oldeddieboy

Threads like this make one question if its worth it to work hard for 2.5 yrs and spend $20k+ on school. Judging from my other thread, I would probably make $10-15k/yr more nursing than many other jobs, but is it worth it? Sure, I really want to help people, but I'm sure everyone in this thread went in with that attitude.

Judging by the comments, it seems like $60-70k ($32-$38/hr) is more realistic for the highest paid nurses with lots of experience and normal working hours. Not really wealthy, but still pretty good. Teachers top out at around $46k with a bachelor degree and 30 yrs experience. Not sure which is job is harder.

does your school have lab as a seperate class from lecture? I like having having them part of one class so if I do bad on lab, I can pull it up with my lecture grade. with a 48, i would just calculate what your potential grade would be assuming you make 85+ on the rest of your tests. if it comes up to a C or worse drop the class. talk to the teacher too and tell them what grade you need - they can tell you what your chances are.

when i took bio classes like this, i would sometimes stay in the lab for FIVE hrs 3 or 4 times before the test. i was the only person in there 90% of the time. i got A's whereas a lot of smart people got B's or Cs. looking in the book at pictures does nothing for me.

i got my gf to be my patient and proctor. :) big difference between memorizing from the book and having a real person playing the role of patient and proctor!

Staff w/ ADN/BSN degree.

So what do yall think the top 5% of RNs working days in a hospital down south are making? Would you say they average about $85k (~$45/hr)? Little more little less?

if they only look at 4 classes to calculate your gpa that should be pretty easy. you could have those knocked out with As in 6 months (spring/summer semesters). the CC close to me looks at nine classes and you need a 3.6+ gpa.

i've heard of people using it to mask the smell of poop. :poop:

I'm not sure if it's right to ask how much people make, but I'm trying to get an idea of how much nurses usually make in the south. Most figures include data from states where pay is much higher. Specifically, I'm looking for wages for weekday day shift nurses...so not including any night or weekend differentials. Please include years of experience. I'm curious to know if $100,000 is possible without working nights, weekends or crazy amounts of overtime...

If they could make $140k+ they could do it around here...but that might make them the highest paid ADN/BSN south of the mason dixon line. :)

So why mention $140k? The state is irrelevant regardless. Average pay in MN is $74k, BTW. I never said new nurses shouldn't plan to work nights. I'm talking long term... I don't disagree. Key words were "ultimate plans" - I'm not talking about what new nurses HAVE TO do.

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I agree. I want a regular life with regular hrs. This might mean taking a paycut once I get some experience.

Obviously, I cannot speak for your specific organization, but I can say with some certainty that the overwhelming majority (98%+) of nurses will never make close to $140k at any point in there career. Perhaps you have found the utopia of nursing pay, but obviously your specific area doesn't represent the country as a whole - it doesn't even represent the state of Wisconsin where the average nurse makes a little over $60k. It's sorta pointless to talk about a single spot on the map when discussing "most people" all across the country. Working days may contribute to more mental stress in some places, but working nights may be just as stressful in other areas. What's known is that working nights has proven health complications. The human body is made to sleep at night. Our society functions on a day schedule. Several people have mentioned that the only way to go night shifts long term is to keep night hours even on your days off...this means sleeping all day and watching the tube all night because everyone is asleep and everything is closed. Horrible life, imo. With nursing already being mentally/physically stressful and having such a high burnout rate - I don't think making plans to work nights long term is smart for the new nurse. Personally, I don't see why someone shouldn't enter nursing because they only want to work days. If your ultimate plan is to work days, I think it's good to have a realistic idea of what you'll be making. Not many people can work nights long term - maybe this is why getting a day job is so difficult? Apparently, taking on the politics and added BS far outweigh the stress/inconvenience of putting yourself through the grave yard shift?