Utah RN pay, Salt Lake City area

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psycheab

53 Posts

To anyone considering up and moving to SLC to start your nursing career...and I emphasize start...don't waste another minute thinking about it.

I have been looking DESPERATELY for a job for close to a year now. I've been on 2 interviews. One I know I didn't get because of experience and the other one I didn't get because I'm not in the club. The club meaning went to one of the local schools and/or don't know anyone here. As newnurseman mentioned, the outlook here is bleak. I even had a recruiter tell me this face-to-face when I stormed a career fair at UofU (I'm not a student there), just hoping to meet with someone, anyone and this was a lady from Intermountain. I asked her "What does the forecast look like for hiring new grads in the next 6 months?" She just shook her head and said "Not good." Which, of course, makes me wonder what they were doing at a career fair then -- isn't that to try and get people to come work for you?? LOL, yes, I know, there are more than just nurses in a hospital.

Anyway, back to my original post, I thank God that we are not relying on my salary to get by and that we will be leaving here in 18 months and wherever we wind up has a better job market than here. Sorry this turned into a vent more than helpful advice.

everwonder_y

42 Posts

I am an RN in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah Hospital and when I moved here last year from Portland, Oregon my hourly wage went from about $34/hr to a little over $22/hr. To say I was shocked is an understatement. My opinion on why nurses get paid so little here is that most of the new graduates in this area have no desire to leave Utah and therefore hospitals know they don't need to entice them with a big salary, they know they can pretty much pay them a little as they want and the nurses will still stay here because they grew up here, have families here, etc. My other opinion on why the hourly wages are so low is that is has to do with the culture here and that vocations such as nursing or teaching are primarily viewed as "women's work" therefore they pay less. I'm not stating that I agree with these opinions, I'm just stating opinions I have formed from working here over the past years and talking with co-workers. The wage here has nothing to do with cost of living, living here isn't that cheap.

I completely agree and it's troubling to say the least.

I worked at an Iasis facility and my starting pay as a new grad was about 23 an hour, before the night shift differential (and I naively thought that was decent because I knew IHC was paying much less for a new grad). I later changed to an outpatient clinic job, but my hours got cut with the economy slow down. I have been looking for another nursing job in utah for the last seven months. I have applied several times to IHC, had a few interviews, but never manage to get the job. I didn't go to nursing school here, but where I moved from salaries were closer to 27 an hour starting for new grads. I agree with many of the previous posts...people aren't looking to move, they don't care enough to demand wage increases because for most it's just a part time job or a second income, and it is deemed as 'woman's work'. Plus, IHC pretty much dominates the whole state so doesn't leave a lot of room for competition, and the ratio of supply of new nurses to demand for nursing jobs is completely off. I've pretty much given up looking here and have started applying out of state, because I think it's hopeless to find a decent paying job here if you have limited experience or contacts at this point in time.

I worked at an Iasis facility and my starting pay as a new grad was about 23 an hour, before the night shift differential (and I naively thought that was decent because I knew IHC was paying much less for a new grad). I later changed to an outpatient clinic job, but my hours got cut with the economy slow down. I have been looking for another nursing job in utah for the last seven months. I have applied several times to IHC, had a few interviews, but never manage to get the job. I didn't go to nursing school here, but where I moved from salaries were closer to 27 an hour starting for new grads. I agree with many of the previous posts...people aren't looking to move, they don't care enough to demand wage increases because for most it's just a part time job or a second income, and it is deemed as 'woman's work'. Plus, IHC pretty much dominates the whole state so doesn't leave a lot of room for competition, and the ratio of supply of new nurses to demand for nursing jobs is completely off. I've pretty much given up looking here and have started applying out of state, because I think it's hopeless to find a decent paying job here if you have limited experience or contacts at this point in time.

I am a new grad, Rn with my BSN and I keep getting turned down for jobs b/c I have no experience but idk what I am supposed to do to get experience! I also went to school out of state, where all my old classmates are making $28+ per hour but I am stuck here b/c my husband is military. We were hoping to get to move this year but just found out we will probably be stuck here another 2 years.....just hoping for a nursing job to come along soon, even with the crappy pay! Any advice???

If you are definitely stuck here for 2 more years then I would look into non-hospital nursing jobs. Check out home health care, hospice, long term care/SNFs, etc. Also, I know that sometimes eating disorder clinics will take new grads. I also know that you can work at plasma donation centers (not ideal for sure) as a nurse and get some good phlebotomy experience at least, which might transfer to dialysis type stuff or make it easier to transition into that kind of nursing later. I hope those give you some good ideas! Don't give up yet :) ;)

If you are definitely stuck here for 2 more years then I would look into non-hospital nursing jobs. Check out home health care, hospice, long term care/SNFs, etc. Also, I know that sometimes eating disorder clinics will take new grads. I also know that you can work at plasma donation centers (not ideal for sure) as a nurse and get some good phlebotomy experience at least, which might transfer to dialysis type stuff or make it easier to transition into that kind of nursing later. I hope those give you some good ideas! Don't give up yet :) ;)

Thanks so much for the advice! I plan on going to a bunch of non-hospital facilities this week and actaully talking to people to see what is out ther! Hope I have some good news soon!

indiejonesRN

4 Posts

Hello all. My family and I will be moving to the Salt Lake area in a couple of weeks from the Reno, NV area. My wife got a job at the U of U, so here I go trying to find an RN job. I just graduated in December and have been working at a local hospital for the last 3 months. I luckily landed a job in SLC after about 2 months of searching. The only reason I got the job is because I went knocking on people's doors. Just putting my application in online didn't get me anywhere. So for those of you looking for a job in the area, I suggest going to the place of employment and talking to people in the know, throw yourself out there! Hope this helps.

ovnerati

20 Posts

Specializes in Psychiatric, Emergency, Public Health.

I have lived in Utah my entire life and I am responding to your post.

I do not believe in any way shape or form that Utahns accept lower nursing salaries because it is "women's work." A statement like that is based on stereotypes and cultural ignorance. Women in Utah are not held back professionally any more than they are in other states. Likewise, for most nurses in Utah their job is NOT "just a part time job or a second income". Seriously??? Nursing is not a flight of fancy for anyone who enters the profession.

To the best of my knowledge the wages are lower here because the largest chain of hospitals in Utah (IHC) is a not-for-profit organization. The other hospitals and healthcare agencies do base wages on marketplace comparibiliy which.. yes are going to hit up on the IHC salaries since they are the largest health care employer in Utah.

As for why we accept these lower salaries... Honestly I have felt no need to compare wages against the wages in other states, so on that variable you may be correct. I don't have any intention to move just for a higher salary.

Frankly, I think paying an inexperienced employee who requires large amounts of additional training more than $21.00 an hour would be ludacris from a business stand point. The money I make as a new nurse here is sufficient for my families needs and I am doing work I love.

The job market in Utah is tight right now. Its difficult to get on with any of the large hospitals even if you worked for them while going through school, but its still possible to obtain employment as a new grad at the apparently very low going rate. I was able to obtain a job within a month of receiving my license last August.

PACNWNURSING

365 Posts

Specializes in Emergency Room.

21.80 an hour is not a livable wage to purchase a home, feed, cloth and have money to put away for a family four in Utah. The housing cost in Utah is not cheap. Staying in Utah to make 30,0000 less a year does not make any sense. Just because IHC is a not for profit does not mean they should not be paying nursing wages that reflect the market. I am going back to Washington State to work for a non for profit and will be making a much larger salary with better benefits. The hospital is listed as one of the top 50 hospitals in the country. Not one IHC hospital is listed. IHC is clearly indirectly controlling the nursing salaries in the entire state of Utah. This has been confirmed by many local Utah nurses. So stay, bury your head the salt lake flats and allow nursing salaries to continue to stay way behind the current salary trends in nursing. Nurses in Utah are way too silent. Being a leader in reducing cost does not necessarily mean a better employer for nurses.

ovnerati

20 Posts

Specializes in Psychiatric, Emergency, Public Health.
21.80 an hour is not a livable wage to purchase a home, feed, cloth and have money to put away for a family four in Utah. The housing cost in Utah is not cheap. Staying in Utah to make 30,0000 less a year does not make any sense. Just because IHC is a not for profit does not mean they should not be paying nursing wages that reflect the market. I am going back to Washington State to work for a non for profit and will be making a much larger salary with better benefits. The hospital is listed as one of the top 50 hospitals in the country. Not one IHC hospital is listed. IHC is clearly indirectly controlling the nursing salaries in the entire state of Utah. This has been confirmed by many local Utah nurses. So stay, bury your head the salt lake flats and allow nursing salaries to continue to stay way behind the current salary trends in nursing. Nurses in Utah are way too silent. Being a leader in reducing cost does not necessarily mean a better employer for nurses.

First of all $21.80 and hour if working full time is more than $40,000 per year not less than $30,000.00 and it is certainly possible to purchase a home, food, and clothing. My family of five managed to do so on far less than that prior to my graduation from Nursing school. You might not be able to live in a dream home or wear designer clothing, but if your capable of budgeting it is a completely livable wage.

Second, the wages in Utah do reflect the market comparible wages. If you refer to the Unites States Bureau of Labor Statistics you will see that Utahs wages are on the low end, but the wages are comparible to several other states including; Idaho, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, etc. In fact there are states listed as having lower wages on average.

Utah on average happens to have lower wages then other states in most fields. It is not Utah Specific. Engineer's in Utah (gosh I hope engineering is not considered women's work) tend to make $10,000 to $20,000 less per year then in other states as well.

PACNWNURSING

365 Posts

Specializes in Emergency Room.

The bottom line is nurses get paid more for doing the same exact job in other states. I would rather be making 30,000 more a year and have more financial freedom than dealing with Utahs lower salaries across the board. Of course its your choice. 21.80 an hour or 34.29 an hour, I will take the 34.29 an hour, thank you. :)

Annamarie_RN

21 Posts

I am very interested, what state are you able to make $34 an hour? I realize Utah doesn't pay well. My mom in North Idaho (Coeur d'Alene) stated that nurses with 1 yr exp make $25-28 hr depending on which shift you work. This is at a hospital. Another way to make great money is to work in Abu Dhabi, you get your furnished housing, medical and plane tickets paid for and tax free high wages. Sounds pretty nice.

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