I'm a NP who works in the Stockton/Sacramento area. One of my boating buddies is a RN at Kaiser. He has been there 10 years and is a charge nurse on a med/surg floor. I didn't believe it until he showed me but he does make a base of $200k a year. With overtime he clears a little of $350,000. This is due to Kaiser in Northern California being unionized. He lives in Modesto which is a low cost of living area but the contracts for the union are tied in with San Francisco which leads to high hourly wages. At retirement he is guaranteed at least $110k annually for life and lifetime medical benefits with any medical insurer he chooses whether it is Kaiser or not. I read the contract and couldn't believe what I was reading but there it was.
SO as a NP it makes me want to jump to Kaiser but......if I was to start at Kaiser with 10 years of NP experience under my belt I still wouldn't be making as much as my friend.
Disturbing??? Maybe....I'm happy for him. It just lets me know that there really are those rare RNs who make more than NPs....way, way more and more than most primary care MDs working on the floor. It makes you wonder if this model is sustainable.
Because a lot of people have moved out of Ohio or burned out because of people moving out and working short. There are tons of travel assignments at Cleveland Clinic. It's nothing like it used to be. They're constantly building and expanding while paying nurses less and working folks ragged.
Aint that the truth. That’s why I moved on from CCF. They have recruiting events every 6 months it seems. I saw OSU signed a new contract with their union that addresses turnover and implements ratios. That would be sweet. Perhaps ill check out Columbus. I think I would enjoy California (I think the positives outweigh the negatives) but I dont want to do it in my own.
Aint that the truth. That’s why I moved on from CCF. They have recruiting events every 6 months it seems. I saw OSU signed a new contract with their union that addresses turnover and implements ratios. That would be sweet. Perhaps ill check out Columbus. I think I would enjoy California (I think the positives outweigh the negatives) but I dont want to do it in my own.
CCF not only pays less, they try to control their employees and charge them ridiculous amounts to park! They try to control public roads and they think their police force is above CPD. I won't hijack the thread but try Columbus because UH is just as bad as CCF nowadays.
As for moving to Cali, if that's what you want to do, go for it, just make sure you have a solid plan first. I've heard horror stories about the high cost of living. Yes, they pay more, but people have different living needs and expenses so it's not the same for everyone. Just do your due diligence before making that move, be it to Cali or anywhere.
Wow is all I can come up with. However, while I "wow" the salary, I also "wow" the cost of a house! $400,000 for something decent???!!! Yikes!
Thats not affordable to my midwestern sense of affordable. I would think $320k for salary would translate roughly to 100k here in rural central IL where you can get a decent house fo 100k.
As for moving to Cali, if that's what you want to do, go for it, just make sure you have a solid plan first. I've heard horror stories about the high cost of living. Yes, they pay more, but people have different living needs and expenses so it's not the same for everyone. Just do your due diligence before making that move, be it to Cali or anywhere.
Travel nursing is a great option. I've several some previous coworkers from different parts of the country come to check California out on a travel assignment and then ended up staying.
Travel nursing is a great option. I've several some previous coworkers from different parts of the country come to check California out on a travel assignment and then ended up staying.
Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
I'm someone who moved from the Midwest to California. I would describe living in coastal California as an "acquired taste", you will absolutely hate it if you can't stand ultra liberal politics, diversity, stark contrast between rich and poor. High cost of living aside, I love it here for the opportunity to work alongside highly talented people with great ideas, collegial working relationships, and a culture of respect for the nursing profession in general. Our nurses salaries reflect the need for nurses in all levels to be able to live in this high cost of living area and not get priced out and our unions helped make that happen.
I believe the point was not only actual take home salary, but cost of living as well. Cali undoubtedly has a high cost of living over other areas. Although you can find places that are less expensive to live, the cost is still far greater than some other places. In San Antonio for example 242k after taxes means a whole lot more than pretty much anywhere in Cali as the cost of living is significantly lower and your take home pay would also increase due to no state income tax. Location of your primary residence is entirely personal preference and thus is difficult to quantify as I would never go back to Cali as I don't view the high cost of living worth it. Others obviously disagree and would never live anywhere else, it's all perspective and preference, but remember to include cost of living into calculations. 242k take home is quite high and will provide pretty much any lifestyle you choose to have but in some areas of the country it may provide more bang for your buck so to speak. I believe that is the point many posters were getting at.
Sure, but cost of living in Modesto is probably 20% greater than the average USA city. The point is you cannot achieve even a 200k take home anywhere else.
If you make 200k and can get a half decent house for 500k, you are OK.
But the salary is nothing to brag about, based on cost of living
In this scenario that's simply not true. Your mortgage payment would be well below 30% of your after tax income (the guideline for upper limit of affordability), and the extra money would go a LONG way because your biggest expense at 500k mortgage is a small fraction of your income. The complaints about high cost of living and taxes are unfounded based on simple arithmetic, the numbers don't agree with your statements. I don't even live on the west coast and 400 - 500k is what a good home in a good neighborhood (think middle to upper middle class) costs where I live. CRNAs here don't even make 200k base salary, but if they did a 500k house would be considered affordable based on those numbers.
A mortgage really shouldn't be 30% of your income (ideally). In an ideal situation housing would cost ~25% of your income with the rest being put forth towards other living expenses and ~10% into investments. A 401k (or other form of IRA) should be an additional ~5-10% depending on what your employer matches and your current age, which should be easily accomplished based upon ~25% required for mortgage. What actually happens is people buy a house way too close to what their real estate agent says they can 'afford' and then eat up more than 50% of their income for mortgage and associated utility/insurance costs and then have to scrape by for the other expenses. Or even worse, spend higher than their incomes just to maintain their chosen standard of living and thus have a debt-fuelled standard of life that will ruin them eventually (financially at least). I'm not only an RN, but I'm interested in learning about investing as well before I go out and invest so those are just some personal opinions about that.
In this scenario that's simply not true. Your mortgage payment would be well below 30% of your after tax income (the guideline for upper limit of affordability), and the extra money would go a LONG way because your biggest expense at 500k mortgage is a small fraction of your income. The complaints about high cost of living and taxes are unfounded based on simple arithmetic, the numbers don't agree with your statements. I don't even live on the west coast and 400 - 500k is what a good home in a good neighborhood (think middle to upper middle class) costs where I live. CRNAs here don't even make 200k base salary, but if they did a 500k house would be considered affordable based on those numbers.
I have to agree with this. I'm not sure where people get the idea that it takes 500k to obtain a half-decent home in California. I think people see the neck-breaking headlines about San Francisco and believe the whole state is that way.
Also, the rest of cost of living is such a ridiculous argument. So your gas price is higher, that's going to cost you what, an extra 40 bucks a month? Groceries are often cheaper than the rest of the country, you are in the middle of the central valley agricultural area!
OUxPhys, BSN, RN
1,203 Posts
Aint that the truth. That’s why I moved on from CCF. They have recruiting events every 6 months it seems. I saw OSU signed a new contract with their union that addresses turnover and implements ratios. That would be sweet. Perhaps ill check out Columbus. I think I would enjoy California (I think the positives outweigh the negatives) but I dont want to do it in my own.