How much to RNs make in Houston area?

[EM1956]

Houston is huge- Lots of factors on deciding where to live- do you have kids? school districts will be important-what will your budget be? buying or renting?

If you don't have kids- and like big hospitals (St. Luke's, Methodist, and Hermann all have more than 1000 beds) then the Medical Center is an excellent choice- All 3 hospitals are within walking distance of each other. The larger hospitals have excellent teaching facilities/programs for nurses. The smaller hospitals do also, but the 3 in the Med Center really excel.

If you are buying, the nicer areas of the Med Center are expensive- expect to pay more than 250,000 for an older home. If renting, there are lots of apartments to choose from- you could be anywhere from the immediate area of the Med Center to the Galleria, Bellaire, West University, Greenway Plaza, and be very close to work. Pearland might be a good alternative for affordable houses to buy. (I've never lived there, but I understand that it is a nice area).
All 3 of the hospitals in the Med Center have great CV programs. St. Luke's might have the edge, but in reality, it's a slim edge.

There are some good outlying regional hospitals if you like suburbs- Tomball Regional in the northwest part of the county; Houston Northwest Medical Center- convenient to the Woodlands; Memorial Southwest convenient to Alief, Sugarland.

The Memorial-Hermann system has about 10 hospitals (mostly small) located around Houston. Woodlands, Katy, Southeast, Sugarland to name a few. Methodist also has some satellite hospitals- Sugarland. These hospitals are smaller (I think probably less than 300 beds) but I know many nurses who like smaller hospitals closer to their homes in the suburbs.

I would do some research on the hospitals, decide where you want to apply; call the nurse recruiters; then look at areas in which to live.

And yes, with your experience you will not have ANY problems getting a job. Figure at least 25.00/hour for days; more for evenings, nights, weekends. Most shifts are now 12 shifts/ 7a-7p or 7p - 7a. Usually work 3 one week; 4 the next. Get paid every 2 weeks.

Good Luck!

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by KewlGuy

Be aware new grads will not get the same salary as experienced RN's. Hospitals want experience and many won't even hire new grads. I've known of new grads who had to accept positions in nursing homes just to get some experience under their belt before getting a hospital job.

This is correct for RN positions. Yet, most teaching hospitals (which are most of them in the med center) have separate listings for GN (graduate nurses). And I cannot think of one hospital right now that won't hire nurses - experience or no. MD Anderson is hurting quite a bit, and I am not sure about their hiring status. But any freezes that were in place earlier in the year have been lifted.

[lhafer]

Canadian - are you wanting Adult or Pedi? You can't go wrong with either in the Med Center. I for cardiology, my first choice would probably be St. Lukes for adult, and Texas Children's Hospital for Pediatrics. But really all the hospitals here are great.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by KewlGuy

My information is directly from the hospitals web site. Every RN job posting asks for experience. Check it out yourself:

"Preferred candidates are those with 1-2 years hospital RN experience"

First of all, "preferred" is not a requirement. Everyone would prefer you have experience.

Secondly, I just spoke to my kids' pedi's staff nurse at TCH with whom I am friends. She said almost everyone in TMC is taking new grads--whether it is on an internship basis or a straight hire. So...don't believe everything you read.

Again, nursing shortage are the key words here.

[canadianmomof3]

Thanks for the replies! I will be coming with my husband and 3 small kids....so schools are very important to us! We are planning on renting for a little while and then to buy once we know the areas a little better and then jump into homeownership again! I want to stay in adult Cardiology and prefer to work nights. I would probably prefer a smaller hospital over a big one but am willing to try anything for awhile!!!
Thanks again for the advice!
Laura

[taapple]

I moved here a year ago and with only one year experience in PACU was hired at 25.50/hr, i had several job offers and they were all within that range. That was base pay, plus i received diff. many of the big hospitals hire new grads but many of them have specific times of the year throughout the year when they accept applicants b/c they start you with a group. With 2 years exp. you should be able to get $27