New nursing grad (Chicago, Evanston, Hanover Park: middle-class, apartment, how much)

[msutherl]

I'm graduating from nursing school this December and starting to look for jobs. I go to school at the University of Iowa, and am originally from Des Moines, IA. I'm looking to branch out and live away from home for a while and am looking into Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. I'm 24 and single, and looking for a place where it would be easy to meet new people. Also I want to move to a place where there is a lot to do and you cannot get bored.

I think I want to work in labor and delievery, but also like the NICU and the emergency department. I don't really know that much about the hospitals in Chicago and want to make sure that I am not looking into a hospital that is in a bad part of the city. Also I don't know much about the cost of living in Chicago, and the salaries of a starting RN with a BSN.

Please give me some insight into Chicago and a nursing career for a new grad. Any other information you might have for someone who is "leaving the nest" for the first time, I would greatly appreciate it. I just had a mental breakdown today and feel like I really need to start making some decisions, and get off the fence.

Thanks so much,
Megan

[OBnursette]

Wow. I felt like I was reading my own profile. I, too, am in nsg school, want to work in L&D or NICU and am contemplating a move to Chicago. I was thinking NY first and then visited Chicago this summer and loved it. I have found out a little about the hospitals here...people tend to recommend Northwestern, RUSH, University of Illinois hospitals, and the Children's Hospital. I think they are all pretty much downtown...I want to say the starting pay for a new grad is somewhere around $23-25 an hour..? Chicago doesn't seem to have too outrageous cost of living, compared to other big cities. Looking at craigslist, it seems very afforadable on a RN's salary. Not really sure how difficult it is to get into those hospitals or into the OB area right out of school, but I am searching for info...If you find anything please post..and if anyone reading this has any info or if I am misunderstood about the pay or good places to work, let me know. And your not alone with the mental meltdown, I had mine a few months ago, I think NSG school does that...

[jessiegirl_98]

I honestly don't know a ton about the nursing prospects in Chicago, but there are a lot of major hospitals. Also, I wouldn't "rule out" any because they aren't in the best areas of town. You don't have to live there and there are great hospitals in slightly shady areas. Look at:
Northwestern
Rush
UIC
U of Chicago
Evanston Northwestern
Mt. Sinai
Cook County
Children's Memorial
Loyola Hospital
LaRabida
I'm sure I'm missing some and there are also some great ones in the burbs...

[donjuan]

Originally Posted by OBnursette

Wow. I felt like I was reading my own profile. I, too, am in nsg school, want to work in L&D or NICU and am contemplating a move to Chicago. I was thinking NY first and then visited Chicago this summer and loved it. I have found out a little about the hospitals here...people tend to recommend Northwestern, RUSH, University of Illinois hospitals, and the Children's Hospital. I think they are all pretty much downtown...I want to say the starting pay for a new grad is somewhere around $23-25 an hour..? Chicago doesn't seem to have too outrageous cost of living, compared to other big cities. Looking at craigslist, it seems very afforadable on a RN's salary. Not really sure how difficult it is to get into those hospitals or into the OB area right out of school, but I am searching for info...If you find anything please post..and if anyone reading this has any info or if I am misunderstood about the pay or good places to work, let me know. And your not alone with the mental meltdown, I had mine a few months ago, I think NSG school does that...

wow that sucks. a starting nurse pay in chicago is $23-25 a hour!! warehouse workers can make that in some parts of cali. Respiratory therapist starting pay in fontana, ca is $30 a hour while in LA its $46 a hour. nursing in fontana, ca is $46 a hour. out here the closer you are working to LA the more you make. but $23 a hour for nursing is crazy low. my aunt is a nurse and she be bringing home $5000+ and sometimes $6000+ every 2 weeks. the most she made in a month was $12,365. when u work at the registery u can make $576 a day for 12 hours and get paid the same day. after i seen those checks im applying to the nursing program/respiratory therapy program out here. some of her nurse friends have million dollar homes

[donjuan]

Originally Posted by msutherl

I'm graduating from nursing school this December and starting to look for jobs. I go to school at the University of Iowa, and am originally from Des Moines, IA. I'm looking to branch out and live away from home for a while and am looking into Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. I'm 24 and single, and looking for a place where it would be easy to meet new people. Also I want to move to a place where there is a lot to do and you cannot get bored.

I think I want to work in labor and delievery, but also like the NICU and the emergency department. I don't really know that much about the hospitals in Chicago and want to make sure that I am not looking into a hospital that is in a bad part of the city. Also I don't know much about the cost of living in Chicago, and the salaries of a starting RN with a BSN.

Please give me some insight into Chicago and a nursing career for a new grad. Any other information you might have for someone who is "leaving the nest" for the first time, I would greatly appreciate it. I just had a mental breakdown today and feel like I really need to start making some decisions, and get off the fence.

Thanks so much,
Megan

ur lucky ur almost done. i heard that physiology is harder than the nursing program itself. well in cali it is. but ur lucky bcuz ur about to be balling. but if what that other girl is saying is true that nurses starting pay is $23-25 a hour in chicago then nm. for a nurse thats slave labor. i did see on this pay website about how much nurses make in other states and it is very low in the $20-30 make. im telling u LA and vegas is different bcuz they really pay and plus alot of companies will give u the sign on bonus which the highest i seen was $15,000 which was crazy but that was in vegas bcuz they really needed nurses i think. but in la i seen $5000-$10,000 starting bonus plus around $60+ a hour. hey and these are just for the associate degree's. my aunt is a nurse and she tells me how her friends be living. they always go on trips, they have boats and mulitple homes and some have homes in newport beach, ca which are million dollar homes on the beach/aka pacific ocean

[OBnursette]

Ok don juan. you have to look at it with a little perspective. Ever heard of cost of living? You don't have to pay $2000 a month to live in chicago in a tiny apartment. You don't need a car, nor have to pay ridiculous prices for gas as you do in LA. Surely, I'm sure you can spend a ton of money to live in chicago if you want to, but it is not necessary. If someone is bringing home over $12,000 a month, they must live in an area with very high costs of living or are working 80 hours a week. Anyway, my point was that once you weigh out the COL and wages, Chicago doesn't sound like a bad place to call home. If I were you I would investigate these things before I jumped head first into nursing school...it is a rough few years and definately not a job to do for the money alone. Even if you're making $12,000 a month.

[donjuan]

Originally Posted by OBnursette

Ok don juan. you have to look at it with a little perspective. Ever heard of cost of living? You don't have to pay $2000 a month to live in chicago in a tiny apartment. You don't need a car, nor have to pay ridiculous prices for gas as you do in LA. Surely, I'm sure you can spend a ton of money to live in chicago if you want to, but it is not necessary. If someone is bringing home over $12,000 a month, they must live in an area with very high costs of living or are working 80 hours a week. Anyway, my point was that once you weigh out the COL and wages, Chicago doesn't sound like a bad place to call home. If I were you I would investigate these things before I jumped head first into nursing school...it is a rough few years and definately not a job to do for the money alone. Even if you're making $12,000 a month.

yeah i heard of cost of living. im just saying $23-25 a month for a nurse is really low. plus u dont have to live in LA. there is so many other places like san diego, san fransico,venture,orange county,some parts of san bernardino,santa barbara where oprah lives. really ur a nurse u shouldnt be complaining about gas, leave that to people who dont go to college. only the poor complains about the gas prices. Out here people love working overtime so they will bring in the big bucks plus they love the eviroment they work at and i would go into that but there is really no reason too. but chicago(the nice parts) is a nice looking city but i love the ocean breeze . lol sorry i been investigating for years now, aslong as i can make enough money to enjoy life and get a really nice house out the ghetto than im happy.



There's no question that California is the best state for nurses, IMO ... mostly because the nursing unions are very strong here. The pay is higher ... the average nurse here makes $75K here versus $60K nationwide. People will scream about the cost of living wiping out that pay difference but, as always ... it depends on where you live in California.

Lots of nurses first move to LA, SF or other coastal areas when they first come here so they tend to oversaturate those markets and reduce wage increases. You can actually make the same and, even more money further inland and reduce your cost of living at the same time ... especially now that housing prices are falling fast.

And you can't underestimate the impact of the ratio law ... California is the only state that limits patients by law. Here you can't get more than five patients and, starting in 2008, ratios will go down to four patients on some units like telemetry. In other states 8-10 patients is more the norm and you literally break your back doing the job.

But don't take my word for it ... read about working conditions in other states at allnurses.com. And if you talk to travelling nurses you'll hear the same thing. Some of them won't work anywhere else but California because they don't want to go back to insane patient loads in other states.

[OBnursette]

Didn't mean to bash California, I do think nurses have it good there. I know someone that did a travel assignment in San Francisco and loved it...I'm just saying that wages aren't everything, that other benefits need to be taken into account. $25 dollars an hour may sound low but if you don't pay much in rent, transportation, taxes, other amenites, it measures out. And poor people are not the only ones complaining about gas prices...please

[donjuan]

see you know noting about california, not every house here is expensive like ur claiming. My sister is a LVN and she makes $23 a hour. cali is so big there is houses everywhere with alot of land too and it all depends if you want a expensive home or a cheaper home, just like anywhere else in the U.S.. trust me its mainly the poor who complains about gas prices. the rich can careless, they are driving expensive cars and suv's. plus out in detroit i heard like 1 nurse will have around 20 patients and ofcoarse that will be stressful. Remember many nurses out here have more than 1 home so they get paid good enough. there is even some nice 3 story homes in a nice area of moreno valley for only $500,000. hey even oprah works in chicago and own a apartment in chicago but she lives in santa barbara, california. hey i dont know where u gettin this info about cali hospitals bcuz i know alot of good things about them. The kiaser permanente in fontana treats there workers good. they pay for ur vacations,give u all kinds of benifits,give out $50 gift certificates from stores like subway,jack in the box,carls jr,walmart,etc. they dont overwork you or give u over 5 patients, if ur working for really long hours they let you sleep.i tell u they make it easy bcuz my aunt told me one of the nurses bought a new escalade and during work that nurse taken other nurses for a ride in it and left the LVN's in charge. they are always having that pot lunch, where they all bring there best foods in have feast's in the hospital. she came back with all types of food like enchilada's,pies, chicken taco's, her friend famous chilli with some cheese she got from england, her asian friends brought asian food. everyworker in that department brought there favorite foods on those days and they will all sit there in eat, while talk about trips they are planning on going on or get togethers. They have cable and my aunt is always telling me the doctors and nurses be watching nba games,wife swap,and other shows while on the job.she would be in another room and hear them cheering when the lakers win. thats a good working enviroment to me while other out of state hospitals are way more strict.

[long_time_seattleite]

Originally Posted by donjuan

wow that sucks. a starting nurse pay in chicago is $23-25 a hour!! warehouse workers can make that in some parts of cali. Respiratory therapist starting pay in fontana, ca is $30 a hour while in LA its $46 a hour. nursing in fontana, ca is $46 a hour. out here the closer you are working to LA the more you make. but $23 a hour for nursing is crazy low. my aunt is a nurse and she be bringing home $5000+ and sometimes $6000+ every 2 weeks. the most she made in a month was $12,365. when u work at the registery u can make $576 a day for 12 hours and get paid the same day. after i seen those checks im applying to the nursing program/respiratory therapy program out here. some of her nurse friends have million dollar homes

So, a nurse in Fontana, California makes $95,680 a year?
Your aunt, in California, makes $143,000 a year as a nurse?
You have seen ads for nurses in L.A. that pay $60 an hour, or $124,800 a year?

LOL. Forget going to medical school to get you MD to be a doctor. Just become a nurse and you’ll make more than the doctor; at least in California according to donjuan. LOL

donjuan, with all due respect, all of your posts in this thread are sheer lunacy.

Let’s see some of these ads. Or better yet any type of proof.

BACK TO REALITY, FOLKS.

Salary.com puts an RN with experience Fontana, California, as making about $55,000.

It also puts a RN with experience in a nice part of L.A. (right near UCLA) at about $64,000.

It puts the average RN with experience in Hanover Park, IL, which is a middle-class, far-west suburb of Chicago around $56,000

It puts the average RN with experience in Chicago, in the nice Lakeview neighborhood, at about $64,000.

I think you’ll find that jobs in Chicago pay well, especially nursing jobs. Often, they pay very similar to jobs in its coastal counterparts of L.A., Boston, S.F., D.C., and NYC, yet cost of living is much less.

One reason, among a few, is that Chicago competes directly with those markets for talent and has to pay similar wages to attract them to Chicago, or keep them there.

Best of luck, OBnursette.

By the way, how old are you donjuan?