Salary of an RN?

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I will begin nursing school by the end of this month. I'm a single mother of a two year old, and have worked hard to maintain my 4.0 gpa upon entering this Adn program. I really want to be a nurse and have always felt this way. Now that I'm so close to achieving this I found myself wondering if the salary of an RN would be good enough for my daughter and I. I'm not becoming a nurse solely based on the salary, and I know different cities and states have different salaries, but I live in GA and just want the best for her. Is the average salary of an RN enough to live comfortable? Thanks.

This is a very good question to ask, it can help guide what students should spend on their nursing education. In my area, the average new grad is starting around $25 per hour, if a student accumaltes six figure student loans I wonder how they expect to pay it off .

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Specializes in Prior military RN/current ICU RN..

Why didn't you look into the salaries before you applied to nursing school? If you don't make enough as a nurse to survive then why are you planning on doing it?

What is "comfortable"? That is a subjecitve term that only you can answer.

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Don't expect to make $25 an hour right out of school in the south. I'm in the south and RN's start out making a little over $21 where I am. I'm not trying to discourage you, just want you to understand that you at not come out of school make $50,000 a year in GA.

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Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.

I live comfortably, drive a nice car (not a BMW or anything), buy what I want, eat out when I want, etc. RNs generally do decently well, but as someone stated don't plan on making 6 figures in the South as do some in California.

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I'm not sure where all these people live, but the pay in Tennessee sure isn't that much! New grads make around 18 an he. The pay is the same for associates or bachelors. I just graduated and was hired at 20.83 an hr, but they are counting my years of experience as an Lpn. For night shift u can obviously make several dollars more an hr, but I'm not a fan or working nights. If you live near a VA hospital they pay a little more. Plus the benefits at a government position helps. But the pay varies greatly depending on where you live. Also depends on the job. I'm talking about hospital jobs. Home health pays much more, but there are reasons why it pays so much more. As an Lpn I made more than most rns I know, but the driving and nasty houses were tough. After 2 years I had enough and was ready to go back to acute care

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Pay is relative to where you live. Many California nurses are making close to six figures or above, but the cost of living there is higher than other states. A nurse in NYC makes more money than a nurse in Alabama because the cost of living is higher in NYC than it is in Alabama. I make very good money as an RN in my state. I own my home and drive a decent vehicle. If I were to take my salary and uproot my house to California, my mortgage would be tripled because my house would be worth significantly more (probably couldn't even afford it either) and I would quickly realize my cushy salary wouldn't be enough to support myself there.

I've been a nurse for almost 3 years and have received four raises so far because my hospital gives out yearly merit raises and also have unit clinical ladders. Also specialty certification is an additional raise. This is something you can look into when you start interviewing for jobs. So, in case you don't like the starting pay rate offered to you, you may be happy on how quickly your pay rate increases with the incentives your job offers.

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Specializes in Pulmonology.
I did not think of any of this, thank you!

I wish I could find the hospital ad I saw. I had just deleted the link the other day I had saved it but then thought "No way I will never live in FL with the size of the bugs there":laugh: But while I was searching for it, I found quite a lot of "incentives" for 20k....good to know your advice for the future.

My company offers that sign on bonus for anyone who lives outside 120 mile radius I believe. It is a good company to work for. Not magnet but heading in that direction. I am in school so I currently work as a tech but the only possible downside honestly is the organization is very religious. At first it can be overwhelming for some but then once your out of orientation it's not so down your throat. You have to sign a 2 year contract I believe.

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My company offers that sign on bonus for anyone who lives outside 120 mile radius I believe. It is a good company to work for. Not magnet but heading in that direction. I am in school so I currently work as a tech but the only possible downside honestly is the organization is very religious. At first it can be overwhelming for some but then once your out of orientation it's not so down your throat. You have to sign a 2 year contract I believe.

Couple of quickies: Magnet doesn't indicate how good a hospital is, but rather what percentage of their RNs are BSNs. "Magnet" was SUPPOSED to indicate that such a hospital was better for RNs to work, that they'd be happier there, blah blah blah...but that's marketing, not reality.

Next, the two year contract (and the offer to people who are more than a commuting distance away) tells me any applicant really SHOULD be cautious. What is not "too religious" for you might well be a death rattle for HR!

Lastly, you really do need to change your UserID: you cannot use "RN", "nurse", or "LPN" as part of your ID/login name until you hold that license. Terms of Service for this website (as well as the law in nearly every State in the US) dictates that. Meantime, how about BrittneeFutureRN? :)

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Specializes in ER LTC MED SURG CLINICS UROLOGY.

A new grad in the west georgia area here makes about 24 an hour. Not bad for just having an associates degree. Also, after three ok you get

The night diff (usually 3 dollars more an hour). And if you work night shift its usually a little more. I make an average of 34 an hour but have been an Nurse

For about 16 years.

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Next, the two year contract (and the offer to people who are more than a commuting distance away) tells me any applicant really SHOULD be cautious. What is not "too religious" for you might well be a death rattle for HR!

What does HR stand for here?

About magnet status I had heard that too that it means more bsn. I thought that meant better treatment. Already I'm learning the differences between nursing school and real nursing world!

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Yes I think pay its relative to your area, I live in the northeast so $25 per hour is not asking for much , thats around $50,000 BEFORE TAXES.

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What does HR stand for here?

About magnet status I had heard that too that it means more bsn. I thought that meant better treatment. Already I'm learning the differences between nursing school and real nursing world!

Same thing as everywhere: Human Resources :)

Magnet Status was originally a campaign designed to attract RNs with higher education. The propaganda was that such a facility (with more BSNs than the hospital down the street with primarily ADNs) would give BSNs a greater voice in how things are done in nursing, and create a more satisfactory work environment overall. Reality was that whether a hospital was Magnet or not had no actual bearing on the satisfaction level of its employees. So the switch in marketing was to the PUBLIC, telling them "Magnet Status" really meant a higher level of care. And....it doesn't.

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