We make as much as maids

Nurses General Nursing

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I just have to vent. I have been interviewing for a cleaning woman and would you believe many of them asked for $20/hr!! That's cash by the way! I am so angry that many nurses are making the same hourly salary as a maid and WHY WHY WHY are more nurses not angry about thier pay? I am furious that so many non degreed positions make the same or more than we do. Why haven't nurses stood for their rights??? I am new but I would love to bring nursing salaries to the negotiating tables. I am so angry.

I just have to vent. I have been interviewing for a cleaning woman and would you believe many of them asked for $20/hr!! That's cash by the way! I am so angry that many nurses are making the same hourly salary as a maid and WHY WHY WHY are more nurses not angry about thier pay? I am furious that so many non degreed positions make the same or more than we do. Why haven't nurses stood for their rights??? I am new but I would love to bring nursing salaries to the negotiating tables. I am so angry.

I don't think that $20hr to clean after someone is alot of money. Nurses as well as many other professions should be angry at there pay. There are accounting jobs that start off at $26,000 annually for people with 4yr degrees. Who put in long hours without overtime pay. Perhaps with nurses being in such demand they should utilize that in order to boost their salaries before excepting these positions.

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yeah, gosh, I wish all non-educated people would just learn to know their place and accept poverty as god's will for them too.

WHAT THE HECK??????????????????????????????????/

I strongly suggest you read "Nickled and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich. there is a section in that book about maids I think you would find interesting......

I read that book, I will never hire a cleaning service. I think 20 bucks an hour is a bit much for a maid, but on the other hand you get what you pay for.

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I don't think that $20hr to clean after someone is alot of money. Nurses as well as many other professions should be angry at there pay. There are accounting jobs that start off at $26,000 annually for people with 4yr degrees. Who put in long hours without overtime pay. Perhaps with nurses being in such demand they should utilize that in order to boost their salaries before excepting these positions.

How about school teachers. Around here, they make between $25-30,000 a year starting out, and all the crap they deal with. Last year, a high school teacher was almost killed by two students who smashed her head in with a claw hammer and stole her car right in the school parking lot.

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How about school teachers. Around here, they make between $25-30,000 a year starting out, and all the crap they deal with. Last year, a high school teacher was almost killed by two students who smashed her head in with a claw hammer and stole her car right in the school parking lot.

Having been a teacher for a moment, I can certainly agree that teachers are grossly underpaid, as nurses are. But since we are comparing nursing with maids, here's another comparison: There are professional athletes out there who make more money in a year playing a game than possibly each allnurses.com's active memeber combined yearly income.

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That is very true. However, you have to consider that many other professions can be very cyclic. I know people in the "business" world with office jobs that may end up making more money over the years, but they also can get laid off quite easily or forced to take cuts in pay. I even know an RN who is an attourney but because of his family expenses, he couldnt afford to practice law full time because of the initial pay cut he would endure for the first few years. Hell, look what is happening to airline pilots right now. Nurses will always have jobs and will always be able to make at least middle income or more based on where and how much they work. If you want big money, look at side jobs/business/investing etc. MULTIPLE streams of income is the key.

One would think, but if you cruise around these forums long enough - you will see some nurses on here that would beg to differ. Especially about the "always have jobs" part. I have seen several nurses on here posting (particularly from TX) that nursing jobs are hard to come by. They aren't exactly plentiful where I am either. Areas are either short of nurses - or they are NOT. If they are NOT, nursing is not as wonderfully secure as many people like to think. You settle for the pay and the work you can get and you are not guaranteed to "always have a job" just because you are a nurse. Many people cannot just pick up their families and move. All these things must be taken into consideration, just as the possibility of layoffs and paycuts must be taken into consideration regarding business careers.

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point taken.

There are 6 nursing schools in my immediate area yet there are ALWAYS tons of nursing jobs in the paper every day. In fact, most hospitals just run continuous ads all the time. I just assumed it was the same in other major metropolitan areas. I've always known rural areas could be different.

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.

I'm attracted to nursing because of my personality. I come from a family of nurses & should have listened to my grandfather when I was a high school sophomore. He told me to go to nursing school right after high school. I got married & had babies instead. (Not that I wish I hadn't had my kids. Just that I'd done school FIRST!) Like anyone else though, I want to be able to make a decent income. It seems to do that in nursing, you must go per diem, agency or travel. Travel looks appealing and I may give it a whirl after my 1st couple years of med/surg.

Speaking to the wage a housekeeper makes, if someone would clean my house for $20/hr, I'd be all over it! My house is in a perpetual state of chaos with me working & going to school. If she's self-employed, the maid has to provide her own transportation expenses, supplies, taxes, benefits - all out of that $20/hr you give her. After she takes all of those expenses into consideration, she's putting far less than 20/hr into the bank at the end of the day. (OH, and I'm one of those people who wouldn't clean if you paid me $50/hr. I hate housekeeping chores!!)

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just alughing here becaue i remember when hubbys aunt used to roll up to her house cleaning jobs in her brand new lexus, take off her 1.5 carat diamond anniversary ring and clean, then let her customer know she'd be in hawaii for 2 weeks. I wonder what they must have thought.... (she did well, but her hubby had a good job as well) I don't begrudge the few maids who are doing very well, they work a hard job and a thankless one. Also what is the first thing people discontinue when the going gets rough? Gotta let the maid or housekeeper go, no job security, no benefits etc... lets just worry about improving our own profession or future profession (for some of us)

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Nursing Education, LTC, and HHC.

I think 20.00 an hour for a housekeeper is very very expensive... but then again I look at my well lived in house... and wounder if 2-3 hours of a good cleaning would be worth 60.00 to not have to do it..:) then I realize, that's what my teenagers are for! Ya.. that's the ticket.... anyways... no point here.. if someone can make that kinda money and people will pay it, then I guess good for the maid who can be successful doing so..

I wish all people good luck in what ever they do, regardless if it requires a degree or not..

as for nurses, we will never be paid what we are worth.. but, I suppose it comes down to two things:

1) Nursing is a job where you can make a reall difference in the lives of another... how can you put a price on that?

2) Nursing affords us the ability to provide for our families, and live a much better life than if we had to be a walmart greeter, or be working in meaningless jobs of some sort.

It may be true that nurses should make more money.. but imagine this.. if, let's say a nurse started out at like $50.00 an hour (hypothetical) then all nurses would be saying we need to be paid $60.00 an hour oe whatever...

point is: Let's be grateful we have jobs that pay bills, and make us able to live decent, even though we will never become rich.

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Speaking of maids, we had two of them turn our house down after seeing our 4 year old's room and her running around the house screaming LOL....nurses can't pick and choose their patients.

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Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Sheesh..if a maid is making 20 bucks an hour...I am soooooo going to change careers! LOL!!!!! Yeah, I make a bit more (23)...but at least I could listen to some decent music while I work..LOL!!!!!!! Wait a min...I do this too..clean house after work..oh wait till hubby gets my bill!!!!!! LOL!!!!

Yeah..my application for Maid services: NO CAP or uniform of any kind, no bedpans/diapers/or foleys, no med pass, no calls to the doc or making appointments for you, I will make the bed my way (which may include a pinkie/chucks if I so feel it is needed!), no shots or insertion of anything in any oriface, day time only no weekends, no ON CALL, paid lunch breaks (ONE HOUR!) if 8 hours worked, and gratuities or gifts can and will be taken and appreciated! LOL!!!!!!

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Sheesh! And to think that I provide maid service for FREE to my family of four small children and hubby. I think I'll start giving my family an itemized bill. $20 an hour, you say??

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