CNA Salaries

With a host of different positives associated with the certified nursing assistant role (i.e. a wealth of CNA jobs, flexibility in working environments, the rewarding experience of helping out another person in need of assistance, the salary that can be made as a CNA, etc.) it's easy to see why CNAs are a growing demand for many job seekers today. With an average salary of $30,000 in the U.S., it's a great and highly accessible way to start a career in the health care industry.

If an average starting salary between $11/hour and $14/hour sounds good to you, searching for a local provider for CNA training might be a good choice. Expect to train in a CNA program for at least 2 weeks, and probably longer depending on where your CNA training takes place. Red Cross's CNA training program will last just under 3 months, and community colleges are similar in length. Some health care organizations will offer an accelerated course for those already familiar with the training required of a CNA, such as an unlicensed home care provider (for instance a person that has taken care of their elderly parents at home for a number of years).

Determining the specific salary figures of a CNA can be tricky, as many different variables will factor into potential salaries. Variables such as the certified nursing assistant's level of experience, their chosen working environment, the specific geographic location of their job, and many other factors will either increase or decrease the expected earnings for CNAs. A good example of this variance is how a typical CNA working in New York will have about an 8% higher salary than a similarly-trained CNA in West Virginia. This works out due to the disparate levels in cost of living figures, as it's generally more expensive living in New York than any other state in the world, and likewise the CNAs can expect to be paid a higher salary compared to other state CNAs.

CNA's salaries are also determined by the nature of their position as well. If a CNA is getting hired to work in a hospital, it will carry a higher level of responsibility, and a higher salary, than those who are working in a private home environment or nursing home. With a position based in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital, the higher wages will be combined with higher responsibility (as these are all high-risk patients that the CNA is working with) and higher stress as a result.

As with most jobs, the CNA's pay rate will be commensurate with experience, and the more years of real hands-on work that a CNA adds to their resume gives them the leverage to command higher hourly wages. Due to the nature of some of the more stressful job duties (i.e. bathing elderly individuals every day, cleaning up after their bowel movement accidents, the emotional drain some of them make on CNAs, etc.) there is a high turn-over rate. For this reason, CNAs with many years of experience are rare, and in high demand (to help train other new CNAs that are hired) and the job market is always healthy and eager to welcome new CNAs into the fold for however long they can last!

CNAs also receive generous health care benefits, especially if they work in a hospital or health care organization. Many CNAs that work through a nursing agency aren't eligible for these benefits, so it is another reason to try to look for a better salary and position once you have a few years of experience working as a CNA. Due to the aforementioned high turn-over rate, and the fact that the percentage of elderly citizens in this country will continue to grow as the world population soars year over year, the CNA is a virtually recession-proof job and the field is expected to grow by 28% in 2016.

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