Poorly Paid

RE: Poorly Paid

Recruitment Team — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 14:46:47 GMT

Vets Now have just reviewed their nurse salaries and we have newly qualified nurses starting on at least £10 per hour - If you want to discuss further please drop me an email Margaret.oliver@vets-now.com or call me on 01383 841181 we have various positions throughout the UK available.

RE: Poorly Paid

Sal the 1st — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 22:34:40 GMT

https://www.vetnurse.co.uk/veterinary-nurse-forum/f/11/t/608.aspx?pi2557=10

there are quite a few different threads on here - get a gang of vet nurses to present 'Live better for Less - we could knock the others into a cocked hat. Economy born of necessity if you like. I agree that if this is something you really want to do you will find a way.

RE: Poorly Paid

JaneRVN — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 13:52:04 GMT

I also changed career and initially was wary of how little I would earn. But it needs to be looked at in context with other industries.

I moved from senior retail management. I earned more than I would earn there in 2 years of qualifying. Yes, I'm in London but I'm still earning kore than I would have been staying in retail.

The point of qualifying and having RVN status is the freedom to move where you want to be. I agree that salary is just one factor in deciding where to work - as with any role - however welfare ame ethics will always play the largest part in my decision. Also my RVN status opens doors to earning money in other ways - teaching, tutoring, pet sitting, writing articles, presenting CPD

Interestingly i am finding those with a welfare led practice utilise nurses more and pay better too!

Go with your heart - if it says 'Vet nurse' you will find a way And the career will be more rewarding than you realise.

There was also a great thread on here about money saving/savvy - I think with a lot of input from Sal?

RE: Poorly Paid

Sal the 1st — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 19:35:41 GMT

[quote user="katseyez"]

Veterinary nursing is more of a vocation than a job for me and salary only plays a small part in the decision making of where I work :)

[/quote]

me too

RE: Poorly Paid

Tania Ford — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 13:37:08 GMT

Here is a link to the latest SPVS nurse salary survey. Salaries vary so much depending on what part of the country you work in. On the plus side, as there are so few of us to go around and lots of job availability, the general salary has had to increase because of demand. Veterinary nursing is more of a vocation than a job for me and salary only plays a small part in the decision making of where I work :)

http://www.bvna.org.uk/downloads/spvs-salaries-survey-2014-nurses.pdf

RE: Poorly Paid

enigmaticat-uk — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 15:45:04 GMT

As others have said, wage will depend greatly on where you are based - generally rural areas esp Wales & North of England are likely to pay less than practices within Cities.

In terms of how to handle outgoings, I have had a lifetime of living frugally so my tips are:

cut down on heating bills - switch it off for most of the year & wear layers/jumpers/blankets around the house. I can't believe the amount of people I know who have their heating on all year round - it's not necessary - save it for when it's really cold.

cut down on supermarket bills - find out what time they reduce their stock that is going out of date and buy then - especially root vegetables which will still last for weeks.

Instead of going out with friends, arrange nights in - alcohol is so much cheaper from the supermarket than the pub.

You probably already have plenty of clothes, you'll be wearing a uniform for work - only buy what you need.

Get used to not buying things on a whim, make yourself stop and think for 24hours before you buy (unless it truly is bargain of the century) - ask family members for things you might want as xmas/birthday gifts.

Spread the cost of Christmas by buying gifts all through the year when you see a bargain someone will like and putting things away.

ONLY if you are disciplined and pay off your credit card bill in full every month - get a cash-back credit card and put everything you possibly can on it - then after a year you should get some money back from it. (don't ever do this if you can't pay it off). Also use cashback online sites like quidco & topcashback etc. (although if you've been working in finance I guess you're pretty savvy on financial products).

Depending on the size of your house - consider taking in a lodger.

I'll add more if I think of any later.

RE: Poorly Paid

WelshyNurse — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 09:29:54 GMT

Sadly, very poorly paid.

Are you desperate to become an RVN?

I've worked in the veterinary industry for over 10 years and am not an RVN. I started as a clinic assistant, then moved on to nursing and qualified as an Animal Nursing Assistant. This was a course that was done alongside work and didn't affect my wages. Am now working on the management side earing more than a lot of RVNs I know.

Could be an option as you wouldnt have to fork out for the training.

RE: Poorly Paid

Kirsty RVN — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 01:04:27 GMT

It really does depend and I think where you live.

I have been working in the sector 15 years and a RVN with post qualifications and just recently started applying for permanent roles after a stint of locum work and two practices offered me a salary of £16,000 per annum which after tax would leave you with £1200 a month.

The average does seem to be £18-20,000

I have friends RVNs that are on as little as £15,000

Like many I never went into the profession for the money but at 31 it is nice to be paid what we are worth and the hard work we go through.

I struggle to make ends meet most of the time as I too are living alone but it does ultimately depend where you work as referral work pays significantly more

Kirstie

RE: Poorly Paid

Sal the 1st — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 23:08:22 GMT

[quote user="Louise Baldwin"]

I have read a lot of posts that complain about poor pay as a VN however a lot of these are dated back to 2010 and I know things may have changed since then.

[/quote]

they haven't changed that much. I suppose its just a case of working out how acceptable / do able your lifestyle changes are going to be. You will never be a millionaire in this job but for me if it pays the bills and a bit over I am happy. Or perhaps another way to look at it is if the workplace is one that I am happy with and the wage is manageable I would rather have it that way than a place which is totally miserable but pays a higher rate to compensate you for the crap - and there are plenty of those around.

RE: Poorly Paid

Alison Clare Hickman — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 22:46:13 GMT

Hiya,

VN salaries are, sadly, poorly paid in comparison to many other professions. But. If you can live to the means you have, then Happy Days. However, most nurses cannot afford regular exotic holidays, drive around in flash cars or are able to support a mortgage - chance would be a fine thing! The majority of us do it because our hearts are in it, not our pockets.

Once qualified and with a good few years of experience under your belt you might expect to earn around £25,000.00 p/a or even (but rarely) up to £30,000.00 p/a for the nurse with advanced qualifications or years of experience (and good at asking for raises!).

It does depend where in the country you live and, of course, the practice you work for. In Yorkshire an average annual wage for a qualified nurse is anything from around £18,000.00 to £21,000.00. There are notable exceptions, such as doing specialist Out of Hours work (e.g. Vets Now) where the salary is higher doe to the nature of the work and responsibility - but, please correct me folks if I am assuming wrongly, you would not normally expect to take on this type of work without some prior post-qualification experience.

So, in summary - average around £18-21K p/a post qualification, in my experience.

As for 'working your way up', there really isn't a natural career progression. Most nurses find what fulfils their work/life balance and take it from there. Sometimes having to relocate to get the job they want. Some nurses consider specialising but this doesn't always mean a rise in their income; it is the interest and personal fulfilment that is the driver. If you are employed in a good practice, with great business growth, then if you have a great boss, you might ask for (or receive) a bonus or annual pay increases - but generally, the nurse wage is fairly static.

Locuming is one choice for achieving an increased income. Generally though, you will hear that nurses don't feel confident enough to locum until having served a few years consolidating their experience. Rates range anywhere from around £12.00 per hour up to £25/30 per hour' the average is around £14-£15 per hour in my experience.

Hope this helps you to decide what is feasible for you.

Ali h