for the love of money...

10 I had a discussion with a nurse that works on my floor about what makes people get into nursing in the first place. She made a comment that she is tired of people getting into nursing for the money and she disagreed with my response to her comment. I said that even though I do not believe people should choose any profession solely on the basis of money, that money does (and should) play a HUGE factor in choosing any career. I'm all for loving what you do but at the end of the day there are bills that need to be paid. I believe as long as you treat your patients with the dignity and respect they deserve that your reasons for choosing nursing as a career shouldn't matter. I have absolutely no problem with a nurse who goes into the profession for money as long as they are good at what they do. I honestly do not believe nurses are paid that great anyway considering all of the responsibility that falls on their shoulders. Sometimes I read posts on here and people say nurses are paid more for less education than many other profession. I also look at it as most other professions do not have the responsibility that nurses do so it is really hard to compare. What are your thoughts on this?
I agree, nurses don't get paid a lot!!BUT, we DO get paid above the normal college degree. I, as an LPN, make more money than 2 of my friends that have a Bachelors degree in business, and 3 that have a bachelors in human resources. I AM AN LPN!! As an RN, it'll be a long time till they can dream of making the money I will.I agree with both sides. Those who get into nursing SOLELY for the money get into it for the wrong reason. They are usually the ones who have NO CLUE what being a nurse entails... They are usually the ones weeded out in school... but some make it to the floor, and they are the ones that we have to constantly pick up the slack on.You can usually tell the difference between someone in nursing JUST FOR THE MONEY, and someone in it for an actual profession that gets paid pretty good.

Quote from demylenatedI agree, nurses don't get paid a lot!!BUT, we DO get paid above the normal college degree. I, as an LPN, make more money than 2 of my friends that have a Bachelors degree in business, and 3 that have a bachelors in human resources. I AM AN LPN!! As an RN, it'll be a long time till they can dream of making the money I will.I agree with both sides. Those who get into nursing SOLELY for the money get into it for the wrong reason. They are usually the ones who have NO CLUE what being a nurse entails... They are usually the ones weeded out in school... but some make it to the floor, and they are the ones that we have to constantly pick up the slack on.You can usually tell the difference between someone in nursing JUST FOR THE MONEY, and someone in it for an actual profession that gets paid pretty good.

Quote from BABYJADE06I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Quote from canesdukegirlTeachers, fire fighters and police officers also have lives in their hands. In my opinion, they don't get paid nearly enough. This fight has raged on for many years.

Quote from BABYJADE06I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Quote from BABYJADE06I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Quote from canesdukegirlTeachers, fire fighters and police officers also have lives in their hands. In my opinion, they don't get paid nearly enough.

I have typed this reply four times. LOL The money in nursing is good, the availibilty of jobs is good. I know people that are out of work for years with no hope of finding a job that has college degrees. I live in a small area and change jobs frequently looking for the right fit. The money is pretty much the same and I am very happy. I got into nursing because, I wanted a job. I stay in nursing because of my patients. I agree that some people get weeded out but some people actually find that it fits them and they are good at it.

I agree that nurses should be paid more. The nature of our work demands it. How do you justify paying other majors more money than us when they don't have lives in their hands?

Quote from BABYJADE06I get what your saying, but since you are in a profession where someone's life is literally in your hands shouldn't you get paid more regardless of what degree you have?

Seems like money used to be more of a motivator back when signing bonuses were in existence...in this economy, maybe we're seeing more of a passion for doing the work?As a new grad, I can safely say that nursing jobs for us are SCARCE and the money is "meh" compared to other degrees. And this is not a job you could do for very long if your motivation is solely financial.

Eventually, going into ANY profession (especially one as physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding as nursing) solely or mostly for money will only cause you to burnout. There have been many studies done on what motivates a person and what keeps a person in a job, position, or profession, and money actually ranks quite low on the totem pole. Bills need to be paid, of course, so money is somewhat of a motivator, but while you see no problem in people who are in nursing for the money as long as they do a good job, if you are in nursing long enough you will be able to quickly pick out the people who are just there for a paycheck and nothing else. Nursing requires heart, and you can't buy that.