For nursing students like myself, I thought it would be helpful and intersting to see what type of salary is out there for graduating nursing students for different area's. Looking around the site, I see different salary threads, but many replies are from nurses with 10 or more years experience, or the threads are years old and the starting salary is long outdated. I thought it would be more helpful to have a thread with nurses who are fresh out of school and what their starting salary is.
List whether you are an LPN or an RN
What your starting salary is/was after you graduated
"Not a new grad here but I can access my hospital's pay scale so know what new grads make. Base is $64,000/year. All new grads work every other weekend and get 25% diff for W/E. Also those who work nights (most new grads do) get 10% night diff. In addition all nurses get pait for 10 holidays. This means a new grad makes slightly over $78K/year before taxes. Within 4-6 years most are making well over $100K/year. Most RNs who have worked here for 15-20 years are making $120-140K/year. This is for RNs reguardless of degree in Minneapolis MN."
WHAT? I'm in Minneapolis and that does not look like the MNA contract salary I've been looking at/talked to HR about. I make way, way under that doing private duty right now. I have GOT to get into a hospital soon. Good info though, thanks!
New grad (December 2012) in Wisconsin (so no prior RN experience at all, just previously e,played as CNA and Nurse External while in nursing school)
RN, BSN
Working in a hospital setting in the ICU
$24.14 is the base day pay
+ $2.75 for nights making it $26.89
+ $1.00 for weekends
So before taxes annually the salary is between $50,627.20 and $56,269.20 because my job will be day night rotations with more nights, I'm guessing right around $54,000.
This job obviously includes benefits and with the market where it is in my area, it's getting tough for new grads to find jobs.
I live in Iowa. When I graduated my LPN program in 2010 I worked LTC and was paid $16.50/hr when I worked the med cart, $19/hr when I worked as charge nurse. I graduated from my RN (ADN) program in 2012 and work in a group home for developmentally disabled individuals. My starting wage with no experience under my licence was $20.25/hr. The LTC that I turned down offered me $25/hr and the hospitals here start between $17 and $20.
SummitRN, BSN, RN
2 Articles; 1,567 Posts
Denver new grads are making $21.50-$24/hr + dif in the hospitals, which comes out to 40-45K before the $1.50-$3/hr dif.
... that is for those who can get a job.