Nurses make up a significant part of our healthcare system, and many of them choose to work in pediatrics.
A job as a pediatric nurse may give both emotional and financial happiness.
Still, it is a demanding job because you need to have extreme psychological knowledge, child growth, and many other things that need to be taken care of, both physical and mental.
With all these requests from a pediatric nurse and being hard to be one, you might wonder how much do pediatric nurses make?
Pediatric nurses make about the same as other types of nurses, yet certification, experience, and location all have an impact on a pediatric nurse’s earning potential.
According to Zippia, 10% of pediatric nurses make around $45,000 yearly. To know about their highest pay keep, qualification criteria, and more, keep reading!
Summary
| Guide | How Much Do Pediatric Nurses Make? |
|---|---|
| Average Income | $78,500 per year |
| Highest Income | $170,000 per year |
| Qualification | Needed |
| Training | Needed |
Who Are Pediatric Nurses?
A pediatric nurse is a registered nurse who focuses on children’s health.
Pediatric nurses deal with children of all ages, while some specialize in one age group, such as babies or teens.
Pediatric nurses frequently assist youngsters in explaining what they require because their communication abilities are still developing.
They must have a thorough understanding of child development and growth.
As illnesses and problems in children are frequently manifested and treated differently than in adults.
Pediatric nurses are involved in many parts of a patient’s care and can do lot of different tasks throughout the day.
Even while some pediatric nurses do responsibilities that are comparable to those performed in an adult nursing unit, they must do so with extra care and attention.
How Much Do Pediatric Nurses Make?
Pediatric registered nurses earn an average of $1,513 per week or about $78,500 annually.
With incomes ranging from $400 to $3,200 or $20,800 to $166,000 annually for experienced and inexperienced pediatric nurses.
Overtime compensation for pediatric registered nurses is around $9,375 per year.
The pediatric nurses who generally have greater education and training than registered nurses earn nearly substantially more than registered nurses.
A pediatric nurse’s income is about their education and experience.
The size, nature, and location of the facility where they operate can all influence their performance.
1. How Much Do Pediatric Nurses Make an Hour?
Pediatric Nurse make a minimum of $20.91 an hour and a maximum of $92.31 an hour.
2. How Much Do Pediatric Nurses Make a Month?
Pediatric Nurse make a minimum of $3,625 a month and a maximum of $16,000 a month.
3. How Much Do Pediatric Nurses Make a Year?
Pediatric Nurse make a minimum of $43,500 a year and a maximum of $192,000 a year.
Highest Salary Of Pediatric Nurses In 2023
Looking at the highest salaries of pediatric nurses, we see that the salaries range across vast numbers, which affects the highest salary, too, because depending on the state you work at, your salary could substantially be higher or lower.
However, the average highest salary pediatric nurses get in the majority of the states is close to around $170,000 annually.
About $100,000 higher than the average pediatric nurse salary, which is a great pump.
Is Being A Pediatric Nurse Good Or Bad?
Being a pediatric nurse is not an easy task because you deal with kids and not adults.
Dealing with kids is much more complex than dealing with adults, and not only because you need to be patient enough, but you also need to have good child growth and physiological behavior and act according to that to be a successful pediatric nurse.
If you think you can handle this and you like being with kids throughout your day, doing this as a job where you will get paid is a good job.
In general, a pediatric nurse job is regarded as a good job, but that’s only if you can handle being with kids.
Pros and Cons of Being A Pediatric Nurse
Pros
- Good pay
- Job satisfaction
- Flexibility
- Job security
- You get to save lives
- Appreciated
Cons
- Overbearing parents
- Dealing with deaths
- Emotionally stressful
How To Become A Pediatric Nurse?
Here’s how you can become a Pediatric nurse:
- The first step to becoming a nurse is to become a registered nurse or RN. Once you become an RN then, you can choose your specialty. And to become an RN, you will need to finish a bachelor’s or associate degree program and pass the NCLEX-RN.
- After you become an RN, you can now take up positions related to Pediatery so that you know if you want to pursue this further.
- After you are sure, you can finish an advanced degree in the nursing program.
- The last step is to get certified by appearing in a couple of exams.
Pediatric nurses must have unique skills and necessary certifications from the governmental authorities in order to give exceptional care to their patients since they work closely with youngsters.
To succeed, you’ll need to combine your interpersonal and life skills with your certification program’s functional knowledge.
Some soft skills you need to have to be a pediatric nurse and be a successful one includes active listening to help your patients solve problems, managing conflict to advocate for the parents and comfort them, ability to build relationships both for the patient and the patient’s family to have a long-lasting bond, an enormous amount of patience as you will be handling kids most of the time.
How Many Hours Does Pediatric Nurse Work?
Pediatric Nurse works in 8-12 hour shifts for 3-5 days a week. They may be put into a morning, evening, or even night shift depending on the requirement.
What is the Starting Pay of Pediatric Nurse?
The starting pay of a Pediatric Nurse is $20.91 an hour or $3,625 a month.
This career option is highly appreciated and also pays good money. With more experience as a Pediatric Nurse, you can make as much as $16,000 a month.
Pediatric Nurse Training Programs
The first step when you want to become a pediatric nurse is to obtain a Bachelor of Science or Associate of Science in the Nursing area from a recognized school.
A bachelor’s degree in nursing is a necessity for most jobs; however, some may take an associate’s degree with extra training.
During this phase, you will learn the fundamentals of nursing and have the option of taking courses in childhood development and pediatrics.
Anyone interested in becoming a registered nurse must pass the National Council Licensure Examination.
This examination will examine your nursing competency once you have completed your chosen degree.
Still, you must have at least 1,800 hours of clinical experience before taking it and the Certified Pediatric Nurse exam.
Conclusion
To conclude, pediatric nurses require some education and clinical experience upfront to start working.
And you also need to have a specific set of soft skills to handle any kind of problem you might encounter with children and their behaviors.
However, even though you need to do demanding things, the pay is pretty good.
Especially if you have a lot of experience and are in the top %10 to get a salary in six figures.
Being a pediatric nurse is a job that many people like and some dislike. If you like kids and being with them, being a pediatric nurse is an excellent career choice.
FAQ
How much do pediatric nurses make when they first start off?
First, pediatric nurses make around $20,000 annually, the lowest salary on the bracket as you do not have enough experience at that time.
How much do pediatric nurses make if they are handling a lot of patients at the same time?
The amount of money you earn does not depend on the number of patients you handle, so it doesn’t change.
How much do pediatric nurses make when they have a lot of experience but work in a small state?
You will get a high salary compared to the average pediatric nurse salary, but the odds that you will not be close to the highest salary are high.
Shefali Jain is a Content Writer & Editor at USWorkforce.org
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes. In her time at the organization, she has written and edited content on a range of topics, including employment law, human resources, and business management.
ARTICLE SOURCES
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- https://www.news-medical.net/health/Pediatric-Nursing.aspx#:~:text=Pediatric%20nursing%20is%20a%20specialization,development%20that%20occurs%20throughout%20childhood.[↩]
- https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Pediatric-Registered-Nurse-Salary[↩]
- https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/pros-cons-of-being-pediatric-nurse[↩]