Will I take a paycut going from LPN to RN?

I have been undecided on whether or not an RN would be worth it for me. I have 3.5 years of experience with trach and vent patients both adults and peds. I currently live in NC where I get paid $29/hr. (I am in the process of applying to a new agency that will pay me $30 after night shift differentials are taken into account).

In the past I have lived in Seattle, WA and NYC. I am on the fence about staying here in NC especially since my old job is offerring to pay more including night differentials. There are other reasons too. 

My current employer told me they will not pay me more should I go get my RN. And I have looked at numerous ads here in Charlotte and it seems I won't be getting paid a whole lot more should I get my RN. In some cases it seems I will take a pay cut.

Being realistic here I don't think travel nursing would be an option in my future should I go on for my RN. (I have a cat and am unwilling to part with him) I know getting an RN would be a good option but at least here the wages between RNs and LPNs do not vary much. I've got to factor in repaying student loans and living expenses especially since it is just me. I really don't want to take on debt if my wage is barely going to budge. 

Would it be best for me to move back to the west coast or elsewhere? And what has been anyone's experience that has gone from an RN to an LPN?

Thanks!

10 Answers

Specializes in Peds.

OK,I get it.

Private duty is an outlier. In my state, RN's  make more.

When I was a four year Lpn, and worked PDN,I made $24/hr. I became an RN and made $30 doing the same job, so a $6 pay increase. 

Now lpns tell me they make $30, but I am at $34. So the gap decreased.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I guess I would look at what are your long-term goals and would getting an RN help you achieve those instead of the money.

 Starting RNs may not make much more than experienced LPNs but the opportunities might be wider.  Where I work LPNs have long been phased out and the cap for an RN salary keeps going up.  But also things like teaching, management, quality, etc. require an RN.   However in our abundant nursing homes here in Florida, ALFs, and rehab facilities, LPNs are in high demand and do pretty well from what I hear.  But also opportunities for growth are limited.

I guess it depends on where you live as well.  

Good luck.  

That’s a good question. Same situation for me in Massachusetts. I make $34/hr and am trying to get into lpn to RN program. I know RNs making less than me. 

Thanks so much on responding. It's unfortunate to hear it's not only affecting those in my state. It's a really messed up situation. I hear LPNs being phased out but it seems that they would rather have LPNs outside of the hospital since we are cheaper, especially as medical costs go up. And even in RN specific jobs like infusion it seems those positions aren't paying much more. It seems to me that the only thing the RN carries is the title. I am not sure if there is much awareness of this happening outside our field.

And I don't see many RN hospital positions at least not in this area. As I search for jobs I see a lot of LPN/RN positions in either home health or LTC and the pay rate being the same for either. 

Specializes in Peds.

That is just an NC thing in my honest opinion.

Having lived in that area,and now in Nj but headed with my husband to Mississippi in January of 2022, I don't see that anywhere else.

I don't think so. I used to live in WA state and I made similar money to an RN who had her 4 year degree. I was getting paid $30 an hour (I had about 1.5 year experience at the time) and she mentioned getting paid $28 an hour. Both of us were working in home care though. But she said that the hospitals were really competitive to get into. 

I've browsed on Indeed and a lot of places the pay rate for RNs and LPNs is not that great outside of travel nursing.

Thanks! I have zero desire to be in any kind of management and I'm not a very patient person so teaching is out. 

I suppose if I continued in home health that could be one way to get around it. I did see a fair amount of travel RN positions for home health that pay pretty good. I have decided I am going to move back to the west coast. I will probably look into Indiana states' online LPN to BSN program esp since I have lots of college credits.

I've been to Miami once for a few days. I am not sure I could live in that state for a few reasons. Some CNA I worked with told me they are phasing out LPNs down there and even RNs have a hard time finding a job. I'm not sure which part of FL she was talking about. Being back in the south made me realize I am not longer cut out for the heat like I used to be.

Specializes in Peds.

Question: How does an RN end up making less than an Lpn?

I could (maybe) understand if the Lpn had more experience, but what if they have the same or similar number of years of experience?

ETA- I see you work private duty ,not actual home health visits. 

I was going to say my office only employs BSN's, and every visiting nurse agency wants BSN educated nurses. 

Not Sure but I've seen it an experienced it. I mentioned earlier making a similar salary to an RN. I think both of us had a similar level experience which was not a lot.

Surprisingly new hospitals RNs do not make a lot and depending on where the LPN is working at they can make more than the RN. I have traveled Around a bit and I recall an RN saying she made more money in LTC than she did in the hospital. This was back in Utah.  I also used to work alongside an RN at a home care case in Seattle. I know she was working two jobs. I want to say she was working in a facility but it probably might have been your average one if she needed to work 2 jobs. That and Seattle being pricey LOL.

I have also seen postings where my current salary has been more than a new RN. I know clinic salaries are also the lowest so there is that too. 

I do not think a new RN should be making less than an LPN especially since you gotta factor in all the expenses one may have. But someone somewhere did mention that staff nurses do not make a lot of money these days. The reason why probably has to do with something far more complicated.

My current employer did tell me I would not make more money if I went back to school. I see lots of postings off of Indeed that say LPN/RN with the same salary listed. These mainly seem to be in home care or LTC though.

I started at $25 and lived in NYC. At that time the salary there was $23-27 for a new LPN depending on where they were working. The staffing agencies paid more but a brutal working experience for me as a new grad LOL. Then I saw it go up to $28 when the pandemic started. I imagine in a place like NYC they probably would pay $30 or more for an LPN with what's going on out there.

And it really does seem like the gap is decreasing outside of travel nursing. It's jacked! But I imagine Covid nurses are still doing well.

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