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.
at the hospice facility i worked at, the nm asked me to pick up her paycheck as i went to get mine.
when she was scrutinizing her paycheck, accounting had erred on her overtime and she showed me her check and where they messed up.
she had been there around 20 yrs compared to my 3 yrs there at the time and i was making more than her! i didn't say anything but was outraged.
mgmt.will bend over backwards to recruit but do nothing to retain. what a slap in the face.
anyway, i have no issues w/my nsg wages, yet there have been times that all the $$ in the world still couldn't compensate for the potential liabilities that nurses are accountable for....people's lives.
I don't understand why some of you don't be NP's if you want more money. The course is only 30 weeks (at lots of schools) and you don't have to be super smart to complete the program. and since you have more experience being RN's, you'd be MUCH more prepared for the course than I would be...and NP's make more than RN's. Like I said, some even make 6 figs!
Is the role of a NP unattractive to most people? They are in demand, and I don't think i've ever heard of someone with the requirements able to work as a NP not being able to find work...
Since you are NOT a nurse yet, you're really in no position to be so judgemental of others. You're also not from the USA, so you really are in no position to make comments about economic issues here.
Graduate and work for about five years, then come back and tell us how overpaid you are.
Since you are NOT a nurse yet, you're really in no position to be so judgemental of others. You're also not from the USA, so you really are in no position to make comments about economic issues here.
Graduate and work for about five years, then come back and tell us how overpaid you are.
Hi guys I am fairly new to the forum so im going to start by saying "nice to meet all of you." I currently am an accounting student in her last year of school and is interested in applying for an accelerated RN program. I am currently interning in my field and have no desire to do this for the rest of my life. Nursing is something that i just recently became interested in while working the summer at a hospital here in Ny. So let me cut to the chase, an RN's salary in New York is highly acclaimed but no one is disclosing just how much it is that they make. Maybe you guys can clear it up for me. Now don't get me wrong it's not all the about the pay with me. I am a person who enjoys working with people in a professional healthcare enviornment but frankly the money is important. It is very hard to get by in the city especially when you are very particular as to the things you want in life. So lay it on me guys and dont be afraid to give it to me how it is. It certaintly won't be too discouraging,
Hey everyone...im pretty new here..but thought id throw my 2 cents in!! first LOL to the poster above...i totally know where you area coming from..i too spent 4 years majoring in something that i have no interest in pursuing...it seems there are more and more of us these days. If you want to look ave salaries http://www.monster.com has a salary calculator..just enter your title and zip code and poof..i think this site also has one...anyway im a new nursing student (just got accepted into my program which i start next month) and ive been in college since 1999...(grad. last year and havent been able to get a job) the only jobs ive been offered have been less than 10$ an hour!!!! i made more than that when i waitressed!!! im so tired of being poor that 20/hr sounds great to me!!!! as long as i can support myself sufficiently thats all i care about...i love the medical field and i want to be a nurse more than anything else in the world!!! im only a student but i cant imagine being anything else!!!
I hear everyone griping about pay and hours and whatnot but for real i have been eating ramen noodles and living with roommates for so long i dont know what normal life is like LOL...so hey 20/hr sounds good to me...but then again ask me in 10 years if i still feel that way!!!
oh and by the way if there are 30 week NP programs in Canada, then here I come! just tell me where and when!!!:)
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
Didn't we just have this identical question, asked on another thread, that ended up getting closed? Except last time it was posed by a nursing student, who expressed shock and disbelief that some of us feel underpaid. "Doesn't it make me mad that people who make $34 an hour complain that they don't have enough money?" No! Why would it? I have no idea what your living situation is, but let me tell you something, $70,720 a year doesn't go far. Not if you've got a mortgage, a couple of car payments, and children. Not even if you live alone and just feel that given the contribution you make to society entitles you to more than just getting by. I don't wish to hear about economizing by driving an old car, sending my kid to the library instead of buying books, eating tuna fish casserole and rice and beans, and buying generic products. There is nothing wrong with that way of life, but the American dream (and I would assume the Canadian dream, also) is to rise above that. I know it is possible to get by, because I grew up that way. My parents wanted better for me, and lucky for me, I have it. I am hardly going to apologize for thinking that I'm entitled to take a vacation a couple times a year, have a few fashionable clothes, own a nice home and indulge my child once in a while. That hardly qualifies as "being rich". In a few years, I bet you'll be singing a different tune, thinking "dang, I don't get paid enough for as hard as I work, and as important as my work is".
Didn't we just have this identical question, asked on another thread, that ended up getting closed? Except last time it was posed by a nursing student, who expressed shock and disbelief that some of us feel underpaid. "Doesn't it make me mad that people who make $34 an hour complain that they don't have enough money?" No! Why would it? I have no idea what your living situation is, but let me tell you something, $70,720 a year doesn't go far. Not if you've got a mortgage, a couple of car payments, and children. Not even if you live alone and just feel that given the contribution you make to society entitles you to more than just getting by. I don't wish to hear about economizing by driving an old car, sending my kid to the library instead of buying books, eating tuna fish casserole and rice and beans, and buying generic products. There is nothing wrong with that way of life, but the American dream (and I would assume the Canadian dream, also) is to rise above that. I know it is possible to get by, because I grew up that way. My parents wanted better for me, and lucky for me, I have it. I am hardly going to apologize for thinking that I'm entitled to take a vacation a couple times a year, have a few fashionable clothes, own a nice home and indulge my child once in a while. That hardly qualifies as "being rich". In a few years, I bet you'll be singing a different tune, thinking "dang, I don't get paid enough for as hard as I work, and as important as my work is".
first, no one is asking anyone to apologize for what they make! if you make good money then you work hard for it and deserve it! good for you!!! :) i'm sure in a few years ill feel the same, overworked and underpaid...but for now i'll take anything over being a poor college student serving spaghetti jus trying to make through school! its so hard to compare wages anyway bc cost of living is different in diff parts of the country..besides who doesnt feel overworked and underpaid these days!!!
OOPS! So sorry!!! I got your post mixed up with the OP. Insomnia brain, I guess!
LOL its ok!! its the overworked thing:) like i said in my earlier post, im sure you deserve every penny you make, all nurses do, no matter what they get paid they are ALL underpaid and i'm thinking that that is one thing we can ALL agree on, maybe...LOL!:)
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
first, no one is asking anyone to apologize for what they make! if you make good money then you work hard for it and deserve it! good for you!!! :) i'm sure in a few years ill feel the same, overworked and underpaid...but for now i'll take anything over being a poor college student serving spaghetti jus trying to make through school! its so hard to compare wages anyway bc cost of living is different in diff parts of the country..besides who doesnt feel overworked and underpaid these days!!!
Oh, I can relate, there! I remember weeks when I couldn't afford a bus pass, so I would walk the three miles from my apartment (what a DUMP that place was!) to campus. In Pittsburgh- sometimes in oppressive heat and humidity and other times in snow, ice and/or biting cold. I would make spaghetti with pasta sauce, spaghetti with Italian dressing and spaghetti with butter (most likely, margarine) and considered that a balanced diet, lol!
Oh, I can relate, there! I remember weeks when I couldn't afford a bus pass, so I would walk the three miles from my apartment (what a DUMP that place was!) to campus. In Pittsburgh- sometimes in oppressive heat and humidity and other times in snow, ice and/or biting cold. I would make spaghetti with pasta sauce, spaghetti with Italian dressing and spaghetti with butter (most likely, margarine) and considered that a balanced diet, lol!
I currently am an accounting student in her last year of school and is interested in applying for an accelerated RN program. I am currently interning in my field and have no desire to do this for the rest of my life. Nursing is something that i just recently became interested in while working the summer at a hospital here in Ny. So let me cut to the chase, an RN's salary in New York is highly acclaimed but no one is disclosing just how much it is that they make. Maybe you guys can clear it up for me. Now don't get me wrong it's not all the about the pay with me. I am a person who enjoys working with people in a professional healthcare enviornment but frankly the money is important. It is very hard to get by in the city especially when you are very particular as to the things you want in life. So lay it on me guys and dont be afraid to give it to me how it is. 
It certaintly won't be too discouraging,
leslie :-D
11,191 Posts
at the hospice facility i worked at, the nm asked me to pick up her paycheck as i went to get mine.
when she was scrutinizing her paycheck, accounting had erred on her overtime and she showed me her check and where they messed up.
she had been there around 20 yrs compared to my 3 yrs there at the time and i was making more than her! i didn't say anything but was outraged.
mgmt.will bend over backwards to recruit but do nothing to retain. what a slap in the face.
anyway, i have no issues w/my nsg wages, yet there have been times that all the $$ in the world still couldn't compensate for the potential liabilities that nurses are accountable for....people's lives.
leslie