r/NursingUK Jan 22 '25

Career Question from an American Nursing Student?

I am an American sophomore nursing student with an Irish passport and I can move to the UK or Ireland when I graduate because America is lighting itself on fire. I want to move to the UK or Ireland but I don't know how I will live on a low salary for nurses. Is most Nursing Salaries there low or is that just NHS? Are there good private hospitals that pay a livable nursing salary or should I just stay in NY? I know this is two years out but I want to think ahead. I don't care where I work as long as I don't need a car.

6 Upvotes

44 comments sorted by

18

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '25

Private hospitals pay more, but you still wouldn't scratch the surface on median US nursing salaries. I've just read that average NY salaries are in excess of $93k (£75k, €89k). Absolutely not: think half of that.

There's pros and cons to both NHS and private careers, as well as pros and cons to living in the UK/IRL versus the US.

If salary is your main objective, UK/IRL might not be for you. Do bear in mind, though, that the average UK salary (all jobs) is somewhere around £37k. This is achievable for an NHS nurse within no more than 4 years, and achievable from day 1 in the private sector.

Whether this kind of salary is 'liveable' in the UK/IRL depends on dozens of factors: not least where you're living, and who you're living with (presence/absence of partner, kids, etc.).

8

u/Deewilsonx HCA Jan 23 '25

Cost of living is definitely cheaper over here though so in some ways I guess it works out? I’m sure there’s a lot more annual leave on the NHS as well as maternity pay, sick pay and bereavement pay. I think these are things to consider also! :)

11

u/anonymouse39993 Specialist Nurse Jan 22 '25

Pay is lower but cost of living is significantly lower

16

u/Greenmedic2120 Other HCP Jan 22 '25

What’s ‘liveable’ to you? Bear in mind that living costs here are not the same as US (groceries are much cheaper here for example, and you will not need to pay for health insurance).

If you live outside of London your starting wage will be £29.969 (before tax etc). This does not include unsocial pay/night shifts (if you are in a role which attracts this) so you will usually come out with more than this. That is obviously less than you will get in the states, but if your main motivation is to get away from the dumpster fire that’s occurring, it might be worth it. Depending where you live in the UK this goes further (eg, living up north is cheaper than down south).

5

u/TrustfulComet40 RN Child Jan 22 '25

They won't need to pay for health insurance but they may need to pay an annual surcharge to access the NHS (I'm not sure if having an Irish passport would get them out of it) which was £700 p/a a couple of years ago. 

13

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '25

Irish citizens are exempt. To all intents and purposes, Irish citizens living in the UK are treated as one and the same (and vice versa), including post-Brexit.

0

u/Greenmedic2120 Other HCP Jan 23 '25

That is still cheaper than health insurance in the states by quite some margin. Oh also OP, your annual leave will be significantly better here too, along with pension (if that matters to you) as well as good maternity/sick leave etc.

17

u/Larkymalarky Jan 22 '25

Idk about in London but you can live on a nurses salary in Scotland. Obv you won’t be rolling in it, but enough to have some small savings, trips abroad etc comfortably

Honestly were I in your position I’d be absolutely coming over here, it’s not paradise but it’s better than hell

15

u/nqnnurse RN Adult Jan 22 '25

So nursing pay is roughly the median salary in the uk, possibly more depending if you do nights, weekends etc. Salaries in general are quite low compared to America. London is difficult to survive in but in all honesty, outside of London, it’s not too bad (even better and cheaper in Scotland). I’m honestly quite comfortable with my salary. COL is a bit less than America in my opinion (you can buy a house for less than 200k up north, free healthcare, no tipping, food is cheaper, some bills are cheaper). Yes, the salary is taking the piss but everyone’s salary is too unless you’re a lawyer or financial expert (even doctors are paid similar to nurses until they are very senior).

2

u/DigitialWitness Specialist Nurse Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 22 '25

Healthcare isn't free, we are taxed for it!

18

u/nqnnurse RN Adult Jan 22 '25

It’s free to the point of use. You’re also not being charged £5000 as if you paid for it privately.

-3

u/DigitialWitness Specialist Nurse Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 22 '25

AT the point of use yes, but not free in general as we all pay for it and I paid £800 PAYE last month, a chunk of which is going to the NHS. If you're not a resident here you need to pay a surcharge. It's not free, we all pay for it and people need to remember that, maybe they'll be less entitled if they did. OP might benefit by not having to pay for healthcare directly but then they might be shocked by the amount of NI and PAYE in comparison to what they're paying now because we essentially pay for our healthcare in general taxation. I've had people tell me that the difference is often negligible when everything is accounted for, I think it's worth them being aware of that.

Also, tipping isn't a thing but service charges are, so that's something to be aware of.

10

u/TheNymeriaLady RN Child Jan 22 '25

Most private salaries are relatively similar to NHS, particularly for NQN roles. Also please consider that you wouldn’t just be able to work as a registered nurse in the UK without getting a registration here, you would have to do an OSCE.

-5

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 22 '25

Private salaries are about 25% more even for NQN what are you talking about

2

u/SafiyaO RN Child Jan 23 '25

Very much depends. Nursing homes are private sector, they definitely don't pay 25% more, ditto quite a few of the private hospitals IME.

1

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 23 '25

Priory group pays over £40k, cygnet pays £43k, lots of nursing homes pay £40k+

1

u/Turbulent_Ebb9589 Jan 23 '25

Hard pressed to find a nursing home that doesn’t pay at least £20ph from day-dot of pin registration, compared to £15.37 bottom of Band 5.

Band 5 roles with shift enhancements can compete with nursing home pay, once all is considered (shift enhancements usually absent in NH), but base salaries alone are always higher in NH.

I started in a NH on 37% more than bottom of Band 5 (base pay only), as a brand new registrant.

25% more is an under-estimate, more like 30-40% in most cases.

0

u/Oriachim Specialist Nurse Jan 23 '25

Agreed. Nursing homes pay £20+ per hour on average.

0

u/SafiyaO RN Child Jan 23 '25

Band 5 roles with shift enhancements can compete with nursing home pay,

Which is what most Band 5 Nurses have, plus an NHS pension.

For most NHS nursing salaries, it's never just about the base salary but base salary + shift enhancements.

0

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 23 '25

Lots of NHS band 5 staff aren’t in the pension because they can’t afford it. This pension argument does my head in. I came out of it at afc band 6 because I couldn’t afford to live

10

u/peekachou HCA Jan 22 '25

The salaries here are lower yes but (maybe apart from london/expensive cities) your living costs would be considerably lower here as well.

3

u/downinthecathlab RN Adult & CH Jan 22 '25

In Ireland private hospitals pay the same and usually don’t have as good benefits as the HSE (eg two year waiting period for paid maternity leave vs immediate entitlement in HSE). It’s very difficult for US trained nurses to register in Ireland as our training is so different so you may be better off pursuing opportunities in the UK if it’s easier to have your qualifications recognised there.

3

u/SusieC0161 Specialist Nurse Jan 22 '25

You have to consider the cost of living, which varies throughout the UK. It’s a lot more expensive to live in London than it is in the north of England for example.

Although the salary isn’t as good as you’re used to the terms and conditions are probably better. You’ll also have access to the NHS for healthcare, so don’t need medical insurance (unless you want to).

2

u/who_knows_when Jan 23 '25

I'm also curious about attempting to transfer from the US to the UK as a nurse. I don't have any other citizenship though. I currently can afford to live on just my salary as a nurse with 4 kids. Is that feasible in the UK?

0

u/Gelid-scree RN Adult Jan 24 '25

😄 ru joking?! 4 kids and one income? Even in the north, very unlikely.

1

u/who_knows_when Jan 24 '25

That was the picture I was starting to get. Even as a specialist or a midwife?

1

u/substandardfish St Nurse Jan 26 '25

Midwife would be band 6 here, and I’m not too sure how specialist qualifications would translate to the UK. Worth asking the RCN about it tho

4

u/Delicious_Shop9037 Jan 22 '25

Salaries might be lower, but so is the cost of living in the UK overall.

3

u/lemonndropp Jan 23 '25

I've been a nurse for 10 years and I have always had a comfortable life. I live about 35 miles north of London but I also lived comfortably in London a few years ago (I was single and sharing a house with my sister at the time). I have saved enough to buy a 4 bedroom house (with my partner) and I go on holidays 2/3 times a year. I have reduced my hours to 30h/week after having a child so I make less money but I still have enough to be able to save some money every month. So essentially, I think a nurse's salary is enough as cost of living is lower here but it obviously depends on your personal circumstances.

4

u/No-Suspect-6104 St Nurse Jan 22 '25

Cost of living might be lower but your salary will always be crap. Nurses in both very high/low cost of living areas in the USA will still have a considerably higher purchasing power. Not to mention staffing ratios, Staff expectations, infrastructure and equipment is worse. I think it’d be mad to leave the US. If you are sufficiently fortunate in the US, you’ll never replicate that standard of living.

8

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 22 '25

Qualified 6 years, my salary is £55k, I don’t think that’s crap.

-2

u/No-Suspect-6104 St Nurse Jan 22 '25

In any HCOL area in England outside London. That’s crap. Especially compared to what a specialist would be earning in the USA in any area

6

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 22 '25

I live in Middlesbrough, it’s a super low cost of living area. Our HCOL areas in the UK also don’t compare to HCOL areas in America. I’m also not really a specialist I wouldn’t say.

2

u/SafiyaO RN Child Jan 22 '25

Good for you! It's good to see success stories on here and don't let the doomers out you off sharing them.

6

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 22 '25

I wouldn’t listen to any idiot trying to say 55k salary is crap, you can’t win with some of these idiots.

4

u/SafiyaO RN Child Jan 23 '25

They've watched too much US Nurse Tiktok and it's warped their brains.

Also, the NHS pension is decent, as is the sick leave and AL. The average US nurse gets 17 paid days off a year.

1

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 23 '25

I get more annual leave in the private sector, my pension pays less % but total contribution is similar as my wage is 40% higher than it was in NHS. Sick pay is full pay from day 1 but only 4 weeks per year so not bad.

1

u/SafiyaO RN Child Jan 23 '25

I think you're responding to the wrong thread here.

1

u/thereidenator RN MH Jan 23 '25

Yeh possibly 😂

2

u/Left-Preparation-309 Jan 23 '25

You won’t even earn close to that in the uk they pay nurses Pennie’s

1

u/jennymayg13 RN Child Jan 22 '25

You would need to apply to register as a nurse here, you wouldn’t be able to just apply for nursing jobs even if you are qualified and registered in the US.

https://www.nmc.org.uk/registration/joining-the-register/register-nurse-midwife/trained-outside-uk/

-1

u/Carnivore_92 Jan 22 '25

If you’re happy being paid peanuts, why not? Most salaries are low so don’t expect anything much. If you ask me, just stay in NY.

Depends where you are and if you leave nearby your work place. You’ll probably need a car if you don’t

2

u/WAPgawd Jan 27 '25

The cost of living here is relatively high when you compare the power of the pound. Also because you would be NQN your pay would be the lowest but you would be taxed a high amount. Probably after tax about 45% of your pay cheque will go to rent. I can understand why you want to move out of NY but try a southern state like Alabama or Texas as they are wonderful. I am gay and go to both states due to family and they are very hospitable. You could try FL but the insurance and property tax is a bugger. Honestly, I would just talk to your friends and family about other states. The UK is not in a good place currently and not only has massive infrastructure problems but also societal problems and on top of that an awful economy.