RPN pay scale

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I am currently looking into seeing if RPN is really a good career choice for me, I know that the starting pay is typically from 19-24$ per hour depending what province or what institution you work at. What I really want to know is 20 years down the road am I going to be making close to the same pay as the starting pay or will there be a gradual increase and let say my pay after 20 years is 30$ per hour. So what I want to know is from those senior RPN's what is your pay compared to your starting salary. My mom's started at 26 an hour as an RN and is now making 48 an hour with 28 years experience so I just want to know if RPN will have this type of pay scale or if it will stick at the starting point.

I would like to follow my families steps and go into nursing I know that the demand for nurses is high at this time and that the need for male nurses is even greater. My other choice is going into a skilled trade, so please give me your thoughts and suggestions every comment helps. :)

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

This thread should give you an idea as it lists the provinces and pay scale. Cross country wage comparison

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I make over $30/hr and have been working over a decade. Like any union contract, once you reach top rate you are left waiting for the yearly negotiated pay increases

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thank you both for the quick responses and helpful towards me making my ultimate decision :). Another question who hard is it finding work as an RPN do the majority of hospitals take RN's over RPN's or is it a split. Just want to try and make the smart choice and know that when I am finished school that I will be able to get employment.

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I work in Alberta. Nursing is like a wheel. Some years it's easy to get hired, others it's a female dog to find any work. Nobody has a crystal ball and can tell you what the job market will be like 2-3 years down the road.

Ontario only now appears to be hitting the hiring slump that the rest of the country went through years back. Alberta had a hiring freeze that lasted nearly a year. New grads are being hired but we've had some very lean years over the last two decades.

The days of walking out of college with a confirmed job offer are gone.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

It will depend on where you are in the province too.Generally things are slow in Ontario right now for RPNs but my hospital just hired a few.

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Yea I am hoping that Kingston General Hospital is hiring RPN's when I get out of school worst case end up in an old folks home until they begin hiring.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

There is nothing wrong with working LTC and may help you with time management

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Nope, the worst thing was working for Safeway stacking shelves like one RN I know who graduated in the early '90s during the Kline CutBack Era. Or the ones who were forced to look for work in the US to repay their loans.

Far worse use of nursing talent and loss of family life.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I work LTC and I enjoy it. You learn great skills there. The nurse who accepts the LTC job and starts nursing will eventually come out farther ahead than the nurse who waited for months and months for that "dream" job. Some experience is better than none. Keep this in mind. I don't plan to stay in LTC for the rest of my nursing career, but for now it's fine.

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as an rpn i started at 26 in a hosp and 23 in ltc. in the hosp the differentials put me over 30. i do have a friend who works ltc and makes more on her base pay then i do with my differentials, so it all depends on where you’re working. pay is negotiated by the unions where i am. rns have a much higher cap then rpns.

ps old folks home won’t fly anymore its ltc from here on in.

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Specializes in Home Care.
Yea I am hoping that Kingston General Hospital is hiring RPN's when I get out of school worst case end up in an old folks home until they begin hiring.

Don't knock LTC, you can gain some very good experiences that will help you in your next job. I worked LTC when I graduated LPN, it was great experience for time management and assessment skills.

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