Who pays your salary?

[adam56]

I am thinking of taking LPN classes in a year or two... I've been a graphic designer / web coder for about 7 years but there's really no steady work in this area much anymore.

If for example you work as an LPN at a nursing home - who pays you? The home? The state?

Also - what is the standard pay for LPN? I've read in my state (Connecticut) it is $50,000 / year and that this state pays the highest salary in the country for nursing.

I've also read though that it's only $27,000 / year? If it's that low then I sure as hell won't be going into Nursing.

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

just want to add that medicare and medicaid (cms) reimbursements have a profound effect on facility rn/lpn salaries and staffing conditions. medicare patients comprise roughly 40% of all hospitalized patients (rural hospitals - even higher figure). any cuts in medicare or medicaid will affect our salaries and practice environments dramatically.

the effect of cuts in medicare reimbursement on hospital mortality

"banner health said state cuts to the medicaid program for the poor will prompt it to eliminate pay raises next year for more than 28,000 banner employees in arizona, the latest evidence that the state legislature's budget cuts are hurting the state's health-care industry..."

banner, other arizona hospitals brace for state cuts

[KarmaWiseRaven]

Well time to defend myself yet again. You all say for the money but did you know in fact there are jobs that pay more then Nursing. Lets take a X- ray tech shall we they can make more then an RN so can a RRT or a OT or a PT. What i was trying to point out to that person is before you think about Nursing Heck he's talking LPN. Why do LPN when a RN could indeed pay more.

Heck even a truck driver and trust me i have two brothers who are and are owner operators and they clear 200,000 a yr and after all cost are well over the 100,000 dollar mark. So if your in it for the money why Nursing? See the paycheck thing doesn't make sense to me if you could be a Nurse you could be other things that make more money so why Why Nursing. ( See My Point)

There are other Health Related Professions that in deed pay way more then a RN. And so do Medical Support Staff. Programming a computer is coming around again starting pay per yr low end 70,000. So before you all think like one staff member that i'm attacking and slamming people indeed I'm not and if it sounded like that I'm sorry. Just trying to point out how it sounded to me. These are my thoughts use them as you wish

[noahsmama]

You can get some ballpark figures from salary.com. According to them, in Hartford, CT (statistics are by city, not state, so I chose Hartford cuz I know it's in CT :)), the median salary for an LPN is $44,700, with tenth percentile at $37,000 and 90%ile at $53,000. I believe this is an average for all different types of facilities and all experience levels. RNs in the same location have a median salary of $77,000 with 10%ile = $59,000 and 90%ile = $85,000. I looked up the same numbers for my area (SF Bay Area, CA), and the numbers seem a bit low to me, so take them with a grain of salt.

Another way to get an idea -- for any positions which are paid by the government, the salary range is generally public information, and you can often look it up on the Web. County or state hospitals or departments of public health for example. The range is often pretty broad, but as a new grad with zero experience you would generally be starting at or near the bottom end of the range.

Just thought I'd add my $0.02 about doing nursing for the money. I see nothing wrong with considering the salaries when choosing a profession -- I looked at nursing salaries before changing careers, and could not have afforded to become a nurse if it paid much less than it does in my area.

However, I don't think anyone should choose ANY profession based solely on how much you'll get paid. I say that as someone who was paid quite well in my previous profession, but was MISERABLE because I didn't like what I was doing. Most of us spend the bulk of our waking hours at work -- when researching a possible career change, I think one needs to look at what people in that profession DO, and ask oneself if you want to spend 40+ hours a week doing it. This goes for accounting or banking or engineering every bit as much as it does for nursing. No matter how well paid accountants are, it doesn't make sense to become one if you hate math! And no matter how well nurses are paid, it doesn't make sense to become one unless you like the idea of helping people (and in the specific ways nurses help people) -- as long as that's the case, there's nothing wrong with getting paid to do it!

[Belle Epoque]

I'd like to meet the nurse that's in it for the money. It just isn't that high paying a profession, and it's a crappy job at the best of times.

There are a boatload of better jobs out there that don't require a 4 year university degree or running off your feet for 12 hours or working weekends/holidays or being puked or pooped on... a glamorous job it is not!

[cobee]

I can assume that the OP is asking about being an LPN because there's at least SOME interest. Notice OP didn't go to a trucker forum, or one about money making. I myself don't have any angelic feelings about nursing. It's a job, and I know that although I'm not a bleeding heart, I care and can do a great job. You can be compassionate and want money at the same time, they're not opposites.

[tablefor9, RN]

Inserting my $0.02 here.

Who's against money? Really, I want to see the person who is *not* for a paycheck. I don't work for free, and won't.

However, "interest" is a fairly banal term that won't get you far. We've all worked with nurses who looked around, said, "hey, what can I do that only requires a year or two in school and can pull down the biggest bucks," and landed on our unit. We wish they hadn't, because they were miserable when reality set in.

Do it for the bucks, by all means. But understand on the front end that the bucks aren't going to be what the job is worth.

[Caffeine_IV]

I don't know who pays my salary but I know my manager said we should tell our ceo thanks for the bonuses...I doubt if it came out of his 6figure salary pocket.

[ANNIENURSEANGEL]

I have worked with nurses that do it just for the money, and it is quite obvious. they are self-centered. They are not team players. They just want to do as little as possible, because they are going to get paid whether they help, or not. So, usually they dont help.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I'd like to meet the nurse that's in it for the money. It just isn't that high paying a profession, and it's a crappy job at the best of times.

Try telling this to the call center representative who earns $11 hourly, or the fast food shift manager who supports his/her family on $8.50 per hour. To these people, a pay rate of $25 to $35 hourly would make a world of difference in their financially-strapped lives.

[SwampCat, BSN]

I didn't read through all the replies, but I can assure you that you will not be making $50k/yr in CT as an LPN. RN, yes. I'm pretty sure the LPNS I've spoken to said somewhere around $40k (more or less depending on many factors)

[Belle Epoque]

Try telling this to the call center representative who earns $11 hourly, or the fast food shift manager who supports his/her family on $8.50 per hour. To these people, a pay rate of $25 to $35 hourly would make a world of difference in their financially-strapped lives.

Maybe. But none of the jobs you listed requires much of an education, let alone a college diploma or university degree.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Maybe. But none of the jobs you listed requires much of an education, let alone a college diploma or university degree.

An RN license can be obtained after earning an associate's degree.

Earning potential is significantly lower for other AA/AS degree holders who majored in something else. Let's see how much the major in psychology is earning. Better yet, let's see if the person with the AA in philosophy, women's studies, art, music, history, or sociology is employed.