$25+ an hour is over $50,000 a year. WAY over the starting salary for new graduates of any field. GREAT starting salary, with a hireable field too. $50,000 would excite most new graduates I've come across. Many are lucky to land $30,000 with a college degree, even a top tier college degree in a job-related feild. The hours can be long, night shifts, and such... I understand that frustration. But $50K is more than the starting salary among new graduates of any field, and is nothing to sneeze at. Oil field workers- new engineer grads- make in that ballpark, travel weeks on end, and often have to be at work at 5 a.m. A lot of fields have unpleasant schedules and work hours, nursing included, and that is rough. And the work too would have it's downsides. But, nursing is a great way to help people, and $50K is a great starting salary for anyone who just graduated college.