Do nurses get paid enough to live comfortably?

Hi all, i was wondering if nurses get enough money to be able to live happily without worrying over paying bills? Also could they afford to go abroad every year on holiday? Or get a mortgage? Etc etc. Many thanks, Tootles 247 ☺❤

I pretty sure a large proportion of people get a mortgage, not just well paid ones. Yes, nursing is good for all of those once you've gained a handful of years under your belt. But I must say, this is probably one of the last jobs I'd do for money. They have to do some of the most tedious things and work really long hours. Be careful of your reasoning behind nursing. You really should have passion for it (like all subjects).

I pretty sure a large proportion of people get a mortgage, not just well paid ones. Yes, nursing is good for all of those once you've gained a handful of years under your belt. But I must say, this is probably one of the last jobs I'd do for money. They have to do some of the most tedious things and work really long hours. Be careful of your reasoning behind nursing. You really should have passion for it (like all subjects).

Exactly this. I've worked for the NHS as a Support Worker for learning disabilities. The hours are long, the pay is not as good as it should be. You need to be passionate and be doing it for the right reasons.

But back to wages, you get paid more for each year of working for the NHS up to (I believe) 10 years. As a nurse you start at a higher band than I did.

I'm about to become a student nurse at university and the answer to your question is- it depends!

Newly graduated nurses (all nurses now have to have a degree to be registered with the NMC) start on a salary of roughly £22,000 but this rapidly increases with even a few months of experience. They are paid on what's called "The NHS agenda for pay" scale which works on a banding system. You start in band 5 but you quickly move up. Nurses with a few years experience will be earning just over £30,000 per annum before taxes.

This is actually by some standards an above average salary and don't forget your partners salary too- i'd say doable for a mortgage and a decent holiday every year especially if you have 2 earners. Don't forget however that most nurses have children and a family to look after which can get expensive!

Now for the interesting bit. Nursing is now a degree only profession and so in my opinion their pay should go up for that reason and the literally sh***y jobs we have to do. In the past decade we have seen lots of new nursing roles like "consultant nurse" and "director of nursing" come into play and these have much higher salaries of up to £50,000 dependent on experience and location.

There are also roles like the advanced nurse practitioner (you must have a masters degree in advanced nursing practice to do this) where nurses can become autonomous/ prescribe and complete many of the same jobs as say a GP would including diagnosing treating and referring patients to hospital. These are some of the highest paid jobs in nursing outside management and research and an experienced nurse practitioner can earn just over £50,000 in some areas.

Chief nurses are in band 8d and earn at least £66,582 per annum but obviously these are competitive and rare roles.

Midwives often out-earn normal nurses but nurses in senior roles actually get paid quite a bit more.

To see more of the roles that nurses can fulfill and their associated earnings chck out this site: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/about/careers-nhs/nhs-pay-and-benefits/agenda-change-pay-rates

I hope this helps explain that nursing isn't just a "one-trick-pony" profession like it was 2 or 3 decades ago, and that some nurses who specialise earn very very competitive salaries. Also that nurses are becoming much more highly trained and havemore knowledge of anatomy physiology and pharmacology than they ever have

In short don't underestimate nurses and their earning potential!

Hi all, i was wondering if nurses get enough money to be able to live happily without worrying over paying bills? Also could they afford to go abroad every year on holiday? Or get a mortgage? Etc etc. Many thanks, Tootles 247 ☺❤

It's easy to work out how much you would earn, as the pay follows agenda for change which is public.

Night shifts and holidays pay extra. You can also do bank work for extra money. So it really depends on how many hours a week you are willing to work, and what hours you are willing to work.

The experience heavily depends on how good the wards you work on are. You can be put in a crappy ward where you have to work with 3 agency nurses who don't know the ward or the paperwork, and you are responsible for all of their omissions, or you could work on a nice ward that is staffed properly. The former type of ward tends to push nurses to the breaking point and makes them quit.

If you don't like ward work you can move to outpatients, education or community nursing.

thanks for the reply, it sounds so versatile now, i didnt realise there were as many different sectors to work in. i thought it was just Child, Adult, mental health and disabiliity, but it sounds really interesting

I'm about to become a student nurse at university and the answer to your question is- it depends!

Newly graduated nurses (all nurses now have to have a degree to be registered with the NMC) start on a salary of roughly £22,000 but this rapidly increases with even a few months of experience. They are paid on what's called "The NHS agenda for pay" scale which works on a banding system. You start in band 5 but you quickly move up. Nurses with a few years experience will be earning just over £30,000 per annum before taxes.

This is actually by some standards an above average salary and don't forget your partners salary too- i'd say doable for a mortgage and a decent holiday every year especially if you have 2 earners. Don't forget however that most nurses have children and a family to look after which can get expensive!

Now for the interesting bit. Nursing is now a degree only profession and so in my opinion their pay should go up for that reason and the literally sh***y jobs we have to do. In the past decade we have seen lots of new nursing roles like "consultant nurse" and "director of nursing" come into play and these have much higher salaries of up to £50,000 dependent on experience and location.

There are also roles like the advanced nurse practitioner (you must have a masters degree in advanced nursing practice to do this) where nurses can become autonomous/ prescribe and complete many of the same jobs as say a GP would including diagnosing treating and referring patients to hospital. These are some of the highest paid jobs in nursing outside management and research and an experienced nurse practitioner can earn just over £50,000 in some areas.

Chief nurses are in band 8d and earn at least £66,582 per annum but obviously these are competitive and rare roles.

Midwives often out-earn normal nurses but nurses in senior roles actually get paid quite a bit more.

To see more of the roles that nurses can fulfill and their associated earnings chck out this site: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/about/careers-nhs/nhs-pay-and-benefits/agenda-change-pay-rates

I hope this helps explain that nursing isn't just a "one-trick-pony" profession like it was 2 or 3 decades ago, and that some nurses who specialise earn very very competitive salaries. Also that nurses are becoming much more highly trained and havemore knowledge of anatomy physiology and pharmacology than they ever have

In short don't underestimate nurses and their earning potential!

Hey.

You have got a wealth of knowledge here.

with regards to the nursing consulting, do you need master for that too?

thanks for the reply, it sounds so versatile now, i didnt realise there were as many different sectors to work in. i thought it was just Child, Adult, mental health and disabiliity, but it sounds really interesting

Many nurse consultants are very experienced and must hold a masters degree and many are working towards their Phd. This is a very senior role in the NHS and requires vast experience in a clinical specialism.

The reason they have their masters is because they often carry out clinical examinations in order to diagnose and treat their patient much like a registrar doctor would on a ward. They are often on call too if someone needs a cardiac consult in A and E that is not too urgent like ECGs.

More info here if you're interested which areas you can work in as a consultant http://nursingcareers.nhsemployers.org/browse-segments/acute-and-critical-care/level-8-clinical/nurse-consultant.aspx