salary--dfw

nepsys · Jun 15, 2007

My wife is going for BS->BSN degree after getting fedup with her computer

engg job. I am software ebgineer and I make in the range of $90+/hr in CA.

After 50+K of tution and 1.5 years of hardwork, I don't think she will be

heppy to know what she will be making when she finally graduates. I know

it makes no sense to switch from 'high paying' profession to 'low paying'

profession, but we did it because we were just tired of living seperate or

getting scared when my assignment will be over !!

Peace of mind and being together has no price tag. So people, we all have

have our reasons for quitting a job, swiching a job or moving to a new

place. All you need is to find your priorities in life.

Nursing pay is pathetic but I will not rule out the other nenefits that made

us (me and my wife) to lower our pay scale. I am sure it will be worthwhile.

Nepsys

Kristin_collegemom · Jun 15, 2007

I just graduated and am starting my internship in L&D on Monday. So I do happen to know the salaries for several area hospitals for GN/RN internships:

Parkland $20.69/h

Methodist $19.75/h

Baylor $20.50/h

Med City $22.85/h

Shift diff is pretty good at some of the hospitals, and all but Med City have a signing bonus.

smk1, LPN · Jun 15, 2007

I have heard that the cost of living in the DFW/arlington area and suburbs is lower than a lot of other metro areas in the country. Taking that into account (if it is still true) do the wages support a decent middle class lifestyle assuming you are not a person with abnormal debts and expenses?

Kristin_collegemom · Jun 15, 2007

I think the cost of living in the DFW area is fairly low.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2007

I have heard that the cost of living in the DFW/arlington area and suburbs is lower than a lot of other metro areas in the country. Taking that into account (if it is still true) do the wages support a decent middle class lifestyle assuming you are not a person with abnormal debts and expenses?

I would say so...but I can only speak for myself.

I am able to live fairly comfortably on LVN pay (without any overtime or a spouse). I live in a newer house in the suburbs, have 2 newer cars parked in my driveway, and always have plenty of money left over at the end of the month. Also, I don't live from paycheck to paycheck. Most of my coworkers aren't hurting for money, either.

pepperann35 · Jun 15, 2007

lol ok honey, no i'm not saying that nurse's should come out of school with a 32/hr rate... but since you mention it ..why not, nursing is hard! most lvn's in this area are paid a lot more than 19/20 hr , so one would expect that a rn would get paid more. i don't care if it comes out to 40k that ain't nothing ..when you look at what your doing and what you have to put up with...

i agree! because we all know that we don't get nice pay raises every year like some professions do, we don't get bonuses, many of us work nights, weekends, holidays. most of us are required to pay for ceu's to keep our license up, at our own expense. and, we work very hard. why not support each other and ourselves and lobby for higher pay? we really do deserve it!

Humbled_Nurse · Jun 16, 2007

Personally I don't think the pay for nursing is all that bad. It could be worse. I have friend that has a masters degree in counseling and she doesn't make near as much as me. When I started nursing 9 years ago I only started at about 30,000 ish/year, but now I am up to 60,000/year and that is just base pay. That does not include call pay, overtime, shift diffs, etc.... As many have already mentioned the cost of living in Texas is very reasonable. Me and my husband live very comfortably between our salaries. Sure, we could debate all day long how much RN's should make. Of course I agree that we should be making more than most professions because of the nature, stress of our jobs, but that just isn't reality. Computer, business, etc... type professions are always going to be the big money makers. That is just the way it works. If you are going to choose to be in a helping profession such as nursing, firefighting, police, counseling, etc.... don't expect to be rich. Nursing does have other perks such as flexible scheduling that is worth something. I get to work part time and be home with the kids most days of the week. I am still able to bring in a decent amount of income just working part-time which allows me balance between family life and work life. I think that is worth a lot!!

sjt9721, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2007

I agree! Because we all know that we don't get nice pay raises every year like some professions do, we don't get bonuses, many of us work nights, weekends, holidays. Most of us are required to pay for CEU's to keep our license up, at our own expense. And, we work VERY hard. Why not support each other and ourselves and lobby for higher pay? We really do deserve it!

Our society is fast becoming 24-7. Many people work night, weekends, holidays. (Haven't you ever had to fill up your tank to get to work on those shifts?)

Every hospital I've worked in provided enough in-house CE hours for me to renew my license (and then some). Every hospital I've worked in also paid differentials for off-shifts and holidays. My current hospital (and its sister hospitals) pay an annual bonus for specialty certification (and they reimburse you for taking the initial certification exam). And finally, every hospital I've worked in had some type of annual merit raise (4% is better than nothing).

Let's not even mention the retirement & health benefits. 401K matching, employer-funded retirement accounts, no hospital bills if you go to your own facility, tuition reimbursement...Shall I continue?

Hell, yes I'd take more if they gave it to me. Do I think I deserve more for what I do? Of course! But I have to admit that I (and my spouse) do very well with our nursing incomes. Look around...there's a hell of a lot more people making a hell of a lot less than us.

smk1, LPN · Jun 16, 2007

I would say so...but I can only speak for myself.
I am able to live fairly comfortably on LVN pay (without any overtime or a spouse). I live in a newer house in the suburbs, have 2 newer cars parked in my driveway, and always have plenty of money left over at the end of the month. Also, I don't live from paycheck to paycheck. Most of my coworkers aren't hurting for money, either.

Thanks Commuter! This is my picture of middle class so I probably wouldn't complain about the pay either. I can imagine though that some days in nursing would make it seem like no amount of money is worth the stress...

Larabelle · Jun 16, 2007

Registered Nurse, Case Manager Day shift 7:30am-4pm. No weekends or holidays. $70,000

smk1, LPN · Jun 16, 2007

So is the job market decent for new grads in the DFW general area?

zozzy777 · Jun 16, 2007

OK, news flash for all of you who think you deserve more as a new grad. I graduated 10 years ago in Norman, Oklahoma (3hours from DFW) and my starting pay was 11.50/hour. Yes, you read it right. The 50 cents was because I had worked as an LPN my senior year of college.

So while you expect more, you should all be happy with what you are getting. There is always opportunities to make more money with shift diffs and OT. 20$/hr for DFW is liveable. In Connecticut where the cost of living is 3x that of DFW, a new grad only starts around 25/.hr. NYC a nurse with 2 years of experience at Columbia is around 35$, if that.

I don't know any of my nursing friends who ever thought we were going to make the big bucks when we graduated. It really didn't even cross our minds while in school. We were just happy to be graduated and offered a job.

It is all what you make of it. What many of the new nurses will find out, money is not everything. If you hate your job, it doesn't matter how much you are making. It's not enough. Sure it helps, but eventually you realize happiness at your job is so much more important. :lol2: :balloons: