VA Nurse Pay Scales

What Members Are Saying (AI-Generated Summary)

Members are discussing the hiring process and potential pay grades for nursing positions at the VA, with some sharing their experiences of long wait times and varying offers. Questions about salary scales, job postings, and negotiation strategies are also being raised, along with inquiries about tuition reimbursement and educational benefits for VA employees.

Need help finding Title 38 pay schedules? I stumbled across this today for anyone who needs it: Title 38 Pay Schedules

If you know your VA's station number you can look up the pay scale in the first section or you can look up the state in the section below.

Grade 01 = Nurse I

Grade 02 = Nurse II and so on

Nurse I, Level 2 pay starts at Step 03 and Level 3 starts at Step 05.

As a new grad with a BSN, I started as a Nurse I, Level 2, Step 05.

Hope this helps!

Specializes in PACU RN.

Extremely helpful!! ? TY

Specializes in Nursing student.
kristykat said:

If you know your VA's station number you can look up the pay scale in the first section or you can look up the state in the section below.

Grade 01 = Nurse I

Grade 02 = Nurse II and so on

Nurse I, Level 2 pay starts at Step 03 and Level 3 starts at Step 05.

As a new grad with a BSN, I started as a Nurse I, Level 2, Step 05.

Hope this helps!

I'm a veteran who falls under 10 point preference and will be graduating with a MSN with no experience. Would I fall under Grade 1/Nurse 1, Level 3, Step 5?

BJPMH said:

Good afternoon,

I was scrolling and came across this thread. I'm a veteran who falls under 10 point preference and will graduating with a MSN with no experience. Would I fall under Grade 1/Nurse 1, Level 3, Step 5?

I'm curious if you ever found out the answer to your question? Are you somebody who went into a direct entry MSN? 

I was just talking about this to a friend who will be graduating from a direct entry MSN program (No ADN or BSN, just MSN) and was wondering where they would start if they got a job at the VA.  It seems many of the VA pay descriptions assume people will have a BSN then MSN.  What happens if you only have a MSN?

Hope somebody out there might be able to shed some light on this.....

Specializes in MICU, CCU, CVICU, Medical/Surgical, Nursing Admin.

@BJPMH & @Mergirlc - 

Yes, a MSN from a Bridge Program with No RN experience would be a Nurse 1 Level 3. If there was at least 1 year experience, then probable entry to a Nurse 2.

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I have applied for a VA position and am trying to make light of this payscale. I am an ADN with 13 years of experience in multiple fields and am wondering where I would fall in this scale. Any help would be appreciated!

Specializes in Psychiatric/ER/Primary Clinic/Addiction.

I think degrees and knowing someone in leadership gets you promoted but the initial pay scale is according to nursing experience and meeting criteria so like an RN in Califoria may start at 90,000 which is good for a Nurse 1

NurseStephen said:

@BJPMH & @Mergirlc - 

Yes, a MSN from a Bridge Program with No RN experience would be a Nurse 1 Level 3. If there was at least 1 year experience, then probable entry to a Nurse 2.

@NurseStephen  Thank you for your earlier response.  You seem to be very knowledgable in "the ways" of the VA. ? I am somewhat in the same category as my friend, but I am a year behind her.

What I love about the VA is they do not make their rate of pay secret. It's all out there for everybody to see, so there are really no surprises when it comes to where you will start off at. I'm not sure if you have experience in the outside sector, but I've always heard the VA pays way less, yet I have no proof since many hospitals/corporations never seem to release their pay rates for public consumption; the exception being when they are recruiting new grads, sometimes.  Do you have any knowledge if this is the case - the VA just pays low?  If so, by how much?  For example:  VA in Idaho pays $50K, but if you go to Hospital X in Idaho, they'll pay you $57K.  This is just a made up example, but you get the picture.

I know....the benefits probably outweigh the pay difference, but just wondering if the VA is becoming more competitive in wages to recruit healthcare staff.

Hello there.. did you get to negotiate your pay scale?  And who decides your pay scale? Iam a new BSN grad too.. 

Specializes in ER.

I'm curious when you get promoted fron a nurse II to nurse III, do you go up to the same step?

Specializes in Care Coordination, General Surgery, Oncology.

For any promotion from one level to the next, you are placed at the steps that corresponds to just greater than the step that is 2 steps above your current step. Does that make sense?

so example is if you're a nurse II step 8 and your salary is 100,000, and step 10 is 110,000 and step 11 is 115,000, then when you go up to nurse III, you'll get placed at the step that is at least 110,000, but doesn't go over 115,000.

Does anyone know if you do the VALOR program as a student nurse if you start out as a level 1 or level 2? Im in California and wondering what my starting pay will be. And how do they calculate the steps? Thanks ! 

Maybe higher step in nurse 1 but definutely not nurse 2..

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