To think that nurses do very well financially actually

[Nurseybigbucks]

Hear me out.
I know that people are always going on about shitty nurses salary and how hard they work etc and believe me, I get that the job is often shit and getting shitter and they have to work hard, but I can't get behind them being low paid.

My DP has recently qualified as a nurse, she was lucky in that NHS paid for her degree, now that's stopped it does make a difference but this low pay nurse thing has been spouted for longer than it's been stopped.

She's just started her first job out of Uni on a salary of £30,000 for the NHS. This is above national average salary but closer to average in our area (London). She gets paid extra for night shifts and weekends or bank holidays so the total she'd earn would be around £35k in year 1.

There are not many jobs paying £35k in year one out of Uni, certainly not from courses that are so easy to access in terms of what you need to be accepted onto the courses.

And that's just for a basic (band 5) nurse. If you have something about you then you'll move up to a higher pay band within a couple of years max really and there are lots of higher paid jobs for the right personnel and LOTs of opportunity to upskill and earn more and LOTs of opportunity to work extra should you choose, with private work being particularly lucrative.

I earn around £50k in finance but expect to be the lower earner within 5 years or so.

Again, I get how hard they might work, but lots of people work hard and hard work vs pay is not a linear graph in any career.

I think that nurses are pretty well and fairly paid and they enjoy a fantastic pension if working in the NHS. So Mumsnet, AIBU?

[Janus]

YABU. The starting wage is more like £23 out of London and you now pay for your uni fees, maintenance loan and cannot work during study for your degree as placements as all consuming. I’m not a nurse but know that much.
My daughter was in hospital earlier this year, one nurse looked after 3 wards, there were lots of other staff but honestly one nurse for about 18 people, I actually said how sorry I was to him when I had to bother him to talk about her. Working in finance would not compare in my opinion.

[Zebraaa]

It’s the HCA’s who do most of the care/physical stuff on £17k that I feel sorry for.

[Janus]

I would also try talking to your DP and see how well that conversation goes!!!

[Starryskiesinthesky]

I agree. Yes they pay fees but only the same as everyone else doing a degree course. And we have students who work during placements. They have great COD opportunities and a huge range of careers plus can supplement earnings from bank work.

[Kazzyhoward]

Even out of London, £23k is a good starting salary and above local average wages in many regions. I agree, in expensive areas, such as London/SE, the wages are too low, considering housing costs etc., but out in the regions, especially places like the run down northern towns, it's actually a very good wage compared to what other locals can earn and costs of living, such as housing are a lot more affordable.

[Mrsjayy]

What are you hoping to achieve from your thread you have a joint income of 80k what about out of London where people/nurses are earning no wherenear that ?

[onanothertrain]

You seem to post this on MN a lot. Have you not got the response you want before now or are you just goady?

[ashmts]

And that's just for a basic (band 5) nurse. If you have something about you then you'll move up to a higher pay band within a couple of years max really and there are lots of higher paid jobs for the right personnel and LOTs of opportunity to upskill and earn more and LOTs of opportunity to work extra should you choose

YABU. It's not a bad starting salary tbf but most nurses will stay band 5 for the majority of their career. Yes there are higher band jobs available but as you progress beyond band 5 the overtime and unsocial hours reduces/stops, so it's not always worth it.

My DP is a band 5 staff nurse (not 'basic', thanks) and I'm a band 7 (not a nurse). We take home roughly the same per month due to his shift allowance.

Oh and neither of us are doing 'very well financially'. We do okay but the progression is more or less non-existent now.

[TheQueef]

YABU and I suspect a bit goady.

[Mrsjayy]

And a quick google says a nurse working on a NHS salary in London is 26 k so your partner is somehow earning 30k more

[Starryskiesinthesky]

I would say the “fantastic” pension has been stripped and isn’t that great anymore. Bet the financial services one is much better plus you get bonuses.

[Mrsjayy]

Average salary

[lovesapinot]

I recently applied to train as a nurse - I'm in my 40's and I got accepted however after some serious thinking au could justify the £65k debt I'd gone out in and be on less than I earn now.

I feel sorry for the NHS staff and ink they need to seriously consider funding degree courses to encourage more people.

[justintimberlakesfishwife]

If you expect to be the lower earner in 5 years, then you're going to be sorely disappointed! Why do you think they? Do you think your partner is going to fly up to an 8a position???

[EKGEMS]

I'm an RN and have been for over 21 years and my pay is reflective of my experience and where I work and when I work. Bedside acute care hospitals pay the most here in the USA and weekends mean premium shift differentials. I also work in a major city with stiff competition for RNs. There are days where my pay is not nearly enough for the stress and abuse I receive! I'm not complaining I'm just stating a fact. I don't think $50/hour is overpaid but of course I'm not objective in this debate

[Alsohuman]

[PintOfBovril]

What PP said, the normal starting salary for a band 5 newly qualified nurse is around 23k and this is obviously subject to the normal deductions, including repaying the loan that most students would now have had to take out. Of course she gets extra for night working... This seems logical given the impact on her health and lifestyle.
At the risk of being inflammatory, I wonder if you could consider the level of accountability that goes with the role? It's an incredibly complex job and the nurses remit is being ever extended. Nurses being paid, for example, 35k are often expected to be nurse prescribers or nurse specialists with the same level of responsibility as any other clinician (on a much higher pay grade!), and mistakes and human error can have catastrophic results.
Personally I think a lot of the dissatisfaction with nurses working conditions has far more to do with safer staffing ratios, underfunded services and lack of resources, and (in some areas) the risk of violence and intimidation from the public, than it has to do with the basic pay. None of us trained in order to be millionaires, but we all want to be safe and effective practitioners who have the time and resources to care for our patients.

[Fookadook]

£29k is for inner London with the high cost living allowance.

It’s £24 for most of the country as a newly qualified band 5.

In London opportunity to move up the grades is much higher than anywhere else. Once you’ve reached the top of your band you can be stuck for years on the same wage.

And why shouldn’t we have a decent salary after university?

[EnglishRose13]

I get paid more than your friend.

I did do three years of studying, but I've no student debt as my company paid and I've been on Mumsnet all morning because I can't really be bothered today. Your friend can't ever take it easy. She always has to be on. She deserves way more than I do!

[NoFucksImAQueen]

30k is not a starting wage for band 5 newly qualified nurse , it's more like 23k so yes yabvu because you arent even putting forward the correct information.

[MrBrightside1980]

YABU.
My exw is a nurse. The pay in no way reflects the level of responsibility that nurses have, nor the hours that they physically have to work. Often with no (or very few) actual breaks that they take. From what i experienced through her, an average shift of 12 hours often runs over, most of it is time spent on their feet and most days work would spill over into personal time.
Cant see how anyone could honestly say that their pay is proportionate to what they actually have to do or the responsibility they have.

[TabbyMumz]

It's the health care assistants who do the majority of the dirty work, ie the patient cleaning, toileting, washing, bed changing, giving out food etc. The nurses dont have to do a lot of that anymore.

[Iggly]

YABU

Nurses do stuff which saves lives and have real value to society.

Someone working in investment banking will get shed loads more for work which has very little social value. And I bet is less effort.

It’s disgusting that we value someone pushing numbers around more than someone who’s dealing with the lives and wellbeing of others.

[Junkmail]

I think it reeeeally depends—where you live and what area you work in makes a massive difference. My husband earns an excellent wage as a nurse but then he’s self employed as an agency nurse in the private sector and absolutely no way could we afford for him to work for the NHS in our area. The pay is shit for the hard work and responsibility expected. It’s actually insulting that such a job could be paid so poorly. So he has a higher salary but the trade off is lack of job security (no guaranteed hours) and no benefits (no annual leave allowance etc). It’s really not an easy profession financially which imo is ridiculous considering how necessary the role is and I see with my own eyes how hard my husband works—to think he could be doing the same job for the NHS for half the money he earns now? No way.

[ashmts]

TabbyMumz Yeah nurses just have to oversee the HCAs, attend ward rounds, communicate with relatives, deal with medication, manage bed flow... 'just' that, and all the other duties. No big deal.