Wife getting ready to Graduate. Worried about her pay!!! CALIF.

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:cry:Hello all- first off let me inform you. I am currently in my last year of the navy and my wife will be done with her RN in about the same time. What I was hoping was that she would begin her job and I would go to school (Kinda opposite of what we're doing now)- but what she's been hearing lately was that nurses don't make too much at all, less than what I make now as a matter a fact which was a huge disappointment to both of us seeing as how we have two little girls (Child care) and bills that she would have to take over. Could someone please shed as much light as possible to put our hearts at ease. We currently live in San Marcos CA. We understand that taxes take a huge chunk of change out but for an RN I figured we'd still be ok for me to go to school financially.

Sorry if this seems as an ignorant thread I really don't know anything out the pay. I've tried to search but I'm unfamiliar w/ these forums. Please help as best as you can. Thank you in advance.

Specializes in Med Surg.

another thought...do you have benefits through your retirement that would allow your wife to work per-diem? my husband carries full insurance through his job, which allows me to work pd, which really raised my salary. and with the shortage, i don't get called off, ever.

[color=#483d8b]i supported our family by myself as a new grad, by the way, for almost a year while my husband took time off to recover from his stressful job/commute in yosemite, and not only did we survive, we saved a down payment for a house. it is doable.

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I will look into that- thank you :) I want to go to ITT or a tech college so it might be better if we do it down there (In GA).

Please, please don't waste your GI Bill on a tech college. You can get the same degrees from a community college for much less money and you will probably only be in school for 6 more months than at ITT. Tech colleges charge more for one semester than most community colleges for for two full years, and you are much less likely to get the job you want coming out of ITT.

You can transfer to a 4-year after a year at a CC if you want, and still you will pay less than at a tech college. Also, you can stay in California and move north and it will be much easier to live on your wife's salary. School is super cheap in CA. Community college is around $20 a unit right now. You won't find college that cheap anywhere else in the country.

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True- but a mortgage on a house by a lake is around 800 in GA where as rent in an infested apartment anywhere here is 1200+ I think the odds will layout.

Georgia and California aren't the only places to live in the country. You can get a much better deal cost of living and quality of life wise by choosing from say, Texas, Tennessee...if I was young an had a future I wouldn't go to GA (not bashing the people in GA, I have some good friends there.)

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

I'm not saying the GI Bill is the total answer, I am saying that with careful planning, it can really help. I went to school part-time on the GI Bill when our kids were tiny. It paid enuff so that I didn't have to be employed outside the home. We lived frugally on my husband's salary and benefits. Yes, my situation was different from yours. I am just saying that after I paid for tuition, books and fees I had gas money, and we used my $$ for food and clothing (garage sale & thrift shoppe).

PM me if ya like.

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if I was young an[d] had a future I wouldn't go to GA (not bashing the people in GA)

Haha! Being a southerner, I find this statement amusing.

Well, let's say someone is young and does have a future, where would you go?

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Haha! Being a southerner, I find this statement amusing.

Well, let's say someone is young and does have a future, where would you go?

Well, I'm a southerner, too.

If I was young and unendumbered and had a future, I'd probably start out in Texas or Tennessee.

Georgia. I'll just say half the state must be in law enforcement. Driving through Atlanta cops were hanging off the overpasses with their radar guns while their co-workers lined the interstate ready to pounce.

Ever hear that song "The White Knight?"

Taxes out the wazoo.

The clay smells, too.

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Well, I'm a southerner, too.

If I was young and unendumbered and had a future, I'd probably start out in Texas or Tennessee.

Georgia. I'll just say half the state must be in law enforcement. Driving through Atlanta cops were hanging off the overpasses with their radar guns while their co-workers lined the interstate ready to pounce.

Ever hear that song "The White Knight?"

Taxes out the wazoo.

The clay smells, too.

I meant to say UNENCUMBERED...geez.

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I meant to say UNENCUMBERED...geez.

Freudian slip?

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I love eastern Tennessee. It's some of the most beautiful country anywhere.

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I love Atlanta and Savannah, although I'd much rather be in Central Florida for the family friendly-ness and all around more mixed atmosphere (people from all over the country... its a melting pot of sorts)

FWIW, we lived on my husband's income alone for the past 6 years, our whole marriage, and have been very happy. We had some highs and some lows, but being past it now, I can admit that the lows were bad money management, not too little income. The only tough spot we've had financially is me going to school, because the cost of childcare is VERY expensive. If you could go to school nights, even full time, it would alleviate 90% of the trouble. There are many grants/loans available, but covering daycare is near impossible. I can only go to daytime nursing school, so I have a job working 56 hrs every two weeks, and it only covers daycare and about a tank of gas (out of the 3-4 p/ check that I need).

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Personally I find salary.com too general. It puts me at about half what I made last year.

New grads at my hospital start at 28.50/hr. Anaheim Memorial. Raises aren't what you think, maybe a buck a year. Look for the perks like weekends only, nights if you can stand it. Those two items here, would give you an extra 13 bucks an hour.

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