Salary question??

[joe134]

Ive been doing a lot of reading on this site and noticed that alot of people complain about pay. However, I read classifieds, sallary.com, and testimonials on here as well that are saying 50-60 grand a year. While your not getting rich, this seems like a pretty decent salary, espically when it only requires 2 years of school to become an RN.Anyone explain?

[elizadream]

In Charleston, SC : I have an RN (ADN), RRT (AS), BS, and CCRN, been in the field 15yrs. My base salary is only 25.46 (just adjusted to "market value and merit"). Nursing doesn't pay, baby! They SHOULD pay entering nurses well and why shouldn't they?? The shortage is there and competition from technology sways them away! To attract smart people to our field,they must get paid a competitive salary, so when a new nurse comes in, I'm all for her/him getting the highest pay.....we need them to take care of us in the future.......

[Jabramac]

I have been working for 5 years and made $60K last year. I can't complain about my income compared to others with the same education. I am very thankful to ahve a stable secure job that pays as well as it does. It is allowing my wife to stay at home with our baby. However, as others have said, it all depends on the cost of living. We live in a tiny condo and can't even consider getting anything bigger on my salary. Even if my wife worked we could not afford much more. "Affordable" houses in this area are $230K and up. When our economy was booming there were many jobs that paid well and did not require nights, evenings, weekends, or holiday shifts. But, those jobs were not very secure and many are gone now. So, even though I hate kissing my wife and baby good bye on the weekends while they go out to play, I do feel proud to make what I make so we can have what we have.

The other side of wanting more money is looking at other jobs. I hear peers in other jobs talk about going out for hour long lunchs, playing on the internet, having mid day Dr's and DDS appointment, and nurses cant really do any of that. When you work, you work your butt off. It also is sometimes frustrating to be the front line of the dirty work while physicians make soooo much more and don't do the dirty work. While I have no desire to have the liability and responsibility of being a physician, and they earned the wages they make, I still feel that when I am giving some 95yo man an enema that is not staying in but is spewing about the bed and the floor, that, even if I made $200K, I have an inate right to complain about not being paid enough.

[nursemary9, BSN, RN]

Hi

We make pretty good salaries here in Chicago; However, the cost of living is terribly high.

In the city itself, it is hard to find even a startout house for less then $300,000.

As everyone says, tho the work can be grueling. I've done it for 40 yrs now and believe me, it is HARD work. Would I advise a daughter or son of mine to do it? I doubt it!! And yet, I LOVE THIS JOB!! or rather, I LOVE NURSING!!

Mary Ann

[IloveSnoopy]

I think I'm fairly lucky....I work in a rural hospital in WI.....I've been there a little over 6 years and have a base pay of 28.27/hour....add on the night diff: weeknights: 2.25 and weekend nights 3.00...... I bring home roughly 45,000 per year....(this is working 32 hours/week with not a lot of overtime). An average home around here sells for 110,000 to 120,000. I guess I feel I make a good living and best of all....our units are not understaffed...we always have plenty of help and if we don't.....co-workers are always willing to come in extra....it's nice!!!

hugs,

snoop'

[New Horizons]

Is 56000 - 60000 a starting salary for new grads? If so, then I think I feel a move to the USA.

Starting salary in the UK is around $32500 - no wonder nurses want to come to the USA - book me a plane ticket!

Hi Fonenurse,

Is the 32,000 in pounds or US dollars. If the figure represents pounds, it is the equivalent of 56,400 US dollars.

[Ms RN]

I'm a student nurse & hopefully will be done in school by end of this year. I'm thinking of moving to Houston, TX. Can anyone please tell me what the average salary is over there? Thanks.

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

It is a good salary. However, nursing is so stressful that few nurses feel they are paid enough. Could you make the same doing something else and be as content? That is the real question. Some nurses cannot imagine doing anything else, but would like to be paid for their expertise.

[Jen04 nurse]

Two years full-time includes every class you need to graduate as an ASN, Four years full-time for a BSN and this is not including going during the summer. Many students work as techs during the summer months. New grads make less.

If you get one year Med/Surg experience under your belt then you can pretty much write your own ticket. If you were able to travel or do agency nursing you could make far more than 50-60K.

One caution......do not get into nursing strictly for the money. Nursing is a profession you have to have your heart into. It is hard work and is very stressful but on the plus side you can work 3 days per week and be off more than you work. I personally think nursing is a great profession but it's definately not for everyone!

I have my ADN (or ASN as some call it) and I had 2 years of pure nursing classes with clinicals and a year and a half of pre-reqs. Just to let ya know. I also want to add I have been a nurse for a couple years and I make about 43,000 a year.

[nursegirl62]

It took me three and half years for my ADN with pre-reqs and co-reqs.I graduated with LPN in 2004,RN in 2005.I have worked in the same place as CNA,nurse tech,LPN,RN and so forth. I do NOT work in a hospital I work in LTC and love it....now last year I grossed $43,000 and this year I will make just under $60,000. I live in rural eastern Washington....you can buy my 3 year old house on 44 acres...of Riverfront property..for $244,000.

Now here is the secret to my success....work hard, go the extra step, pick up those odd shifts, when your DNS calls and asks you to work, really consider it, I did several times....so when a promotion came about guess who got the call the "new grad" who isn't even out of school yet....

now I work 40 hours a week, days no nights,weekends,holidays....I am a Resident Care Manager(MDS Nurse) ....benefits ect.

What's even better I work in a fantastic place, and I love my job!

[hbncns35]

I am contemplating taking a position which pays 27.50 to start (base) with 25 days paid/sick vacation and full benefits.(55K) Is this good for entry-level BSN for PA? I have one week to make up my mind or give up the position. This is a magnet hospital who just acheived status and another option would be a Community Health Services For Profit Hospital about 20 minutes away vs. 25min. to this one. I really don't have much time to investigate the CHS one and I can't find anything on the web about their starting salary. Just an overview on salaries in which they pay 2k less according to that statistic.

My husband says I should take into consideration the monthly payment of my 70K in student loans I have. He pretty much pays the mortagage on our 4br house and has floated me through school. We have no dependants yet. But we only wish we could put our lab puppy as a dependant on our taxes cuz her vet bills are up there. Ha Ha....

So I think while it is good to get an offer for 55K it is also wise to take some time to think of how your life is going to change. This is a nightshift position with weekends free. I have not worked 40 hours per week for a long time since I have been in school so it will be quite different...but this is why we went to school right? I'd like to work this way for a couple of years until the kids come and then drop it dramatically provided we can do that financially so I can be a mother.... We'll see if that happens..Gotta keep encouraging dh to get along with the boss.....so far so good.....HB

[gbrentrn]

I am surprised on the postings that I have read, because they do infer that in fact many nurses do make $50,000 or more. That is not the case where I practice nursing. I live in Upstate NY, and the rate of pay for an experienced RN in the hospital setting is about $35 - 45,000. I am an independent contractor, so I have found a way to make more money, because I can't live on the average rate of pay for a nurse. The last time I interviewed for a position as an employee of a facility with 6 years of nursing experience (that was 4 years ago) they gave me an hourly rate of 17.50 ($36,000.00/year). I can't live on that with a family, house, etc. (My husband is a stay-at-home dad) I decided to go into travel nursing and then proceeded to become an independent contractor. Now I make $75,000.00 per year and I only work about 32 hours per week. What a big difference and I do the same job!!!! I have asked people what they make as a starting pay now for an experienced nurse, and I have been informed that the pay is about $20 per hour give or take 1-2 dollars. I don't know what the pay is for a new nurse though.

Good Luck with your research!

[marylyric]

I can think of a lot of other things to complain about nursing (stress, staffing ratios, pt acuity, management, old equipment etc etc etc) but salary is not one of my issues. I think compared to other 2 yr degrees nursing is a very well paid profession.

I feel in nursing we are underpaid, we deal with life and death situations everyday, and if we have people like you satisfied with 50-60 thousand a year.

we will never attain the salary we deserve. I believe that nursing salaries should start at 80,000 a year. This is the reason, I am returning to school to get my NP, and open up a office with my sister who is a physician. I refuse to slave away and take the pennies and the headache that goes along with hospital nursing.