Salaries..

sjb2005 · Oct 6, 2005

I know many nurses who have found work with reputable companies. Sorry, don't know any personally though.

sun_chica · Oct 6, 2005

Southeastern PA pays pretty well, w/ my night differential I make $28.50/h (only been a nurse for 1.5years). Our "night owls" (float night position) make $42/hr. 4/4 weekend program days $42/hr, nights $47/hr. Cost of living is pretty high, cheapest apt/condo ~$800/month (1 bedroom)... that being said nice suburban area.

I also lived in upstate NY for 3.5yrs. Watertown, NY is 1hr from Canadian border, worked w/ several canadian docs & nurses (great to work w/, great personalities). Starting pay for new grad $19.42/hr, but housing is cheap. You can buy a nice home for $75-125k, but it is country living w/ lots of cold weather & snow (but Vancouver probably has just as much, if not more).

When living in NY, once I graduated I earned good $ for the area, I moved back home to SE PA (outside Philly), now I'm poor compared to many others in the area. My 1600sq home in upstate new york (fixer-upper) $42K, in SE PA just bought my 1300sq townhome $217k. Now I feel house poor, but I love the area.

Best of luck... as others posted CA is not the place to go if you want to save money, housing prices will kill you:)

souldout · Feb 8, 2008

I signed up Per Diem for MGA Health Care. They are a new company and they told me I would have health insurance which I never got. I got frustrated with them so I cancelled my contract and they didn't pay me the money they owed me. There recruiters are very unethical. They lie through their teeth.

Yeah, I was with them a just recently. And their agents are unprofessional and rude. They usually call you twice to confirm a work day (1st) in the afternoon (if you're working the NOC shift) and (2nd) a couple hours before your shift. So, that was my understanding; but i didn't recieve a call that whole day, so i tried to call them to tell them that i couldn't work that night because I was sick. And, to my surprise, i got a freakin' answering machine on which i left a message. and later recieved a call from my agent at around 930---- 30 minutes later than what time they're supposed to call you. and he didn't know what the hell i was talking about that i was sick and whatever. then he started mocking me saying that i didn't sound sick and i was irresponsible for not calling him or even leaving a voicemail. AND I FOUND OUT, that the number i called was the number being forwarded to the agents CELLPHONE. cellphones aren't always reliable, you know what i'm saying. so i quit after he started calling me names and being SO RUDE. And, another thing is that when you go and do what they call "interviews" they're all men over there and they're all disgusting. I also heard from another CNA who worked with them that my incident wasn't the first; it also happened to him. Also, they are the lowest paying agency out there. My advice is to STAY AWAY and RESEARCH OTHER AGENCIES 'cause MGA REALLY is a rip off. You spend all your time going back and forth from their office to the hospitals to their office and over and over again. don't waste your time!

Sunny66 · Feb 24, 2008

California cost of living is high - particularly housing. But the salaries are big. If you have the capacity to live in a shared/roommate situation and don't spend a ton on extra stuff (shopping, car, etc) you could save money monthly. A place like Sacramento has lower housing and still pays CA salaries. If you life in San Francisco - higher housing. Norther California nurses earn 35-60$ an hour depending on shift and benefits. That's a good salary if you aren't spending it all on housing.

It can be a good deal. Depends on your lifestyle. Also - consider that CA has ratios - mandated by law. Not bad.

If you want to buy a home soon - Forget California. Go somewhere the housing doesn't break the bank.