Registered Nurse Salary 2011
Are you planning on working as a nurse or are you planning to study nursing in the near future? If your answer is yes, you might want to know how much registered nurses earn these days. Registered nurse salaries for 2011 will be anywhere from $62,450 for entry level or more for full time graduates. This information is based on findings by the US Labor Bureau of Statistics. This is a wonderful beginning salary to many with woes about the job situation in todays lagging economy.
Those with more experience, on the other hand, can have a salary that is even higher. However, some nurses may receive more because of relative factors that affect salary such as work locations, hours spent taking care of the patient, and certification levels and your geographical location.
Salaries also depend upon specialties. Compared to general registered nurses, nurses with expertise will earn more. The more demanding job area of expertise is, the higher the pay will be. For instance, an acute care registered nurse or neonatal registered nurse would typically earn more than a health clinic registered nurse.
Based on statistics and surveys, salaries of nurses are growing and the demand for registered nurses also is continuing to grow. In fact, according to the AANP, (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners), the average full time nurse who practiced at least 35 hours per week made $89,450 for 2009-2010. This was up from the previous year average nurse practitioner salary by more than 5.9%.
Many looking into this new field of nursing have lost previous jobs in an unrelated field. You will be happy to know that there are accelerated baccalaureate and masters degree programs that might benefit you to graduate in a shorter period of time.
The highest paid registered nurses in the US are found in the far west states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The base salaries for them average $99,980 according to AANP. The lowest paid full time registered nurses work in the plains states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Over all, registered nurse salary 2011 studies have shown good signs of earning good money with a steady flow of job availability across the entire country. So if you are looking for a career path that will give you a high standard living, Nursing is still one of the good choices, if not the best.
