Another I regret my decision to go into nursing thread. It's grown on me and I am very satisfied by what I do. However, it does not provide enough income for me to take care of my family. Not to even mention the horrible benefits that most places offer now.
I was having a discussion with a co-worker the other day and she was complaining that her husband had to install fire suppression sprinklers all weekend. However, she loved that he was making time and half for the job and shouldn't complain too much about it. Since she opened the door wide open, me, "so, if you don't mind me asking, what's time and half?" Her response, "well, he only clears $84 an hour after they take out for his retirement and benefits." As I stare blankly at her in disbelief, her response, "but he works really hard and it's an important job." Additional details, no formal education beyond high school for the job, but he did go through an apprentice program for two years. He's in a union and averages about $60 - 75 an hour, depending on the job.
The belief that what we do is somehow less important than installing sprinklers is a major reason why nursing is in its present state. Not only does my co-worker, a nurse, believe that it is justified, but society is saying that this skill is more valuable than caring for our sick people. This sentiment is rampant on AN as well and will be defended with snarky comments like, "don't let the door hit you on the way out."
It's too bad and obviously not going to change in the near future. With nursing being overwhelmingly female, a major contributing factor is that women do not know their worth. New studies indicate that most people are happy with earning between $70k and $80k. More than this doesn't necessarily make you any happier and less doesn't allow you to be your happiest.
Yes, I do make slightly more than the "happy" range with minimal overtime. Yes, I am very confident that I can install sprinklers and my co-worker stated that her husband "doesn't have the book smarts to do anything else." Meaning he could not do our job, but I'm confident that the vast majority of nurses could install sprinklers. She mentioned that she was concerned that he's getting older and it's getting more difficult for him to climb around in the ceiling. I'm relatively young and can not imagine being able to do all that's required as a bedside nurse when I'm in my later 40s or older.
I have many immediate and extended family members who are nurses and live all over the U.S. and are in many different specialties and settings. Most of them have been in nursing for over 10 years and they more or less echo my feelings. They also did their best to dissuade me from pursing nursing as a career. Wish I would have paid more attention to them and took their advice.
