^^^^^^^^^^^
Some people believe in service to their fellow man. A little different than selling cars.

I have never met a nurse (outside of administration) who makes $200-$250K. Not one. Now, there are many who claim to make that, but the truth is that the vast majority are somewhere in the $30-40/hr range. Yes, you can make substantially more by hitting the road, but that has its drawbacks and anyone who has lived on the road knows that it ain't cheap...especially when you are also paying for the home that you're not living in.

You can also make more by specializing and taking advantage of "differentials" (extra pay for nights, certifications, etc...), but nowhere near what some claim to make.

You're not going to get rich being an RN. You'll do OK, you'll have great job security, you can work pretty much anywhere, and there are many many different things that you can do with that degree. It's a good field and I would encourage (and have) anyone to get into it. But, anyone getting into nursing and thinking that they'll be making $200K/yr is in for a BIG surprise.

And if a union crane operator is making $500K/yr then I am damned sure in the wrong line of work. Google says the top 10% of them are at about $135.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I have never met a nurse (outside of administration) who makes $200-$250K. Not one. Now, there are many who claim to make that, but the truth is that the vast majority are somewhere in the $30-40/hr range. Yes, you can make substantially more by hitting the road, but that has its drawbacks and anyone who has lived on the road knows that it ain't cheap...especially when you are also paying for the home that you're not living in.

You can also make more by specializing and taking advantage of "differentials" (extra pay for nights, certifications, etc...), but nowhere near what some claim to make.

You're not going to get rich being an RN. You'll do OK, you'll have great job security, you can work pretty much anywhere, and there are many many different things that you can do with that degree. It's a good field and I would encourage (and have) anyone to get into it. But, anyone getting into nursing and thinking that they'll be making $200K/yr is in for a BIG surprise.

And if a union crane operator is making $500K/yr then I am damned sure in the wrong line of work. Google says the top 10% of them are at about $135.

What he said. Mrs.BurtonRW is a nurse. Been at it for 15 years. She has critical care, telemetry/cardiac, outpatient urgent care, and ambulatory surgery experience. Not making six figures.

A nurse can make that money chasing agency contracts, but there's little to no stability in that and you have to be okay with not being the best at your job, since you'll be learning new organizations, new systems, new protocols every time you change facilities.

That was never Mrs.BurtonRW's preference, so she spent most of her career in one location. But no matter where she's been, her biggest complaint has been excess estrogen in the workplace and management that is essentially the living embodiment of the peter principal. That has been a universal truth wherever she has gone in whatever kind of clinical setting.

There's nothing wrong with being a nurse, but the field of nursing is f'ed up in many, many ways. They don't advertise that part.

-Rob

Retired 45 yr nurse lives in my home. Not an easy life. Maybe it’s different now.

She is wealthier than she knows… But that didn’t come from nursing. At her age it’s all about being happy and alive every day.

Nursing is NOT for everyone. If someone gets into the field primarily because of the pay, they will not be a good nurse. I would NOT want that nurse to take care of me. Now.... the ones who are already on the field prior to the shortage because of the Covid, I can safely assume that "most" are there because it is their calling.

The PAY, it all depend on the unit you work for, and the need of the hospital. My wife is a Dialysis RN for 20+ years. She work 3-4 days, (15 hr shifts). No extra pay other than OT pay if she decides to pick up extra day. I on the other hand, work 8hr shifts (x5 days). I pick up OT once in a while when staff calls off. No extra pay, other than the OT rate.

My step-daughter who is a a Med-Surg RN works 3days (7p-7A) shifts. If she picks up an extra shift at their hospital, she gets paid extra $300/shift (plus her OT pay) BUT she is exposed to Covid patients ALL the time. I know that RN who works in a Covid unit works hard and earns every penny they make.

This is cyclical.

I wrote a billing program for a nursing staffing company about 20 years ago.

He was sending in contract nurses to hospitals in the greater Boston area.

He went from billing a million a year to almost nothing in about a year as the hospitals hired foreign nurses for comparatively cheap money.

Forcing down nurses wages in general.

They also set up nursing programs to add to their pool.

Today the average RN nursing salary in MA in 75K to 100K

A CRNA that give anesthesia is 200K to 250K

They earn every penny.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

And if a union crane operator is making $500K/yr then I am damned sure in the wrong line of work. Google says the top 10% of them are at about $135.

Apologies, $400k was a figure that stuck with me...but apparently it's an unusual number due to mafia influence. There are a number of articles out there if you Google it, but I won't repost here due to the misleading nature.

Here is an article about lazy longshoremen making $250k that is readily available.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/n...g-250-200100567.html

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
^^^^^^^^^^^
Some people believe in service to their fellow man. A little different than selling cars.

Yeah, but that isn't the premise of this discussion thread. The assertion was that people should get into nursing because it pays a bunch for a relatively relaxed schedule. I wanted to disagree by suggesting that a) it's not really easy work and b) there are a bunch of other jobs that also really pay well that don't really seem all that hard.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your post implied greed. Whether it was the point or not, I felt you needed to hear it.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
^^^^^^^^^^^
Some people believe in service to their fellow man. A little different than selling cars.

Yeah, but that isn't the premise of this discussion thread. The assertion was that people should get into nursing because it pays a bunch for a relatively relaxed schedule. I wanted to disagree by suggesting that a) it's not really easy work and b) there are a bunch of other jobs that also really pay well that don't really seem all that hard.

Easy to enter? 4 year degree with a lot of stem classes. I wouldn't say that is easy.

Most nurses work 12+ hour shifts with few breaks and are worked to an inch of their lives. Forget spending any holidays or weekends with their families. If it was easy there wouldn't be a shortage!!

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin101:

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
^^^^^^^^^^^
Some people believe in service to their fellow man. A little different than selling cars.

Yeah, but that isn't the premise of this discussion thread. The assertion was that people should get into nursing because it pays a bunch for a relatively relaxed schedule. I wanted to disagree by suggesting that a) it's not really easy work and b) there are a bunch of other jobs that also really pay well that don't really seem all that hard.

Easy to enter? 4 year degree with a lot of stem classes. I wouldn't say that is easy.

Most nurses work 12+ hour shifts with few breaks and are worked to an inch of their lives. Forget spending any holidays or weekends with their families. If it was easy there wouldn't be a shortage!!

Right, I'm arguing that there are other, easier, higher paying jobs to get into.

Lol. I hire CRNAs and I am paying 265-275k new grads. Try that on for size. Gustofer wanna come my way?

quote:

Originally posted by 1flynDO:
Lol. I hire CRNAs and I am paying 265-275k new grads. Try that on for size. Gustofer wanna come my way?

so what is that 11 years of school and school loans. they deserve 265 k

8 years 6 school roughly two in grad school.

quote:

Originally posted by 1flynDO:
8 years 6 school roughly two in grad school.

Before they can apply to crna school they typically have to work two years of icu if I’m not mistaken. I’m the medical director of our surgical trauma icu and get requests for letters every year. I call myself the John Calipari of ICU. I’d rather have the all stars for two years before they move on to crna or nurse practitioner school. It’s also no secret that not everyone who requests a letter of recommendation from me gets one. Those are earned, not guaranteed. Not that I’m world renowned but I believe in honesty and integrity when it comes to letters of recommendation and the administrators of the local crna schools know this about me. Few things piss me off more than a form letter filled out by someone recommending a candidate when they’re completely inaccurate or don’t know the candidate.

Most nurses I’ve worked with are in it for the right reason. The whole nursing pay scale baffles me to this day as a new grad rn will start out within a dollar or two per hour of the nurse with 15 years experience. I’ve had a lot of conversations with nurses recently regarding the way it was and the way it is. The consensus from the 20+ year vets is about 20% of the new grads would’ve made it through when they went through 20+ years ago. The rest would be filling other roles in healthcare or a different field altogether.

Currently I’ve got about 20 openings in my unit which is normally considered fully staffed at 75 or so. A few years ago there was usually a waiting list to work in the unit. I’ve got several nurses that have/and/ or are traveling. It’s taken a toll on the entire hospital. Thankfully I have a great core of veteran nurses that take pride in their jobs and love their teams so they’ve stuck around. I just hope our hospital administration doesn’t find some way to piss them off and cause them to leave. I don’t know what to think of this phenomenon nor do I know how it’s going to turn out. I agree with previous statements that federal money is helping feed this fire currently but once that runs out the majority of facilities won’t be able to compete financially.

I am an anesthesiologist, I know the pipeline. They put in the time and grind.

Right now anything in medicine is making more money than they have in a long time. The market is crazy even for certified nurse aides.

We are paying our critical care nurses (ED, ICU) upwards of $280/hr!!! It's crazy, but the burnout rate of nurses especially ED and ICU are rampant. So many nurses are getting burnt out and going into case management.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

And if a union crane operator is making $500K/yr then I am damned sure in the wrong line of work. Google says the top 10% of them are at about $135.

Apologies, $400k was a figure that stuck with me...but apparently it's an unusual number due to mafia influence. There are a number of articles out there if you Google it, but I won't repost here due to the misleading nature.

Here is an article about lazy longshoremen making $250k that is readily available.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/n...g-250-200100567.html

This!


Supply chain problems start with the unions at the West Coast ports. Period.

Who said it was a relaxed schedule ? I said in the case of my daughter in law it would be three 12 shifts per week . In a children's ICU , that's hardly relaxed .

One of my daughters is a Nurse (BSN). It's good money but she earns every penny of it. Most of the nurses are stressed with the hours per shift, per week.