Monique made $34 an hour as a nurse in California. On that pay, she saved $40,000, bought a duplex and built a life around time with her daughter. Then she walked away from nursing.
Most nurses stay in a job with long hours because the money is decent and the path feels safe. Monique didn’t.
These rates are from February 2025, when this was first written. Pay changes every year, so check current rates in Map My Pay.
From the Philippines to California
Monique grew up in the Philippines. She started out as a flight attendant. Later, she came to the U.S. with a nursing license and a goal.
She didn’t climb the usual career ladder. She made bold moves that most nurses wouldn’t try.
What she did with a modest paycheck
- She saved $40,000 while earning just $35 an hour.
- She bought a duplex that now helps pay her mortgage.
- She built a life that puts time with her daughter first.
Then she left nursing, at a point when most people would have stayed. In the interview, Monique shares why she left, how she saved so much when others struggled, and what she does now to live life on her own terms.
Watch the full interview
Monique lays it all out: her story, her struggles and the plans she used to build a money cushion on a regular nursing job. It’s a must-watch if you’re a foreign nurse looking to move to the U.S.
For more on making a nurse paycheck go further, read how we paid off $128K of debt and how making more money as a nurse can change your life.
Your next move
See what you’d take home, then make the move
Map My Pay shows what nurses take home after taxes and rent at 465+ hospitals and in 21,000+ cities. It’s the app I co-founded so you can compare cities before you pack a single box.
The Nurses to Riches Accelerator is the plan Monica and I used to go from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California: license, city, hospital, and what to do with the money after.
Get the Map My Pay app See the Accelerator plans
Every Accelerator plan is a one-time payment with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Written by Jason, RN. I went from $37 an hour in New York to $143 an hour in California and paid off $128K of debt in under a year. I share our numbers in the Nurses to Riches newsletter and on YouTube.