles for the next 30 yrs! :).
With both our incomes.....me making about $17.05/hr and him making $15.00/hr we should do just fine for a middle class family.
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Yes, the only real disadvantage to living here is the rain.....the winter and spring months are a real drag, especially for those of us with that seasonal affective thing. I'm OK until about mid-February, then go into the dumper until the sun comes out for brief periods in April and May. But it's like everything else, I do what I have to in order to get through those months, and our spectacular summers and spun-gold autumns make up for all the sogginess and dank, cloudy days the rest of the year.
And people are nicer here, as well.......not quite as rushed, and they are very rarely rude like in places back East or southern California. (I know, I've been to all those places and lived in a few of 'em.) There are some rather provincial attitudes, especially in the mid-Willamette Valley (where I live now) and in the eastern part of the state, but Portland is very progressive, yet at the same time laid-back and unpretentious. All in all, Oregon is a wonderful place to live, and I don't imagine we'll ever go back where we came from........except to visit, of course!
just had to say i was born and raised in portland (p-town yeah!) and now live across the river in vancouver and love it here. i am concerned about the rising cost of living but recognize that we still are pretty fortunate both in climate and housing. the unemployment rate is horrible right now though! highest in the nation...sigh...
I think it's all a matter of perspective. When I was a student I was making $4.50 an hour at Pizza Hut (and I thought that was great) and couldn't wait to graduate and make the big bucks of $12.00/hr. I now make $29.00 and don't seem to have any more money in the bank.
I can see where you're coming from, the hear someone say $34.00 isn't enough sounds like a crock. Because $34.00 an hour is good money, is a livable nice middle income.
But for those of us in the trenches working like slaves it certainly doesn't seem like much. If when I was a student someone complained about $34.00/hr I would slap them silly. But I understand a bit more now.
Shell7280
66 Posts
I graduated last May (2002) with my ADN...my starting pay was $17.05/hr, which is the starting pay at all the hospitals in this area, I did work nights for awhile and made a little more with shif dif, and I was so excited, thought I was making so much money, but NO. Once you add up car payment, rent, bills, all that stuff, it doesn't leave you with much. Now, I'm working agency and make between $27 and $34/hr, BUT I'm cancelled all the time, I can't even pay all my bills some times, because of having no work. No reliable income no matter how much your hourly pay is or your POTENTIAL income, is ALOT worse than making less money and having it guarrenteed , benefits, etc. So now I am going from the high pay, back to the low pay, which they may give me more cause of having a little over a year experience, but I doubt it. Just to have regular income and hours. Yes I wish I could stay at this job and get all the hours I need, but I can't. My house is almost done, which I'm only getting because of my boyfriend's income, they wouldn't even put me on the loan because of working agency, even though I make 3 times as much as him!
You have to way the pro's and con's. I'm still taking classes, because eventually I want to get my NP OR go into nursing education. I think it is going to be VERY hard. I know the program is 2 years FULLTIME. and that is AFTER I get my bachelors and masters. But there is a bridge program I'm going to go through. I have no idea how much NP's make, but I still want to do it or teaching.
Rustyhammer said : The "pay" is in loving your job.
That says it all!