Survey: New Grad Pay

carrie13 · Jun 8, 2008

I'm in a small non-profit hospital in the suburbs of Boston. I make $25.50/hr. Evening differential is 12.5% and an additional 10% on weekends.

onyx77 · Jun 9, 2008

Holy crap, I'm moving to Wisconsin! :) I'm in Seattle and I started as a new grad at 23.96, 4.25PM, 2.50Eves, 4Weekend differentials.

Not all cities in Wisconsin pay so well! I was offered 22 at a large hospital in Milwaukee. I am making 22.35 in a much smaller town in LTC. Cost of living is higher in Madison than it is my hometown.

RD_Congo · Sep 11, 2008

What use is this information if you neglect to mention where you are from? (see below)

ANYWAY, here in Boston starting pay is around $29/hour. ADNs don't have much chance unless you've worked at the hospital, since there is a nursing surplus here. BSN's might make it.

I'm moving to the Southwest because I can not take the nightmare traffic, the rude and impatient people, the small living quarters, and the lack of parking. Anyway, I should be able to save more money there, considering the lower cost of living in several cities.

Most hospitals have a standard (non-negotiable) rate for new grads.
Mine was $24.83/hr on days.
The standard diffs (NOT dependent upon experience) for nights is $2.10 & weekends are $1.50.
Performance evals/raises are done annually and actually allow nurses who've worked for the hospital longer to make more (relatively speaking) than nurses who are "new" to the hospital but have more experience.
You can put negotiable... OR, you can call HR and just plain ask what they pay new grads. There may be a set rate or it may be negotiable.

canuck2texan · Sep 11, 2008

I just graduated with an ADN and am working Pedi ER. Base salary is 20/hr with 3.50 shift diff nites and an additional 4.00 shift diff for weekends. If we choose to work overtime, (which is greatly appreciated) because we consider ourselves a closed unit and do not use agency nor any other hospital staff in our ER. This past week (my first) on my shift we were suppose to have 9 nurses and only 3 signed up. We are very short staffed right now but our manager is working on it for us. Our PCC, nursing manager and nursing supervisor all rolled up there sleeves and joined us on the front lines. Bottom dollar is we are a team and always have each others back. I could have gone to the bigger, newer hospitals and made 2.00 more per hour, but when I (secretly) round the four hospitals that offered me interviews, my hospital was the only one where everyone was smiling and joking and had a true sense of team and family. That means more to me than a few dollars more. Even the doctors are approachable and are willing to lend a hand at to teach the new grads.

I feel that I am truly where I need to be and feel greatful that I have such a great job.

We will all be reporting to the ER starting on Saturday morning and will be executing code grey for the incoming hurricane (yes I am in Texas) but not one of us complained because we do not want to let the team down. The only downside is that we have to leave our families at home (my two teenagers) but as my husband says I knew what can with the profession and my chosen speciality.

love-d-OR · Sep 12, 2008

Canuck2texan, thank you for your bravery, selflessness, and generousity. My heart is with you and I hope you are all able to manage the outcomes of the hurricane, and must of all I hope those outcomes stay to a minimum.