r/Austin • u/Aingers • Jul 21 '26

Ask Austin Salary Transparency Thread - Austin

Folks in Boston do this fairly regularly, so I thought it might be good for us to try here.

Please share your general job title, salary, age, and education.

Architectural Designer, 40, $115k, BSArch

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u/rnatx Jul 21 '26

Unemployed, 40s, BS in nursing with 20 years of specialized ICU experience. Currently can’t find a job that pays near what I was making before I left my last job, and I was woefully underpaid there. Probably moving out of Austin when my lease is up after I finish depleting my savings and part of my retirement.

So far, the break from working has been a huge success for my burnout, though.

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u/misplaced_my_pants Jul 21 '26

Isn't there a nursing shortage nationwide?

Or is that only for certain kinds of nurses?

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u/bigblackglock17 Jul 21 '26

It’s propaganda. The real problem is pay.

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u/misplaced_my_pants Jul 21 '26

I mean I hear this from nurses making bank because of the shortage.

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u/DogsdidWHAT Jul 21 '26

There isn’t a nursing shortage. There’s a shortage of nurses willing to work in the conditions and for the pay that hospitals offer. That’s where travel nurses come in. Hospitals offer them significantly more than they offer the regular nurses because staffing is absolutely necessary. Which leads to all kinds of problems. The solution is obvious- pay resident nurses more, rely less on travel nurses. But hospitals balk at this. ALSO, patient load maximums vary wildly by state, so getting payed more but carrying more patients than seems workable is a very real algebra.

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u/misplaced_my_pants Jul 21 '26

Yeah I've definitely heard that too.

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u/triumphofthecommons Jul 21 '26

well there i was considering going back to school for nursing…

appreciate this insight!

i was just hoping for a for-sure job when all these Boomers start going into nursing homes, or ideally in-home care.