$200,000 salary as a RN, it's true

[guest416560]

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.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

11 hours ago, ProgressiveThinking said:

To the OPs buddy who makes 350k, he takes home 8302 biweekly or 16604 a month

Lol, I'm quite familiar with Kaiser''s CNA contract and know how well their nurses have it. It almost makes more sense to work for Kaiser in Sacramento than SF or Santa Clara. I've also met a few Kaiser nurses like that who works overtime a lot and pulls that kind of income. Personally, I don't feel it's worth it to work that much to deny myself of the work-life balance that is important.

[bryanleo9]

10 hours ago, Xance said:

Even so I would consider being a travel RN to California with that in mind. Texas has a low cost of living so if I were a travel RN to California I would get the benefits of both states; TX low cost of living with CA high salary. I'll bet many travel RN's do that exact thing for that similar reasons.

There is an emergency department in Stockton that is staffed primarily by travel RN's from the southern states. This is in a low paying county by California standards.

[Asystole RN]

2 hours ago, bryanleo9 said:

There is an emergency department in Stockton that is staffed primarily by travel RN's from the southern states. This is in a low paying county by California standards.

I worked with a nurse who had an unusual per-diem schedule of 1 week on and 3 off. He lived in Georgia and worked on the West Coast. He said that it was so dirt cheap to live in Georgia that he could make a month's salary in Georgia in a single week so that is what he did.

[Jkloo]

One aspect of the affordable housing crisis in California, which contributes tremendously to the increased COL, is that a lot of the home owners and builders don't really want more affordable housing. Having to buy a $2 million near beachfront house isn't too bad when you have great job security and can be almost certain it will appreciate. Or better yet, rent it out on AirBNB essentially year-round and rake in more than your mortgage (which has become a huge issue for the San Diego area at least).

A lot of areas have no more horizontal space and can only go vertical. Many of the beachy areas like San Francisco have put huge restrictions on going vertical to build.

Even buying a large "McMansion" in the Midwest for <$1 million would really suck if it ended up depreciating or staying the same over time. Not too many folks are interested in renting one of these.

[jobellestarr]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:34 AM, Asystole RN said:

I worked with a nurse who had an unusual per-diem schedule of 1 week on and 3 off. He lived in Georgia and worked on the West Coast. He said that it was so dirt cheap to live in Georgia that he could make a month's salary in Georgia in a single week so that is what he did.

Many of us have done this. I shared a rv with a friend. I’m from Az and she’s from GA. It’s a good deal if you can find cheap housing.

[LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP]

I have lived and worked in Cleveland Ohio, Houston Texas, and San Francisco CA as an NP since 2011.

My pay didn't vary much between Cleveland and Houston. It skyrocketed with SF.

My standard of living was also essentially unchanged between all places, except in SF I can save more, even when I pay an obscene amount in rent.

In Houston, you can expect to pay 2-3k for a 3 bedroom place, if you want to live inside the loop (ie, keep your commute <1 hour). You get around 100k/year (a little less). You have to have at least one car for your family. Utilities are a constant cost that is high because of all the air conditioning.

In Cleveland, the prices for a three bedroom can vary more, depending on area, but I would expect 1.5-2k for a 3 bedroom apartment without a huge commute. You have to have a car for the family. Utilities are still heavy, with air conditioning in the summer, heating in the winter. I was making about the same, and the costs were overall about the same.

In SF, I am making ~200k or more, my apartment is 4k/month, which is a 1 bedroom. (I live in a fancy brand new high rise) The biggest buy in cost is at a one bedroom. Adding more bedrooms is often much cheaper in a per bedroom comparison. I sleep in my bedroom. When the kids are here, the living room is converted to a bedroom (common here). My costs are lower - I don't use heating ever and rarely use cooling. I don't need a car. I live downtown so my commute is less than 10 min on a bad day. I can walk to work in 30 min if I wanted. My overall quality of life is better though. I am growing my nest egg (in addition to my pension) and I live in an amazing city where I can go outside nearly every day of the year and it will be pleasant. My rent is more than 50% of my income I think, but because that number is so high, I still have plenty to live on and save with. I travel regularly, buy everything I need, eat as much as I want, etc.

I don't know if I could ever move, because I'm not willing to take the quality of life cut. Houston had no state taxes, but no one would drink the tap water because it was gross. But community college is free here and our tap water is delicious from the sierras. I have more activities here, open minded people, and plenty of disposable income.

It's easy to knee jerk about CA, but you have to actually plan out your budget to be able to truly compare.

[Jkloo]

Just now, LilPeanut said:

I have lived and worked in Cleveland Ohio, Houston Texas, and San Francisco CA as an NP since 2011.

My pay didn't vary much between Cleveland and Houston. It skyrocketed with SF.

My standard of living was also essentially unchanged between all places, except in SF I can save more, even when I pay an obscene amount in rent.

In Houston, you can expect to pay 2-3k for a 3 bedroom place, if you want to live inside the loop (ie, keep your commute <1 hour). You get around 100k/year (a little less). You have to have at least one car for your family. Utilities are a constant cost that is high because of all the air conditioning.

In Cleveland, the prices for a three bedroom can vary more, depending on area, but I would expect 1.5-2k for a 3 bedroom apartment without a huge commute. You have to have a car for the family. Utilities are still heavy, with air conditioning in the summer, heating in the winter. I was making about the same, and the costs were overall about the same.

In SF, I am making ~200k or more, my apartment is 4k/month, which is a 1 bedroom. (I live in a fancy brand new high rise) The biggest buy in cost is at a one bedroom. Adding more bedrooms is often much cheaper in a per bedroom comparison. I sleep in my bedroom. When the kids are here, the living room is converted to a bedroom (common here). My costs are lower - I don't use heating ever and rarely use cooling. I don't need a car. I live downtown so my commute is less than 10 min on a bad day. I can walk to work in 30 min if I wanted. My overall quality of life is better though. I am growing my nest egg (in addition to my pension) and I live in an amazing city where I can go outside nearly every day of the year and it will be pleasant. My rent is more than 50% of my income I think, but because that number is so high, I still have plenty to live on and save with. I travel regularly, buy everything I need, eat as much as I want, etc.

I don't know if I could ever move, because I'm not willing to take the quality of life cut. Houston had no state taxes, but no one would drink the tap water because it was gross. But community college is free here and our tap water is delicious from the sierras. I have more activities here, open minded people, and plenty of disposable income.

It's easy to knee jerk about CA, but you have to actually plan out your budget to be able to truly compare.

It's often why a lot of folks earn money in these types of areas, retire early, then move to the LCOL areas. You can make and save ton if you live with a few roommates in SF making 150-200k (not working overtime) in SF. Then proceed to another area and basically live off of your investments or work less.

[LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP]

5 minutes ago, Jkloo said:

It's often why a lot of folks earn money in these types of areas, retire early, then move to the LCOL areas. You can make and save ton if you live with a few roommates in SF making 150-200k (not working overtime) in SF. Then proceed to another area and basically live off of your investments or work less.

I don't even have roommates (apart from my kids LOL)

[NurseBlaq]

8 hours ago, LilPeanut said:

In Cleveland, the prices for a three bedroom can vary more, depending on area, but I would expect 1.5-2k for a 3 bedroom apartment without a huge commute. You have to have a car for the family. Utilities are still heavy, with air conditioning in the summer, heating in the winter. I was making about the same, and the costs were overall about the same.

I call shenanigans because Cleveland has RTA, rapids, buses, specialty buses, etc. that even go from Cleveland to Kent, to Akron, to Lorain etc. counties away, and Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, is covered east and west side. You can have your preferences, that's fine, but don't make things up to validate them. SMH

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

1 hour ago, NurseBlaq said:

I call shenanigans because Cleveland has RTA, rapids, buses, specialty buses, etc. that even go from Cleveland to Kent, to Akron, to Lorain etc. counties away, and Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, is covered east and west side. You can have your preferences, that's fine, but don't make things up to validate them. SMH

Yeah, living downtown C-Town does not require a car. In the suburbs yes depending on distance (I know some nurses who ride their bike to work in the summer months).

Also, how do you not use some heat in SF? Doesn't SF get cooler/colder than southern CA?

[djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP]

1 hour ago, OUxPhys said:

Yeah, living downtown C-Town does not require a car. In the suburbs yes depending on distance (I know some nurses who ride their bike to work in the summer months).

Also, how do you not use some heat in SF? Doesn't SF get cooler/colder than southern CA?

SF is a pretty temperature climate year round. Very few extremes.

[NurseBlaq]

2 hours ago, OUxPhys said:

Yeah, living downtown C-Town does not require a car. In the suburbs yes depending on distance (I know some nurses who ride their bike to work in the summer months).

Also, how do you not use some heat in SF? Doesn't SF get cooler/colder than southern CA?

Even living in the burbs there are rapids, buses, and park and rides all over the place. You can get around Cleve without a car. Cleve city school children catch RTA to school after elementary so to claim you absolutely need a car to get around is absurd. It's the city with plenty of transportation options.