Shockingly low NP pay !

Specialties NP

Published

I have been a nurse for 20 years and have felt fairly compensated for the work I do. This coming spring I will graduate from CSU in Georgia with an FNP degree. Being the curious one that I am, I started googling NP jobs on indeed.com yesterday. It appears the pay listed for Emory University NP jobs is 72,000 to 105,000. The lower half almost matches my RN pay to the T. Seeing how the NP is billed almost exactly the same as an MD with services provided, it doesn't make much sense to start off NPs at such a low figure. Just had to rant. Guess with the churning out of NPs from diploma mills the pay will drop even lower :(

I believe if more people worked through nursing school, gasp, that there would be less of a squeeze on new graduates to accept whatever lousy job is tossed their way in order to keep the electric on. Same with graduate degrees, work a few years as a RN and gain both excellent experience while you save money toward your graduate degree. If we want to be considered professionals we should act like professionals and that includes keeping our financial house in order as opposed to taking on massive debt in order to "focus on school".

This is so easy to say when you are not a single mother with not family working full-time and raising children. It is a good idea, thou. I had been talking to my children about it because I own $60,000 in loans and I don't want them to do the same.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
. It's easy to look down on low salaries from the perspective of wealthier states when there's a practically foreign economy at play in other states.

Thank you for saying that, its always easy to assume that NP's not making 100k are being slided but many fail to consider the State. Many of the NP's that report salaries on this site are from NY, Boston, Cali etc where the pay is what many dream of but with a cost of living I would dread. I live in the burbs north of Atlanta, I have nice house with a huge backyard, kiddos are in a excellent school and my mortgage is beyond affordable. So for me staying in a low paying state is worth it. I have spoken with quite a few NP's and discussed salary ranges and there is money to be made after experience, they didn't stay at the $90k forever. I knew an NP that was making over 150K as nephrology NP in Florida because he worked as contract and as FT NP. I also know another NP that just accepted a hospitalist position at a local hospital starting 100K. So while I understand that taking extremely low salaries are rediculous please understand that other factors come into play. My new NP pay will be a lot more than a made as an RN because I stopped doing the weekend nights option and working all the holidays. Yes, there are downsides right now in the NP market but is there any way we can see the glass half full?

just my 2 cents

Cococure

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Practice.

For an older nurse, I don't know why one would want to become a NP. I had a colleague when I worked as a RN that became a NP but because she was maxed out of the pay and PTO scale, she stayed a floor nurse.

For me, I was lucky to get in at a union hospital as a RN. I was making $30/hr. Prior to that I was making $21/hr at a non union hospital. When I became a NP five years ago I was making about $47-48/hr. I'm up to about $54 now. So it was definitely worth it as someone in my early 30s.

I know a lot of people on this forum always say "well NPs should be making at least 100k per year!" Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? But honestly the job market has never been that great. Hospitals and docs mostly just see us as underlinings to generate as much revenue for as little pay as possible. I think only mental health NPs have more salary capability at least in the Midwest.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER LTC MED SURG CLINICS UROLOGY.

I'd like to see documentation of that salary. Don't believe it for a second! That's LPN pay here.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER LTC MED SURG CLINICS UROLOGY.

Support and guidance? Seems to me with an offer starting that low, they are all about filling their pockets and saving money. Smh.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neurology, Psychology, Family medicine.

Agreed, many careers benefit salary wise from personal investment aka experience. Why someone in their later years thinks they will benefit long term with only 10 years or less working as an NP left in their career I think is being disingenuous. There is a reason most business gurus push early invesment/ learning what you want to truly do early in life. Seems so simple to me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
Agreed, many careers benefit salary wise from personal investment aka experience. Why someone in their later years thinks they will benefit long term with only 10 years or less working as an NP left in their career I think is being disingenuous. There is a reason most business gurus push early invesment/ learning what you want to truly do early in life. Seems so simple to me.

It makes no sense to me but neither does all those who are deluded to think they will be physically or mentally fit to function into their 70s in this business. Sure, there are some who can but most? Meh I'm not counting on it. My plan is to continue enjoying life now while I am healthy and retire in early 60s hopefully leaving before colleagues are saying "yeah Jules used to be sharp" as I wander the halls of the hospital mouth breathing with my wig on sideways. :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in medical surgical.

I am in Georgia. It was brought to my attention that many are educated in this state but leave after graduation. We are extremely backward in pay. People also want to see a MD. Just had a guy in and he would not see a NP. However, these are mostly older people.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

There's definitely a myth that RN make more than NPs. I make 4 times as much as I did as an RN base rate maybe 2.5 if you factor in weekend differentials and what not. NPs have a lot more negotiating power. I have a side job now I told the employer that contacted me on LinkedIn I can't work for that and I don't want to waste their time and they went up $20 an hour like it was nothing that's never going to happen as an RN because when I started as an RN I made $20.83 an hour

Up Vote Up Vote ×
That being said, long career RNs who compare their current pay to an NP imo are doing it wrong. That RN that is likely at the absolute top of their pay scale and the only way they will advance is to either forfeit benefits for some glorified pool/prn position or work extra hours ad nausea to bring in extra money. Whereas an np has broader earning potential for normal hours of work as either autonomy increases or as experience and patient load goes up.

No we aren't. Those of us at the top of the pay scale are also nearing retirement age. It doesn't make much sense to take on considerable debt for a low return even if it is temporary. If I started as a new NP at my current employer I would be taking a 30k/yr pay cut. I am 11 years from retirement. If I leave it screws up my retirement because I'm in a public institution but have only been here 10 years. With the current trend of NP salaries beginning to decrease its a crap shoot whether I would make up much less exceed that difference before I'm ready to hang up my stethoscope. And I'd still have student loans to pay off. Why would I take that risk? If I was 30 years old that would be a no-brainer but it's much more complicated when in your fifties.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
So actually NPs can make over 200k a year under the right circumstances. I personally can't imagine anyone being willing to do it for less than $150k but maybe that's my bias.

Jules, you might be interested in this: A couple of weeks ago I got an email from a headhunter looking for a PMHNP in San Diego - $200K as an employee or $500K as a contractor. I thought that might have been a mistake, but this past week I got another email about a different PMHNP opportunity in Denver (I think) for $120 to $140 per hour with an opportunity to become a partner in the practice. That would be $240 to $280K per year. There really is a horrible shortage of all mental health professionals out West.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).
It makes no sense to me but neither does all those who are deluded to think they will be physically or mentally fit to function into their 70s in this business. Sure, there are some who can but most? Meh I'm not counting on it. My plan is to continue enjoying life now while I am healthy and retire in early 60s hopefully leaving before colleagues are saying "yeah Jules used to be sharp" as I wander the halls of the hospital mouth breathing with my wig on sideways. :D

I know a psychiatrist who practiced until he was 83 because he loved his job and he was very mentally fit. I've worked with a number of MDs and NPs in the 70s and 80s who are going strong and just love the work. There are people who start med school in their 60s! Some people truly want to keep working as long as possible and studies show that people who keep working generally do better in old age, both physically and mentally. My dad retired in his 60s because he had to take care of my mom and really missed working. I plan to work full-time until 70 and then maybe go part time after that for as long as I can do good work.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment