Published
You have to keep in mind that the standard of living in Florida is much different than that of the Northeast. It would seem that the average salary of a new nurse in Orlando, FL is just shy of 50K, while in the Northeast I make just shy of 80K with a shift differential.
Upstate NY was offering crap in the areas I was looking 6-7 years ago.
$22/h, poor nurse protection, poor ratios. Look up the legal mess at Cayuga's ICU. Couldn't pay me enough to work somewhere like that.
I would suggest looking into jobs in more desirable parts of NY (Westchester, Albany) if you want to be out of NYC but still in the state and earn decently.
A lot of my nursing professors in upstate NY were teaching full time, working in a local ICU or hospital unit full time, and living in trailer parks. Now I can't tell you their exact hourlies, but clearly not quite what was needed to achieve a decent standard of living.
CT/MA/NYC seem to fare a bit better with compensation, but I'd say that outside of NYC or Boston you won't make that much your first few years unless you work a LOT of overtime. I'd expect 27 to 30 an hour. 30x36x52 is 56k as a base salary, and without OT that's around where you will be for a few years.
Average pay in Florida would be 25-33/ hour starting, I have a friend who is starting in Miami with low 30's an hour. I think you could pull in 75,000 starting in New York City with a little OT. A quick search on average starting salary will show you where you aim for.
Also important to keep in mind speciality and cost of living. You could make less but me saving more if it's cheaper to live there.
dinobiceps, ASN, BSN, RN
6 Posts
I'm a nursing student in New York State but really want to move down to Orlando a couple of years after graduating with my BSN and RN. I was curious if anyone knew any just general starting salaries or salary ranges. In a perfect world I'd like $75000 but that sounds really high considering that the average is like somewhere in the $60000s. But is it possible to get a $75k salary starting out?