Careers? Any RN's?

[MO-CHSPKE]

ER RN for 18 years. It’s definitely not what it used to be. If I had to do it over again ……I would definitely do something else. The only thing keeping me going is the three 12 hour shifts a week. Can’t make the same money working the same hours.

If you’re going into with the plan of doing CRNA…..do not quit until that goal is achieved. I have several buddies that did it and I kick myself for not doing it. But I’m too old to go back to school and put myself in that much debt.


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[MallardSX2]

Great career choice. During covid I know a male nurse that made almost 200k in one year….

 

[Oregon]

I know nothing about nursing except for one thing. My son started as a surgical tech 10 years ago. Graduated nursing school 3 years ago. Makes more money than I did at my heyday. I thought I made good money.

 

[cardiac5]

Me and my wife have been coast to coast at 18 facilities from level 1 to critical access in the ED. If I could do it over some days I think I’d go a different route but 3 x12s is where it’s at. If you want to do CRNA get your experience and go back to school asap once you meet the requirements to apply. We had a blast seeing the country and wouldn’t trade it at all but I’m definitely not trying to go back to school now.

DO NOT be loyal to any facility. I’ve had multiple friends get $4-$7/hr raises just going right across the street to a different hospital. I’ve seen new grads come in and the nurse with 4 years experience is making $3/hr less than the new grad she’s orienting. I think the avg raise is 1% yearly and then maybe a 2-3% bump based on the local market. All the facility wants is a body with a pulse. Takes an incredibly extensive wrap sheet to get fired from what I’ve seen.
Here’s an interesting sheet going around from a facility in St. Louis.


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[cardiac5]

Now, I could be wrong. There is supposed to be a 600000 nurse shortage now an they estimate triple that in 6 years.

We’ve been seeing an influx of international nurses coming from the Philippines on 2-3 year contracts making $22/hr. I’ve personally seen it at 3 facilities and at every single place management had a timeline for more to arrive and start.


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[DarkArcher]

I've been an ICU nurse for 8 years, 5 years as a travel nurse, and finished NP school.

I did a similar route, I had a bachelors in exercise science and then did accelerated nursing in 10 months and ended with a BSN. Started traveling after two years of ICU burn/trauma. After a year of nursing I started my Masters and paid my way through that while traveling.

I started in Michigan, then the front range and the western slope of Colorado, western North Carolina, SW Montana, Washington state, SW Idaho. I have lived all over the west, mainly chasing the best fly fishing for trout. My GF is a travel nurse as well and we travel together. It's been rewarding, I'm currently looking to start practicing as an NP in ortho trauma.

I traveled a lot during the pandemic; did I feel burned out? For sure, but as a travel nurse I saved up all of my money and I take every September off to chase elk with my bow. I work three 12 hour shifts a week, which gives me 4 days off to explore/hunt/fish wherever I'm living. With only being required 3 shifts a week, you can schedule yourself to have 8 days off in a row without using any vacation days, which is pretty nice. Travel nursing has been down since 2022, there are still some very high paying contracts but they're becoming harder to find.

Nursing definitely has it's ups and downs, but it's hard to beat three 12 hour shifts. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

 

[timekiller13]

Me and my wife have been coast to coast at 18 facilities from level 1 to critical access in the ED. If I could do it over some days I think I’d go a different route but 3 x12s is where it’s at. If you want to do CRNA get your experience and go back to school asap once you meet the requirements to apply. We had a blast seeing the country and wouldn’t trade it at all but I’m definitely not trying to go back to school now.

DO NOT be loyal to any facility. I’ve had multiple friends get $4-$7/hr raises just going right across the street to a different hospital. I’ve seen new grads come in and the nurse with 4 years experience is making $3/hr less than the new grad she’s orienting. I think the avg raise is 1% yearly and then maybe a 2-3% bump based on the local market. All the facility wants is a body with a pulse. Takes an incredibly extensive wrap sheet to get fired from what I’ve seen.
Here’s an interesting sheet going around from a facility in St. Louis. View attachment 640886


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Facility I was working at gave me a $0.33/hr raise. I gave my heart and soul to that place for 8 yrs. Worked 90 hrs a week during the height of the pandemic. Did education and training on my time and paid for it out of my own pocket at times so I could be a better nurse and try to implement better practices facilty wide. That was the thanks I got.

I went across town and got a job there. $12/hr more than what I was making.

No reason to be loyal to any company. I’m going to chase the money.

 

[Dust Rider]

One of my cousins is a flight nurse. They use fixed wings and birds to transport. It’s good pay and good schedule.

 

[Bluumoon]

CRNA here. Love my job. It's a long road and a lot of $ (expect >200k in debt) to do RN school/experience/school, but worth it. See if you can find one of us to shadow. Being flexible in where you are willing to live makes a tremendous difference in pay/independence/ and job satisfaction.

As others have said, the industry doesn't give a sh$t about you. Plan to move every 2-3 years for a while. Don't let anyone guilt you into staying somewhere because of the "patients/community", patients everywhere need good care.

 

[Zaay653]

Wow, sorry I haven't been around any internet source for the past couple days but I am blown away by the amount of responses and advice. Currently, working so I don't have a-lot of time to reach out and respond but I will def be getting into contact with some of you all in the next few days. Thanks for all the insight!

 

[BradArnett]

I went from paramedic to rn and then just er. Was getting burnt out when covid was going on . Decided to do travel contracts then and now just do 2-13 wk contracts a year and take 6 months off. Long story short its a good field to get into. You'll never not be able to find a job.

 

[Forestryguy]

Overall know that this is a life style, even if you shut everything off about work when you leave. This will especially be true going through school. I am currently going through a Tech school to get my ARN and will start classes for my BSN. The tech school I am at is apparently one of the more difficult ones in the state. I study for close to 8 hrs a day, on top of going to classes and clinical. It may differ for everyone on how much they want or can put in to studying but know that it will pretty much be the ruling factor in your life till you are done.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Nursing school is a cold hearted bitch! Will run every aspect of your life for the duration of the relationship. My wife and I have been nurses for 12 years. Luckily we went through nursing school together or it would have ruined our marriage.

I’m in the OR as a circulating/scrub nurse. In Oklahoma nurses in my field get paid $38-$45/hr. I pretty much work bankers hours, which is nice having a little one at home.

I work with an awesome anesthesia group, and these guys almost have me talked into doing CRNA school. I don’t have ICU experience so I would have to do that first, so I’m looking at probably 4-5 years.

 

[Bear Wrestler]

There is a ton of great advice and insight in this thread. As others have said there are many different areas of nursing you can move into and different work schedules s well. One of the most overlooked aspects of nursing is the growth opportunities that are available. If you are willing to put in the work for the extra degrees, you can become a CRNA, a nurse practitioner, or get an MBA/MHA and go into management.

A similar option is to look into medical imaging. Most modalities will pay similar to most nurses. You can go to x-ray school and then get an extra cert in CT, MRI, cath lab, or special procedures. Ultrasound wouldn't be my fist choice but there are plenty of non hospital office jobs. If I were starting over today I would strongly consider nuclear medicine as well.

 

[Marbles]

RN depends on personality. The worst part about it was knowing what needs to be done, then having to subtle convince the people with power to do it that it needs to be done while not stepping on toes or burning bridges. There were things I liked about it, and things I hated, but the lack of agency was the worst. I worked ICU and ED, I don't think I would have made it 6 months on med-surge without getting fired.

I'm much happier as an Adult-Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, it helps that I work at a stellar private practice where many of the providers are at the bleeding edge of their specialty. APRN (or CRNA) is not the answer to all ills, but it addressed my biggest grip. Clinic work is boring compared to the ED, but too many nights with inadequate staff, too many sick patients, and being unable to do more than move from one task to another left me burnt out and bitter, but I did not even realize it until I was away from it for several months.

You could consider applying to PA school. It puts you in more of a decision making role. However, PA's must always have a supervising physician and that is unlikely to change. In many states, including mine, APRN practice is independent.

Some people also do not want the responsibility of being a practitioner, decisions are routinely higher stakes with little to no back stop. Not every provider does the job well (true of APRNs, PAs, MDs, DOs, all of them), and regardless none of us have a crestal ball that works, so we stack the deck in the patients favor. You literally have (or should be) having conversations were you are helping people select between multiple ugly choices. Being a bedside RN avoids much (but not all) of that. But, the cost of avoiding it is you can get to know a patient, know exactly what they wants, then get ran over by a provider who just came on shift and feels they have to fix a problem right then, or a provider who is uncomfortable having the hard conversations.

 

[tony]

RN since 2009
Paramedic Firefighter since 1991, (retired few years ago) playing RN now
Anyway I agree with what everyone's saying. Decent money, schedule, jobs are everywhere.
With that, depending on what you choose to do. You will hate people pretty quick. Especially the welfare trash using the ED as their one stop medical wal mart.
People are entitled assholes anymore.
Hospitals like to say your salary is based on patient satisfaction scores. 3/4 of the assholes are on the government til. So break that down. Your paying for their medical care with your taxes.
BSN- it makes the hospital look good. Unless you have a plan to go on to NP or CRNA or teach.
I got my bachelors a few years back as I had thought about NP. Then realized I was in my 50's and don't need to take on 50k in debt. Not to mention everybody and their brother is in NP school now. These on line programs are pumping them out as fast as they can. And many are coming out dumber than when they went in.
Just hired a gal here at work that is a full fledged NP and she is too scared to work as one! Spent Fing 50 some thousand dollars and won't work as an NP!

My words might sound harsh, but this is a job to me nothing more. Its "not a calling" or what "I was meant to do" or some such silly shit new nurse like to spout. Its a job. I got into for the money and schedule. I was a medic for 30 years. So I did all kinds of whiz bang shit before I became a nurse. I'll be done with it before I'm 60.
Nursing is hard work. Your not digging ditches or out in the weather, but its hard work in its own way.

So this job I have now. I'm a nurse in a female prison. Truly the easiest job I've ever had. Can you tell? I'm posting on RS!
Oh and I actually get paid to yell at women legally!

 

[Tx_300wsm]

I’m a paramedic in nursing school, and my wife is a nurse currently getting her DNP. I have zero desire to work in patient care, but there are so many options as a nurse that don’t require you to be at the bedside. I’m lucky to work at a level 1 trauma center where the possibilities for a nurse are endless.

 

[Fatcamp]

RN since 2009
Paramedic Firefighter since 1991, (retired few years ago) playing RN now
Anyway I agree with what everyone's saying. Decent money, schedule, jobs are everywhere.
With that, depending on what you choose to do. You will hate people pretty quick. Especially the welfare trash using the ED as their one stop medical wal mart.
People are entitled assholes anymore.
Hospitals like to say your salary is based on patient satisfaction scores. 3/4 of the assholes are on the government til. So break that down. Your paying for their medical care with your taxes.
BSN- it makes the hospital look good. Unless you have a plan to go on to NP or CRNA or teach.
I got my bachelors a few years back as I had thought about NP. Then realized I was in my 50's and don't need to take on 50k in debt. Not to mention everybody and their brother is in NP school now. These on line programs are pumping them out as fast as they can. And many are coming out dumber than when they went in.
Just hired a gal here at work that is a full fledged NP and she is too scared to work as one! Spent Fing 50 some thousand dollars and won't work as an NP!

My words might sound harsh, but this is a job to me nothing more. Its "not a calling" or what "I was meant to do" or some such silly shit new nurse like to spout. Its a job. I got into for the money and schedule. I was a medic for 30 years. So I did all kinds of whiz bang shit before I became a nurse. I'll be done with it before I'm 60.
Nursing is hard work. Your not digging ditches or out in the weather, but its hard work in its own way.

So this job I have now. I'm a nurse in a female prison. Truly the easiest job I've ever had. Can you tell? I'm posting on RS!
Oh and I actually get paid to yell at women legally!

Lots of honest advice in this post.