Nurse Annual Wages

Hi Fellow Nurses,

I am sure this has been asked before somewhere but I will ask as well.

I am an internationally trained nurse with 14 years General Nursing experience and about 10 of those in Adult ICU.

I have worked in Africa, Europe and now in Australia and my next adventure target is the USA.

I have been looking at wages in different states and territories of the US and there seem to be a huge difference in wages ranging from 45K to as much as 140K.

My question is there what is the average wage for someone with my years of experience and a post graduate qualification in critical care nursing.

I am also keen to here from those that do a variety of shift work if there is any hourly differential between shifts.

As an example answer:

Day Shift : $30 ph
Afternoon : $35 ph
Night Shift: $40 ph

Average Yearly wage working 40 hrs p/w 60K p/a including the shift penalties.

Thank you all for your responses.
Check the Salary Survey threads for the information you seek.

The simple truth is that nurse wages do vary hugely. I saw my preceptor's check at my current job - she has been a nurse for as long as you have, and has worked in critical care for eight years - and she makes $28.50/hr base. With our night diff added, she would make around $60k/year with no overtime. She told me she made $40k in overtime last year because she picks up 1-2 extra shifts per week, so she actually made around $100k.So, your pay is going to depend on where you want to work and how much overtime you are planning to pick up. I would say the bare minimum you could expect with as many years as you've worked is around 50k/year, and that would be in the lowest paid areas of the country.

Thank you for your responses. I will checkout the salary survey thread.

Cost of living in each area compared to salary is where the real answer you need to find....

Quote from calivianyaThe simple truth is that nurse wages do vary hugely. I saw my preceptor's check at my current job - she has been a nurse for as long as you have, and has worked in critical care for eight years - and she makes $28.50/hr base. With our night diff added, she would make around $60k/year with no overtime. She told me she made $40k in overtime last year because she picks up 1-2 extra shifts per week, so she actually made around $100k.So, your pay is going to depend on where you want to work and how much overtime you are planning to pick up. I would say the bare minimum you could expect with as many years as you've worked is around 50k/year, and that would be in the lowest paid areas of the country.

2008. 20 plus years of experience. Flight Nurse. $27/hr. Isn't much more now.