A healthcare worker found out that she’s making less than a Dollar Store worker and contemplated switching jobs just based on that.
The video portraying the career change consideration comes from TikToker @kaz.lyn16, a Utah-based creator who put up this sole video on what appears to be a new account, getting more than 79,000 views since it went live on Thursday.
Most of the message is conveyed in a long, on-screen caption, though she’s also mouthing along to a sped-up section of Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.”
@kaz.lyn16 just kidding i love my job more than anything #cna #cnahumor #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – sp33dsongsx
The caption reads, “When I find out the Dollar Store is hiring at $17 an hour and I’m making $15.50 to wipe butts and get yelled at by old people.”
Her accompanying caption said, “Just kidding i love my job more than anything,” with a #cna hashtag indicating her current job (a Certified Nursing Assistant.)
According to Nurse.org, a CNA “is a healthcare professional who provides basic care to patients under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). CNAs are sometimes referred to as nurse aides, patient care technicians, or nursing assistants. They assist with daily patient care tasks like dressing, bathing, and checking patient vital signs.”
The site also references the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics site, which places the median annual salary for nursing assistants, per 2021 figures, as “$30,290 per year or $14.56 per hour.”
The video led to some comments about CNA life.
“Only issue is cna gets more hours than dollar store. and better benefits and builds a pretty good portfolio,” one argued.
That led another to chime in, “And it destroys your physical & mental health.”
However, someone else shared, “I love being a cna. everyday is different. tonight i laid with a resident on the floor for like 15 minutes and learned about why he likes to lay on he floor. i thought he wanted to get off so i would, but tonight i decided to join him. these people are my life and never fail to make me smile.”
Another revealed that as a CNA, in “the two years I’ve been at the same facility, I’ve gotten a 20 cent raise.”
Someone else complained, “$20.70 and still is not enough pay. They literally have me do the work of 2-3 cna’s. I am one human being.”
But one had advice not to sell yourself short, saying, “Girl u gotta keep ur standards high. My instructor said we weren’t gonna get any better than 17 but I wasn’t gonna wipe ass for that. Now I get 23-30.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.
