Nursing Assistant Salary

Nursing Assistant Salary: Find Out If You Are Paid Enough

If you requested for a salary report, do you think it will show you're making enough to survive if you work as a CNA? How does your nursing assistant salary compare to the minimum wage in your state?  

Why did you choose to become a certified nursing assistant CNA in the first place? There are three common answers: you want a career change and the health care industry is booming and in need of personnel so opportunities are plenty; you don't need a lot of training before being able to work; or you can gain experience and insight that will be useful in case you want to pursue more advanced medical or health care careers.    

Is the job worth it?

In the nursing ladder, CNAs are at the bottom rung. Ergo, most of the dirty work fall in their laps. Well, that's basically their job. Being at the front line in patient care which means helping patients with their grooming and feeding, taking vital signs, positioning them or helping them move about and do routine tasks.

It can be a very physically taxing job, especially if you work with the elderly or geriatrics, the number of whom require medical care, is increasing. After completing your CNA certification classes, you will most likely spend more time with patients than their physicians because you're in constant contact with them. Which also means you bear the brunt of their moods, their pain and discomfort. In fact, nursing assistants are often referred to as a doctor or nurse's eyes and ears.

And for all this, you get paid between $9 to $11 per hour, depending on which state you practice and the kind of facility you work for. Hospitals used to rely on CNAs a whole lot, but these days it's the nursing homes, long-term care facilities, assisted care facilities and private care services that need them. So is the nursing assistant salary sufficient?

The CNA salary vs minimum wage

The nursing assistant salary is higher than the minimum wage. Well, most of the time and just barely. Although it is an entry level position in the allied health service industry, the certified nursing assistant CNA does not require very complex nor technical skills thus the lower wage levels, especially when compared to practical nurses or RNs.

Minimum wage varies per state. In Minnesota, it is $6.15 per hour; the CNA hourly rate in the state is $11.15, almost 50 percent higher. New York's minimum wage is set at $7.15. CNAs in NY earn between $8.13 and $10.20, just a little over the minimum. Washington state has the highest minimum wage rate: $8.55. But if you're a certified nursing assistant in Seattle, your hourly rate is just $11.45.

In annual figures for these three areas, nursing aides in MN make a nursing assistant salary between $21,840 and $29,120; New York gives them from $21,248 to $33,922; while you can earn a low of $24,000 and a high of $28,000 if you have the same job in Seattle.

It is therefore not surprising that after a couple of months of experience, many CNAs will work two or more jobs, get additional education through accredited CNA schools to increase their skills, or work their way towards other more lucrative health care careers.

There are, however, CNAs who have come to love their work and enjoy caring for their patients no matter how difficult the job can be. The rewards, it seem, are not solely measured in terms of dollars and cents.  Those who stick to the profession also have other options like become an educator to share their experience, or even run their own certified nursing assistant training centers.

With a fragile economy, the nursing assistant salary may seem inadequate for the amount of effort put in by nursing assistants; but then again, with jobs getting scarce a small pay is better than no pay at all.

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