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How We’ll Earn $274K As Nurses While Working Less Than 35 Hours

Nine months in, less than 19 hours per week each, hourly rates over $150, and a projected $274K gross. But behind those paychecks is a hidden tactic — cutting per diem hours to erode seniority and push nurses into permanent roles.

Author

Jason Nunez
September 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Hey,

Nine calendar months into 2025, our hours seem like we’re part-time, but our paychecks have a different story to tell. Between Monica and I, we have worked an average of less than 35 hours a week — yet we are already over $200,000 gross. I don’t say these numbers for bragging rights. This is proof of how our scheduling, shift differentials, and understanding the hospital systems can change your financial situation as a nurse.

Here’s what that looks like broken down:

Jason

🕒 Total Hours: 626.8
💸Average hourly: $146.48/hr
💰 Gross Earnings: $91,820
🏦 Net Earnings: $68,100
📆 Avg Weekly Hours: 16.5
📆 Avg Monthly Net: $7,568

Monica

🕒 Total Hours: 694.7
💸Average hourly: $156.55/hr
💰 Gross Earnings: $108,747
🏦 Net Earnings: $70,530
📆 Avg Weekly Hours: 18.3
📆 Avg Monthly Net: $7,837

Combined

🕒 Total Hours: 1,321.5
💸Average hourly (gross ÷ hours): $151.77/hr
💰 Gross Earnings: $200,567
🏦 Net Earnings: $138,630
📆 Avg Weekly Hours: 34.8
📆 Avg Monthly Net: $15,404

Hours, Pace, And Reality

  • We averaged under 20 hours per week each (Jason 16.5; Monica 18.3).

  • The combined pace is only ~34.8 hours per week.

  • Yet the combined YTD gross is already $200K+, and combined YTD net sits around $138.6K.

This is the leverage California wages and differentials give you when you pick your hospital and shifts strategically.

What Drove the Paychecks

Jason

  • Evening differentials: $7,356

  • Overtime & premiums: $1,300+

  • PTO payouts: $9,844

  • Holidays: $2,772

  • Training: $4,065

  • Education: $1,178

  • Referral bonus: $4,500

Monica

  • Night differentials: $10,400

  • Overtime & premiums: $8,528

  • Holiday + premium: $4,435

  • Sick leave (PSL): $5,102

  • Training: $2,915

Why Monica Worked Fewer Shifts (Per Diem + Union Dynamic)

Monica’s average is 18.28 hours/week YTD. That’s under 20—not by choice. Our view, after watching scheduling patterns:

  1. Per diem nurses must hit minimum yearly hours to keep seniority (varies by contract).

  2. Hospitals can quietly cut per diem shifts.

  3. With fewer hours, seniority drops.

  4. Lower seniority = fewer last-minute shift offers when staffing blasts go out.

  5. Cycle repeats until many per diems give up per diem and switch to permanent/benefited roles for guaranteed shifts.

This is a structural tactic we believe some union hospitals use to convert per diems into benefited positions. It’s not about work quality. It’s about controlling labor supply and predictability. Your contract language may differ, but the pattern rhymes.

What We’re Doing (and What You Can Do)

Play offense with hours & seniority

  • Track your per diem minimums and current YTD hours every month. Treat it like keeping your license active.

  • Request shifts early, not just on blast days. Ask staffing to note you for specific units and days you can cover.

  • Keep a paper trail (emails/texts) for any declined or canceled offers. Document availability.

Broaden where you can pick up hours

  • Get cross-trained or cleared for nearby units that actually use per diems. The wider your pool, the more blasts you’ll see.

  • If the hospital uses an app/portal for shifts, watch off-cycle postings (nights, weekends, holidays)—that’s where premiums stack.

Cash-flow guardrails

  • Budget with YTD net, not a “perfect” month. Your YTD net already bakes in slow weeks and spikes.

  • Build a 2–3 month expense buffer so a dry month doesn’t push you into picking bad shifts or bad roles.

Expected Average By Year’s End (If This Pace Holds)

  • Jason: 858 hrs, $125,649 gross, $10,471/month gross

  • Monica: 951 hrs, $148,812 gross, $12,401/month gross

  • Combined: 1,808 hrs, $274,461 gross, $22,872/month gross

Less than 36 combined hours per week.

The takeaway from those numbers is that the hospitals still have the power. They decide who gets the shifts. They decide how per diem hours are distributed. And if you’re not paying close attention, you might think “per diem” means flexibility when it’s actually a rollercoaster of inconsistency.

That is why I always tell nurses: don’t just take a good look at your daily salary. Take a look at the structure and system you’re walking into. Your pay does not matter if you can’t obtain consistent hours.

The Lesson

  • California wages let us work part-time hours and still earn full-time-plus pay.

  • Per diem isn’t guaranteed — hours can be cut, and seniority can slip.

  • Track your hours, protect your seniority, and understand how staffing games are played.

👉 We share this because most nurses never see the full picture. If you’re smart, you can use the system to your advantage. If you’re not, the system will use you.

P.S. Want to support the mission?

  • Download the our app, Map My Pay, and leave an honest review.

  • Forward this to one nurse who needs a pay reality check.

  • If your company wants to partner, reply “Partnership” and we’ll connect.

🚀 Join the Map My Pay Mission

💡 We’re growing the Map My Pay team and looking for experts who can bring their skills to help us build the future of nurse pay. Whether you’re into AI, marketing, recruiting, data, finance, or community building—we’d love to hear from you.

Do you want to make more as a nurse?

I built the Nurses to Riches Accelerator to help you:

  • Relocate to Northern California the smart way

  • Secure a high-paying hospital job (we’re talking $200K+ a year)

  • Learn to calculate your real take-home pay

  • Work fewer hours—without sacrificing income

  • Start investing + paying off debt like a boss

I’ll even show you how to compare hospitals, filter by pay and shift type, and fast-track your move so you’re not spinning your wheels for another year.

Use code LOYALTY10 for 10% off the program

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