So you're an RN - you must be earning big!

Nurses General Nursing

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Certainly, I'm not the only one who gets irked whenever I hear this, am I? It's true that if we were to look at figures alone, we get paid a decent amount compared to other professions and that we enjoy benefits that are not available in other jobs. I'm just surprised a lot of people believe nurses are huge $$$ maker. My family and several of my patients think we earn a lot, but do we really?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to have this career and that I'm earning money, but is it unreasonable if I think nurses in general are actually underpaid? That our compensation barely matches the responsibility, stress, workload, and other things we put up with work (i.e. under-staffing, workplace politics, etc)?

I wish I can say that each and every time I'm told I make so much money or that I must be living comfortably because I'm a nurse. I wish I am, but no. Nurses may earn a little more than some, but we have to really work our butts off day in and day out for every paycheck we get.

Specializes in School nurse.
People often say it to imply we aren't doing enough or don't deserve what we make.

THIS

The comment irks me too and it isn't because of the dollar amount. Yes, we do earn a living wage. I contribute to my household and if something horrible happened to my husband I would be able to support my family without him. That is a truly valuable position to be in.

BUT

When people make this comment I hear that they don't truly understand what our basis of knowledge and expertise is and what our level of accountability and liability is. We certainly don't get compensated fairly when those factors are considered.

I also agree that this perspective is truly a class issue. If you are lower class then nurses seem to make a lot of money. If you are upper class then it is a step down.

I hate that nursing is seen as a working class position. I have a Bachelor's of Science degree. Since when is a bachelor's degree working class??

Also, I recently put my current salary and my salary from when I was a brand new grad into an inflation calculator. Essentially my salary is equivalent to what it was 17 years ago.

How is that "good" money?

And don't even get me started on hospital administrators....:no:

Specializes in ICU.

I always thought the "common knowledge" that nurses are paid well was a crock until I started working in CA. New grads make over $50/hr where I work so you easily clear $100k/yr with any experience.

By the way, to all those saying it's a bachelor's level job and you should be paid more to reflect the education/liability/responsibility/stress required . . . I have a master's in biology and used to work (much harder) in science research for just under $33k/yr.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Now that I think about it, I find it ridiculous that people think that nurses make good money. The starting wages for nurses in my area (medium COL) is around 24-25/hr, my hospital even less.

24 x 36 hrs = 864 x 52 weeks = 44,928

Say you are working every other weekend. Typical differentials here are 3-5/hr. 24 hours (weekends) x 4 dollars = 96 x 26 weekends = 2496 + 44928=47424.

Okay, okay, so what if you are working nights? Most new nurses start off at nights. Around here, that is an extra 4-5 bucks per hour.

4.50 x 36 hours x 52 weeks = 8424 + 47424 = 55848

Looking good, but the there comes Uncle Sam. Tax brackets have been adjusted. According to smartassets, if you do not contribute a cent to retirement, you are looking at netting around $1617 biweekly (as most of us are paid every other week) and if you don't have any withholdings i.e. paying max amount in taxes (which is the case for a growing demographic of people with low birth rates and less marriage...and kids eat up the difference, I'm sure) . Most finance gurus say you need to be putting in at least 10-15% per paycheck starting in your twenties to comfortably retire (though with the instability of social security, I'd say the younger generations should be saving a minimum of 20%). At 15%, your paycheck is down to around $1387/biweekly.

Then there is insurance (dental, medical and vision) that have yet to be accounted for. I won't go into too many details, but for the sake of number, I will say that I pay roughly around $70 per pay period after receiving health credits (I receive a little under 50 dollars per paycheck in credits). Now I am down to $1338, but I am single. Most people have spouses and/or dependents, which will jack up the price.

So, 1338 x 26 = $34788 net, before any potential holiday pay (most places only recognize 6-8 holidays, if that) and overtime (which isn't guaranteed, and if nurses makes big money as many say, we shouldn't have to work overtime to keep the lights on). But lets say that new grad nets another 2000 from holiday pay (which is generous), SO, $36788/12 = approx 3065 per month.

Now, maybe it is just me, but 3065/month doesn't sound like "big money." And I know this isn't representative of places that have higher starting income and no state income tax, but I think this covers quite a bit of the population, considering this is a medium col, only seven states have no state income tax and the wages aren't extremely high or low to reflect COL.

Specializes in OR 35 years; crosstrained ER/ICU/PACU.
I don't really care about people who think I make a lot of money. I chose to work in healthcare because I want to help people, but I went from EMS to nursing because I was tired of being paid almost nothing. I easily doubled my income after finishing nursing school. If I choose to pick up one over time shift a week I can easily make six figures a year, that isn't a thing in almost any other bachelor degree prepared profession (and our ADNs do this as well).

I would also guess that I have more stress at work than many of the other bachelor prepared professions (although certainly not all).

I did just the opposite: after 20 years in Nursing, I went into EMS (Paramedic) as a 2nd full-time job. I worked 3-11 Mon-Fri in the OR at a Medical Center, & then 48-hr Sat-Sun shifts as a paid medic in the city. So yes, I worked a lot; my girls were in HS. Neither of them needed loans to get their BA's in college, I had a nice muscle car, & we had a nice RV. You can only do that for so long (10 years) before it wears on you, though. I retired from my EMS career at 50, sticking to just OR nursing. It was a pay cut, but like you say, I picked up extra shifts, & there was always somebody wanting to get rid of their on-call shifts!

Specializes in med-surg, med oncology, hospice.

When I was working, I thought I was making decent wages. Not great as in all the decisions regarding meds, patient safety, time management, and you know the rest. But really IRKS me was when I needed to pay a plumber $60.00 (minimum time one hour) for maybe 10 minutes of work to unplug a stinking toilet!! He does not have all the decisions that involves people's lives that a nurse makes almost every minute of her shift.

Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.

Nurses are well paid relative to the education investment, but significantly underpaid relative to our level of responsibility.

I only ever hear this when I tell my dates what I do for a living.

I don't talk to them if they ever comment that i must a bunch of money now,because i consider that a rude comment.

It is like they are trying to see my earning potential so they could possibly use me financially.

I think everyone feels that way about their work, whatever line of work it happens to be.

Sour Lemon, you are always so sensible. I just felt like saying that. I bet if I knew you in the real world, I'd like ya'. :)

Considering the extreme cost of housing and health care, 100k is no longer "big bucks" throughout most of the country.

Depends on where you live, what type nursing you do and the level. All are factors. As a school teacher beginning my first year I made $300 a month. Teachers make good money, right? Don't let comments like this upset you. Many professionals are underpaid, but if you like it just smile and say if you only knew. It is none of their business in the first place, and if you like your career just smile and let them think what they want. Teachers work their butts off too. I would take my homework and test papers home, pop a cake in the oven to decorate (second job), then cool and decorate, then start the cookies, all the time grading papers, making lesson plans, preparing work for the next week. Some jobs are thankless. Nursing is not. Please do not be discouraged. If you are good and appreciated for what you do, let dummies think what they may.

I read all comments from nurses how they laugh about nurses making big money but in no one letter they said how much they m ake! Maybe 35-45 $ is not a lot for them. For many people is!

Specializes in Emergency Room, CEN, TCRN.

Around here, the average household income is ~40k, nurses start at about 70k -- so a new grad nurse is making more than most households in the population they're serving.

No complaints here.

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