The Nursing Career Salary Facts
When entering into a nursing career, your salary is the most important thing to consider. Many nurses consider the starting salary to be the lowest end of the pay spectrum. In the nursing career, salaries do rise with experience and education. The entry level of a nursing career salary starts between $30,000 and $45,000 a year depending on where the nurse works. These figures are for registered nurses in a hospital setting and don't have a specific specialized position. Salaries in the nursing career vary in relation to the shift. For working nights, weekends, and holiday shifts in addition, those pursuing nursing careers get additional salaries apart from their base pay. This comes about because it is harder to find staff to cover those times. Salaries in the nursing career are, of course, very good. Besides, there are also other benefit packages with health care benefits, tuition reimbursement, vacations, housing assistance, assistance in relocating and day care. A recruitment bonus is offered to nurses that accept a position at a facility and agree to a set working commitment. This bonus ranges from $2,000 to $20,000. Basic salaries in your nursing career and incentives available to you should be discussed when you are applying for your nursing position. Certification does pay off, as a certified nurse gets a higher salary in her career level. Apart from the high salary in this type of career, the nurse also gets additional perks and the position that goes with it. In 2006 a nursing survey was held nationwide and showed that nurses who had attained a higher education and specialty certification are getting higher salaries during their career tenure. In the survey around 1,100 nurses responded to the career salary survey and it was reported that being certified in a specialty a nurse made more than $9,200 than other nurses which weren't certified. One of the biggest issues that arise when discussing salaries in the nursing career is the location. The Department of Labor states that the five states which paid the highest salaries to those in nursing careers were California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York and Massachusetts. The average nursing career salary in these states ranges from $62,000 to $70,000 per year. Tennessee and Jackson average having the lowest nursing career salaries just under $41,000. In the anesthetist nursing career, salaries can range from $89,000 to $136,000 per year. A trained midwife and nurse practitioners earn just under $70,000 per year. Occupational health nursing and transplant coordinating nursing career get a salary of $50,000 and $60,000 a year. The overall view on nursing career salaries vary depending on five factors: level of education and degree type, years of experience in that chosen field, state and city where you will be working in. Additional factors affecting nursing career salaries are the cost of living, type of work you do, and the specialty you pursue. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report that the maximum nursing career salaries are paid to registered nurses employed in company services. Lesser salaries are paid to nursing careers dealing with general hospitals, home and health care services, physicians' offices and nursing care services. |
