"Part of the problem is that Americans just plain do not want to do the work."

[Mr.Bill]

51. My wife just retired after being an RN for 40+ years.

Nursing wages vary wildly from state to state. There are no nurses working in California hospitals for $15 an hour. more like 35-40 starting pay right out of school. My wife was making 150K a year without overtime. She did have some special certifications, and of course, lots of experience. A good career path for a new graduate would be to try a small hospital in a rural area. There are always openings for RNs in our small town and they do hire new grads. And they pay better than some big city hospitals because no one wants to work in a small hospital and live in a small town. I would also have to say that in today's world, any RN without a Bachelor's degree is severely limiting their hire and career opportunities. I would like to also address what someone said about nurses from third world countries working for less pay. Not true in a unionized hospital, which most are in my state.

If you want to see some serious bucks, try Alaska.