Members are discussing various aspects of nurse practitioner (NP) programs, salaries, and job satisfaction. Some members are sharing their personal experiences with NP programs and salaries, while others are referencing reports on NP salaries by state and specialty. Additionally, there is a conversation about the perception of certain cities and the impact of location on salary and job satisfaction.
Hi everyone. I'm curious as to see what an actual paycheck (before taxes) looks like from an NP. I find salary websites to be not very helpful. So...
What type NP are you?
Where (state)(rural/urban) do you practice?
Are you independent or in a group?
How many years experience?
What is your before tax paycheck amount?
Monthly or bi-weekly?
Salary/hourly/other(explain)?
Avg hours on check?
What are the perks of your contract? (ie. PTO/vacation/bonuses)
I know this is very personal, but if you are able to provide input, I would appreciate it! I'm mainly interested also to see after the gov/operational costs etc have taken their share, how much are you left with?
Hi everyone - I am not an NNP yet but graduating in a few weeks so I thought I'd give my two cents. I have 2 offers currently - one for $98K, no PTO, good insurance, $1500 yr/CEUs. The larger metropolitan-area job was starting at around $110K-115k with 2 weeks PTO, same on everything else. To sweetether - I would assume that in So. Cal. you could hit that mark, especially considering that the strong nurses' union pushes salary up for nurses overall and you would be able to say you didn't want to make less than what you would make as a bedside nurse. I could possibly get info on Texas for you - I have a friend graduating in that area of the country.
Hi RNkaytee,
Thanks for the info! Do you mind saying what metropolitan area you are referring to? Are those paid positions you mentioned day shift? The first job is for 10 shifts a month? How many hours on each shift? Is there a lot of competition for new grad NNP jobs in your area?
I put a lot of thought about the lifestyle costs of working and living in California as an RN in comparison to other places in the country, and here is my quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits of working in Oakland, Califonrnia:
First off, I am working as an RN with 3.5 years experience, base pay 71.25/hr, full benefits; base salary $150,000 a year, but due to overtime, I've already increased my income ceiling to date to about USD180,000 (working an average of 42hrs/a week). Trying to get to $200K (if I can leverage OT and work an average of 45hrs/week)
Here's what I found plugging in my region, and base salary of 150,000 (just the base, no overtime included):
My base salary of 150,000 in Oakland, CA is equivalent to:
... Making 178,000/year in brooklyn (Approx $85/hr)
... Making 146,000/year in boston (approx 73/hr)
...Making 103,000/year in Atlanta (approx 51/hr)
... Making 119,000/year in Chicago (approx 60/hr)
... Making 122,000/year in Philidelphia (approx 61/hr)
... Making 111,000/year in Las Vegas (approx 56/hr)
...Making 190,000/year in Honolulu (approx 95/hr)
...Making 115,000/year in Miami (approx 56/hr)
...Making 87,000/year in Memphis (approx 43/hr)
...Making 103,000/year in Charleston (approx 51/hr)
Browsing through the forum in the respective areas above, most RNs don't seem to make the income above in their respective region, with the exception of a few RN's in Las Vegas (correct me if I am wrong please, I'm always curious about pay updates in other parts of the country)
The above may not always be true for all individuals, as COL may vary based on personal spending habits, but generally speaking, somebody living a middle class lifestyle should expect the COL estimates above.
In summary, living and working in my part of California is generally more profitable than most (if not all other) parts of the country.
In practice, I'm finding the above to be true, as I am able to substantially save up to 50% of my after tax take home pay. What does this all mean?
I might have to pay more up front to live in Oakland, CA area with a slightly higher COL than many parts of our country, but the pay here outpaces the cost of living in comparison to what other RNs are paid elsewhere.
As an added benefit, although owning a home costs more, the resale value of a home in this area is relatively stable. In the long run, even if I have to pay more for a house, the home will be worth even more when I sell it, leaving me more money for retirement and/or the option to roll it over to an even larger/grandious home elsewhere in the country.
Lastly, you can't beat the weather.
Yeah but you forgot the most important part of that, you'd have to live in Oakland. lol.
When I worked at Stanford in Palo Alto people talked about Oakland as in "stab city" and I constantly got recruiters asking me to work 48hr a week contracts paying over $3,000. A traveler friend of mine brought his kid to that assignment and he had to cancel it and leave because his teenage girl didn't feel safe in the town. The cost of living is at least a lot cheaper than San Fran in Oakland so your $150K a year would take you farther.
Specializes in Family Practice, Urgent Care, Medsurg.
Summer 2016
What type NP are you? FNP
Where (state)(rural/urban) do you practice? Washington state, urban
Are you independent or in a group? Group
How many years experience? 0
What is your before tax paycheck amount? 4100ish
Monthly or bi-weekly? Bi-weekly
Salary/hourly/other(explain)? Salary
Avg hours on check? 40 per week
What are the perks of your contract? (ie. PTO/vacation/bonuses) Accidental death/disability insurance, malpractice, all licensure fees paid, PTO, $1500 CME, sign-on bonus of I believe around 5-6k if I stay
I am wondering what you mean by "work for yourself". I am currently a nursing student VERY interested in pursuing my MSN. I would like to learn as much as I can from many different people about the best path to take as a nurse practitioner.
Where (state)(rural/urban) do you practice? North East
Are you independent or in a group? Group
How many years experience? 3
What is your before tax paycheck amount? Base 5800
Monthly or bi-weekly? BI
[COLOR=#000000]Salary/hourly/other(explain)? 140K base plus 26 days PTO will only go higher give or take 200K with bonus, I do Psy now but will open my own practice in the future after school (cant do therapy with FNP ect.).....Why should a doctor take my money that I work for? I bill 400k++ no longer are the days when we are their puppets and cash cows.
Never settle know your worth, its the reason why the doctors lobby was opposed to NPs working on their own.....$$$$....pay you 100k, bank 150k for your hard work and license. [/COLOR]
I make about $300 per hour or $200k+ working 4 days, 8 hours per week, just billing insurance. If some physician is paying you less, you're getting ripped off. I'm a PMHNP.
I left MO because NPs can't practice to the full extent of their training. I was being paid like 80k, it was ridiculous. Lived in Iowa and Cali now, always more than 200k per year.
Wolf at the Door, BSN
1,045 Posts
Central and NorCal you come out way ahead vs So Cal. Its really simple to figure it out.