Through advice on moving to Arizona from Brooklyn with no degree or driver's license (Phoenix: transfer to, income)

[teddyearp]

You know, there's an awful lot of good responses here, but for some reason, I like smurfonaboat's the best. At 23, you can be a lot more resilient at say 37. And at 37 I moved to AZ for many of the same reasons with maybe one tenth the funds and not much else going for me and made a great go of it.

[RubyJune]

One thing I'd like to add - the cost of living between Brooklyn and most of AZ is considerably different. If you're able to pay your way there, even with a cut in pay, you'd do better in AZ. I don't live in AZ (yet) but using cost of living comparison calculators, I've found that most of AZ is comparable to where I currently live (St. Louis). I've looked into moving to NYC because I love it there and I have no idea how people live with those levels of rent. It's mind boggling. I could rent a nice house in the suburbs here for what I could rent for a roach infested shoebox in Brooklyn.

$9/hour is low, but I made it in St. Louis on that, in a good neighbourhood. It wasn't easy, but it can be done.

There's no reason you can't figure out a way to make a go of it if you really wanted to.

[gemstone1]

"We have LPN's that make $70k/year". Let's see....$70K divided by 2080 (the typical annual hours worked) equals $33.00+ per hour....not sayin' it can't happen, but that's accounting for a ton of overtime. I'd bet there are some RN's that would be happy with that wage + benefits. IMO, intimating that an LPN or a CNA, can make it on their own or is a career path is wrong. There is no substitution for education and experience (but even with that, you must stand above your peers). I don't pretend to know your business...but as an HR person, your facility would hire a person with experience over the the non experienced....what 90% of the time ? And you should know the migration path is to require a BSN degree, not just an RN degree anymore (as if there is anything like "just an RN").

But don't take my word for it, do your own research....like these:

CNA, LVN, RN, ADN, BSN, what??? | allnurses

LPN to BSN - RN, BSN Nursing

Geriatrics Nursing Jobs | Nurse.com (pick a specialty and search for jobs and salary)

LPN Salary vs. RN Salary | Chron.com

http://cnacareer.yolasite.com/cna-salaries.php

http://lpncareer.yolasite.com/licens...e-salaries.php

Nurse RN Salary in Arizona | Indeed.com

To to OP...good luck to you, I hope you find what you are looking for.

Regards
Gemstone1

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"We have LPN's that make $70k/year". Let's see....$70K divided by 2080 (the typical annual hours worked) equals $33.00+ per hour....not sayin' it can't happen, but that's accounting for a ton of overtime. I'd bet there are some RN's that would be happy with that wage + benefits. IMO, intimating that an LPN or a CNA, can make it on their own or is a career path is wrong. There is no substitution for education and experience (but even with that, you must stand above your peers). I don't pretend to know your business...but as an HR person, your facility would hire a person with experience over the the non experienced....what 90% of the time ? And you should know the migration path is to require a BSN degree, not just an RN degree anymore (as if there is anything like "just an RN").

But don't take my word for it, do your own research....like these:

CNA, LVN, RN, ADN, BSN, what??? | allnurses

LPN to BSN - RN, BSN Nursing

Geriatrics Nursing Jobs | Nurse.com (pick a specialty and search for jobs and salary)

LPN Salary vs. RN Salary | Chron.com

http://cnacareer.yolasite.com/cna-salaries.php

http://lpncareer.yolasite.com/licens...e-salaries.php

Nurse RN Salary in Arizona | Indeed.com

To to OP...good luck to you, I hope you find what you are looking for.

Regards
Gemstone1

Not sure what you're trying to prove with these posts about salary for lpn's and rn's?

A new-grad lpn can pull $20 bux an hour pretty easily, and experienced LPN's often make mid/high $20's per hour with no shortage of work available (which is actually pretty comparable to what a new-grad RN might make in a hospital here, even with a BSN).

The Phoenix metro is unique in the US in that we graduate a few thousand lpn's and rn's every year - so hospitals can be picky about who they hire (and can demand BSN-RN's) - nursing homes and long-term care facilities, not so much. CNA's, LPN's & ADN RN's can certainly find plenty of work here.

In any case, $20+ an hour is a decent wage for the metro, whether or not you call it a "career" is in the eye of the beholder.

[gemstone1]

"Not sure what you're trying to prove with these posts about salary for lpn's and rn's?"

Merely attempting to give the OP a glimpse of a career path, and provide a data source.

Regards
Gemstone1

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

"We have LPN's that make $70k/year". Let's see....$70K divided by 2080 (the typical annual hours worked) equals $33.00+ per hour....not sayin' it can't happen, but that's accounting for a ton of overtime. I'd bet there are some RN's that would be happy with that wage + benefits. IMO, intimating that an LPN or a CNA, can make it on their own or is a career path is wrong. There is no substitution for education and experience (but even with that, you must stand above your peers). I don't pretend to know your business...but as an HR person, your facility would hire a person with experience over the the non experienced....what 90% of the time ? And you should know the migration path is to require a BSN degree, not just an RN degree anymore (as if there is anything like "just an RN").

But don't take my word for it, do your own research....like these:


To to OP...good luck to you, I hope you find what you are looking for.

Regards
Gemstone1

The LPN's at our facility making that money are Unit Managers in charge of an entire unit, all patients in that unit and all the CNA's that work on that unit. There is an RN that on duty for the entire facility but LPN Unit Managers are in charge of every unit. These are exempt employees so there is no overtime.

We also have a TON of CNA's and LPN's working at our facility while they go to school so they can get their RN license.

Our CNA's start at $13/hour and there are some making more that have education and experience. We have non unit manager LPN's making $27/hour that have been doing it a long time. I bet if you took a poll in this forum you'd find a ton of people wishing they made $27/hour.

[HopeArise]

Originally Posted by SmurfOnABoat

When there is a will there is a way... I will always believe in that statement because it is 100% true. You, yourself, control your own future.... With that being said, if you really want to get away from NY and AZ is your for sure destination. Then I would recommend making your way out to AZ, see it for yourself. Scope some places out, look into jobs... it might take 2 jobs to make it but if you can make it then you can make it.

A question I guess not asked yet, what do you do for work now and how much do you make? What is your cost of living where you are? Are you on your own?

While the above responses are most advisable, safest routes, however they are not the only options. First thing I tell people is don't steer from your wants and desires, it only makes things worse. Settling for what you don't want is the not the end result you wish to seek. I am no expert but I would guess (only guess) that with depression, either route could have potentially bad effects. Staying where you are, where you are unhappy, while you save and work towards your degree and future career... Having to stay put may not be what you want and it may make you feel worse.... on the other hand, jumping ship, making the trek to AZ then failing financially may also be a bad route...

Now, with that being said, jumping ship, moving to where you want to be. What will make you happy, in my opinion, will only help your current feelings. A new hope, new opportunity and a completely new environment with new people. You are young, I am guessing pretty smart, and seem to put some thought into serious decisions. You probably know what it takes to survive, and if you are willing to do what you need to survive, continue with school then in my honest opinion... you can make it...

The thing about being 23 vs 33 or 43 or older... is that you can probably recover if things go south, but if they don't go south and you come out to AZ and flourish and make your dreams come true, get out of the hell hole of NY and find new opportunity then it will ultimately lead to great things for you.... The thing is, if you don't try it, you will never know.

Just my opinion, I know others will not agree and will say that my response is foolish. People who really get it, or people that have actually done what I have said then they will truly understand. What is life without a little risk? Its just a job at that point. Day to day routine with no change.... Boring....

I am just 30 years old and around your age I made the trek to AZ to seek new opportunity... I currently reside in both states part time and am happy with the decision I made....

Your words of optimism are extremely appreciated & mean a lot.
I am more than willing to work two jobs if that will help me stay away from NYC.
My situation can definitely can be described as "being stuck in between a rock and a hard place", I know if I stay here in NYC my mindset will probably deteriorate even more.
My only fear is getting to AZ and ending up homeless *yikes*

I hope things turn out positive because suicide was my contingency plan until I realized maybe a change of setting could possibly serve as some type of natural rehabilitation.

sorry for the TMI & thank you so much for you words of encouragement!!

P.S. Did you come to AZ with a car?

[HopeArise]

Originally Posted by BajaAZ

You can live off of CNA wages out here but you won't be living large. What most people do in this case is get a roommate and then go to school to up their earning potential over time. Like LBTRS said, it can be a viable career path, especially out here where there are so many old folks who need medical care, but to make that pan out you need to be vigilant about training and certifying in new areas of your field. I would definitely recommend finding a job before moving out here, if possible. But if you aren't currently employed in Brooklyn I suppose it's cheaper to be unemployed here than it is there.

You do not "need" a car in certain parts of Arizona. Both Phoenix and Tucson have workable (though not great) public transportation. I have a car, but I put less than a thousand miles on it last year, just driving when I felt lazy or was really in a hurry. Especially in Tucson you'll find that a bike will get you everywhere you may need to go 95% of the time.

You also need to define what you mean by "Arizona," being that Arizona is a huge and quite varied state. It's like saying I'm going to move to New York ... do I mean Buffalo, or Manhattan, or anyplace in between? Lake George? Hopefully you see my point. There is one large metro area, one mid-size metro area and a bunch of small cities each with their own plusses and minuses to consider. Look into it (these forums are a good start) and see what might work best for you.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you for this information!
I would like to be able to live in a cheap neighborhood that's quiet and less than 2hrs (on public transportation) from my potential workplace.
but you're right tbh, I'll definitely have to do more research when comes to location.

[HopeArise]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

The LPN's at our facility making that money are Unit Managers in charge of an entire unit, all patients in that unit and all the CNA's that work on that unit. There is an RN that on duty for the entire facility but LPN Unit Managers are in charge of every unit. These are exempt employees so there is no overtime.

We also have a TON of CNA's and LPN's working at our facility while they go to school so they can get their RN license.

Our CNA's start at $13/hour and there are some making more that have education and experience. We have non unit manager LPN's making $27/hour that have been doing it a long time. I bet if you took a poll in this forum you'd find a ton of people wishing they made $27/hour.

Whoa I'm definitely compiling this information.
So if an individual applied for a for a CNA position & on their resume they make it clear that they've had clinical experience as a nursing student for a year and a half how likely is it that they would be hired? and would they still start at $13/hr sans paid experience?

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by HopeArise

Whoa I'm definitely compiling this information.
So if an individual applied for a for a CNA position & on their resume they make it clear that they've had clinical experience as a nursing student for a year and a half how likely is it that they would be hired? and would they still start at $13/hr sans paid experience?

At our facility... Yes, we are always hiring CNA's. Student time isn't normally counted as "experience".