RN Salary Compared To An LPN: Money Matters!

Given a choice, you will surely go for a career that pays well. If nursing is your chosen path then, maybe you are not very money-minded, but this is not to say that nursing does not pay well. You may become an RN or an LPN, but you should know that an RN salary compared to an LPN is substantially more. Before you choose your nursing career, it may do you a lot of good to know more about this difference in salary.

Due to the burgeoning demand for registered nurses and the fact that you need to have better qualifications to become one, makes it quite understandable why an RN is paid more than an LPN. But this does not mean that it is a bad idea to become an LPN. Even if the RN salary compared to an LPN is more, you can still become an LPN because:

• It is a lot easier to work as an LPN. All you need is to get a 1 year diploma in nursing and pass the licensing exam thereafter.
• Any type of healthcare establishment employs LPN’s and so, finding a job is not difficult at all.
• LPN salaries may be considered low, but surveys show that they are more respectable than what is commonly perceived. You can expect to get upwards of $30000 a year quite easily (considering that the median salaries are between 35 and 45 thousand dollars a year).
• Once you become an LPN and gather some work experience you can also go back to studies for your BSN or consider an LPN to ADN program. If you love nursing as a profession, it may not be too difficult to put in the effort required to do this.
  

But having said this, a career choice as an RN is probably more rewarding in the long term and not just because the RN salary compared to an LPN is more. Here is why you should consider going through four years of coursework in order to become an RN:

• At the outset, you start on a much higher level than an LPN. So, your growth opportunities are definitely greater, if you work hard enough.
• As far as the pay packet is concerned, you can earn enough money to sustain a family. Surveys show that you can hope to enough upwards of $50000 a year, right from the time you start work as an RN. And when you have substantial work experience, this figure can shoot up quite quickly!
• Another encouraging stat shows that RN starting salaries are also on the rise. You can expect to get about 15% more than an RN who started work one year earlier than you.
• The top 10% of all nursing jobs are occupied by RN’s and the pay is usually no less than $75000 a year.
• Even in government jobs the RN salary as compared to an LPN, is substantially more.
  

So, choose your career wisely, and not just because the RN salary as compared to an LPN, is more!