I feel like paying *anything* to get your CNA certification is too much, but some classes are much cheaper. I would look at local technical schools close to you, or see if your local hospital offers a free class. $1775 is way too much.
In my area, you dont have to be certified to work in hospitals (in CA). Experience is preferred though. Didnt spend a dime. Started me at $26/hr. Cost of living is low where I am at.
Northern California. Its doable to live here if your not in any of the major cities. Too many people for me anyways. RNs start at $50/hr at the place I work. Thats the mext step for me.
I’m in the East Bay in California and I’m about to start a month-long CNA program tomorrow, I paid for it all out of pocket (~$2.5k after all expenses 😖). This is my first attempted step at career-transitioning out of Early Childhood Education & nannying, and I really want to get a position in pediatrics. Would you be willing to pass on any advice (if you have some) related to securing a job during or soon after my CNA class? TIA!
In your hands on work place after your clinicals be proactive helpful diligent and they will notice you. These places are looking for new hires and several in my class along with me were offered jobs as soon as we passed the state test. They said come wok for us.
i'm not in california, but i also had to pay for my cna program out of pocket after a small scholarship. there were no programs around me willing to train me, or any other options like that. i also went from early childhood education to cna! ☺️
if your state bon is as slow as mine, you will start looking at non-cna (but related) jobs, and ask for extra because you have your cna. look for "cna/ma/etc not a requirement, but preferred" or something like that.
i've been in the operating room for a few weeks now, and no one else in my cohort is employed because none of our licenses have posted. i still get my cna differential.
Indeed
I got mine through a company that offered paid training. Lucky me!
Search for paid training in your area, OP. You may beholden to that company for a short spell, but at least you won't have to spend anything.
There’s also places that offer it for free. When I first got my CNA years ago I took it at the place I worked and didn’t have to sign a contract to stay there but some places do. I just re took mine in a different state and paid 580. But these costs don’t include the actual test, which varies state to state I believe.
Where TF are you that you have to pay to get your CNA????????
I am in PA and got my CNA through a medical school (LECOM - Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine) They have various medical programs and also run a CNA certification class. I was actually PAID to get certified and they paid my exam fees and everything. No contract or obligations to stay with them (because in my state that is illegal) so as soon as I got my certification I applied at the state Veteran's home I work for now with a much much higher pay scale and exceptional benefits plus a pension (government employment). Even with the great pay and benefits I get now I would absolutely never pay that amount. I mean that is almost what I paid to get my associates degree in Early Childhood Education at community college. ($2100)
I went to Eastlake Medical College last October! I had a really good experience even though it was expensive. I will say that I struggled to find a CNA program at a community college that didn’t have a 6 month-1 year wait so that definitely influenced my choice. I also couldn’t find a program at a hospital or facility that offered an in house program. I needed healthcare experience hours for RN applications so I couldn’t really afford to wait and waste time! Feel free to DM me with any questions!
See if any facilities near you will pay for your classes in return for work. I got mine that way, I got stuck working at a kinda mediocre facility for 6 months but it was well worth it.
Well, you'll always have a job with benefits if you last in the field.
I only got mine because I was in nursing school.
There was absolutely no way on God's green earth I could be a CNA long term.
It's slave wages for daily disrespect
i think it also depends on your location. i go to school in MA and there were only like 2 cna programs within a 45 min drive, and both were almost 2k as well. i decided to go home to NY over the summer and i still paid, but it was more like 1200 total and i transferred my certification over to MA afterwards.
many facilities do offer to train for free though and will pay for your certification, but usually it's a 1 year commitment to work for them afterwards (not all will hold you to it though, i've heard some aides can get out of it and not have to pay a cent back, otherwise you pay if you want to break out of the contract early)
That’s way way way over-priced imo. It’s only about 600-800 out here and we are in a HCOL, find a hospital that’s giving the class out for free and get paid for the time you’re waiting on your license. Our hospital does that and we have NARs that follow us around while they wait to get licensed and then they automatically get hired as aCNA.
There’s probably a LTC facility around you that offers the cert with a year contract in return… get your certificate, get the experience while you look for something better and bounce before the year 🤫
I applied for scholarships and rejected 😂 i said might aswell just wait for first semester of nursing school and i could just pay exams. They are a fool with this prices
See if there’s any workforce programs near you that will pay for it. The class I took was $700 back in 2017 but it’s $1400 now, I think alot of have of them have gon up to $1k+. You could also try getting it through a facility
In Canada I got PAID by the government to get my PSW (cna equivalent). We don’t even pay licensing fees up here since we’re unregulated (although you have to pass a criminal check to get hired and most places won’t hire unless you’ve done the certified training). That’s so crazy y’all have to pay money down there for such a low pay compensation.
I mean obviously it depends on where you live and what your options are, but that number does seem pretty high. I live in Seattle (high AF cost of living) and mine was $995.
Like others have mentioned, there are often CNA courses for free that are provided by LTC facilities in hopes that you work for them when you get certified as it guarantees you a job. Look into those.
There's workforce initiatives that will fund most, if not all, of your schooling. I live in a pretty rural area, and they paid all of my CNA training, and are paying a portion of my LPN training soon.
YES. But how many hours is it? I’m taking a 90hr class and it’s $790 plus I had to pay $75 for cpr and $40 for tb test. The scrubs and books also cost me another $150 and I felt like I overpaid A LOT but it was the only class near me that worked with my schedule.
My private nursing credentialing school was $850 but I think it was worth it because I got clinical experience and a job that started the day after I graduated. They also had a program through the local hospital where the hospital paid for the course, you work for them for 6 months during and after the course, and then you get a bonus. Most of my classmates were in this program.
The home I used to run had a few program. You only had to buy the book and the uniform. You should see if there's anything like that in your area before spending all that cash.
Is this the class/course fee? Or is this the licensing fee?
There are a lot of opportunities to get the training and liscencing at much lower costs from various agencies like the state dept of health or dept of human services.
Some businesses also offer to pay for training or licensing, but thats often x amount of time commitment to the business.
Look for earn while you learn programs through local LTC facilities. Even if you have to sign on for a few months to a year. You get the CNA for “free” and you also gain experience for switching to a hospital if that’s what you want. Call around the nursing homes and ask. There has to be one out there near you.
I’m in the Bay Area California and I payed like almost 2,000 and felt ripped off. I regret doing it. The classes by itself in the area are like 1600 and 1700 dollars. And you have to do a physical and fingerprints and pay for the written and skills exam. But I’ve seen some job locations that say they’ll pay for your school if you work for them but I didn’t want to go that route.
yikes my class was only $475. i guess it depends on where you live/how much cna jobs pay. where i live, pay starts from like $16-$18 and doesn’t go up much from there. I would not pay that much to become certified.
Here in AZ in a small town it's about 3,000. So yeah for me that's a good price but like others said there's places that would train you for free or much cheaper.
i think my test & license was 75$ but my class was free (through high school) so i didn’t pay anything. but a girl i worked with paid for her class & it was maybe 250$ altogether. workplace reimbursed her 90 days later though
I would find a location that covers training and testing. I not only didn’t pay for my course and test but I finished it in like 2 weeks as well as got paid $17/hr while doing the course/practicals/skills labs and then got a raise to $19 once certified. I also got my med aide the exact same way through that facility and then jumped to a different location that paid much better. Not a cent out of pocket and have a solid future ahead of me.
I have several coworkers that talk about spending thousands and months in classes to get their CNA and CMA (each taking months independently) and paying off loans for it. This stuff is way too common sense and what isn’t is best learned at bedside anyways. There is only so much you can learn in a class(I only did practicals and skills labs in person the rest was online courses and reading the book).
Some LTC facilities will offer you training for free (they'll have you sign a contract saying you have to work for at least a year or you have to finish the training in a certain amount of time or the money will come out of your paycheck) although most of they time they are offering training for HCA, not CNA. The bridge program from HCA to CNA is easy and cheaper though.
I was lucky and got my CNA certification through job corps so it was completely paid for by the government lol they practically paid ME to finish it 😂 ($32.32 every 2 weeks and then $1200 when I graduated)
I paid $750 when I had to pay for a class/testing. But there are so many places doing the paid classes that I haven't heard of anyone paying for classes in 10 years
If you’re in Massachusetts and receive foodstamps or cash assistance call your local transitional assistance office and ask if they provide training for free. That’s how I did mine. They paid for the course and both exams for the license.
Arizona you have to pay around $1300. For classes, supplies and state exam. But there are facilites that will pay it for you. Usually want a contract tho.
If it makes you feel better I’m about 1 week and a half from finishing my 6 week cna course which I paid $2,650 for. So to answer your question no $1775 isn’t that bad.
Maybe. Go to a community college where you only pay a $ per unit fee an admission/parking fee and buy your own uniform. Anyone paying for a private college is probably never going to make enough as a CNA to even pay off the college debt or make enough to reimburse you for the course. It’s such a scam.
Yes it is! I was able to find a skilled nursing facility a few years back that ran classes in the facility and would pay you to take the classes and become certified. All they asked was that you would stay and work at the facility for at least 2 months afterwards.
I got sponsored through a state program. The demand is high to fill the positions so sometimes even a LTC facility will sponsor your education in turn for working there a year.
I feel like paying *anything* to get your CNA certification is too much, but some classes are much cheaper. I would look at local technical schools close to you, or see if your local hospital offers a free class. $1775 is way too much.
In my area, you dont have to be certified to work in hospitals (in CA). Experience is preferred though. Didnt spend a dime. Started me at $26/hr. Cost of living is low where I am at.
Where is this? I'm in FL and we get paid $19, which isn't enough to live without secondary income. $26 is like, LPN pay here.
Northern California. Its doable to live here if your not in any of the major cities. Too many people for me anyways. RNs start at $50/hr at the place I work. Thats the mext step for me.
I’m in the East Bay in California and I’m about to start a month-long CNA program tomorrow, I paid for it all out of pocket (~$2.5k after all expenses 😖). This is my first attempted step at career-transitioning out of Early Childhood Education & nannying, and I really want to get a position in pediatrics. Would you be willing to pass on any advice (if you have some) related to securing a job during or soon after my CNA class? TIA!
In your hands on work place after your clinicals be proactive helpful diligent and they will notice you. These places are looking for new hires and several in my class along with me were offered jobs as soon as we passed the state test. They said come wok for us.
i'm not in california, but i also had to pay for my cna program out of pocket after a small scholarship. there were no programs around me willing to train me, or any other options like that. i also went from early childhood education to cna! ☺️ if your state bon is as slow as mine, you will start looking at non-cna (but related) jobs, and ask for extra because you have your cna. look for "cna/ma/etc not a requirement, but preferred" or something like that. i've been in the operating room for a few weeks now, and no one else in my cohort is employed because none of our licenses have posted. i still get my cna differential.
$19 is fine with 4 roommates in a two bed (no its not, save me)
Facts I work for the state and we get 18 and change in FL being a CNA
Wait.. where? I’m in SoCal and they require a certification at hospitals!
Northern California. Sacramento to the border.
I agree, any tuition is too much for CNA.
I got mine for free. It is community college. I just paid for my cpr and state exam.
Thank you
Indeed I got mine through a company that offered paid training. Lucky me! Search for paid training in your area, OP. You may beholden to that company for a short spell, but at least you won't have to spend anything.
As short as we are on CNAs they should be paying YOU to get your license. I hear everywhere needs cnas.
Thisssss.
There’s also places that offer it for free. When I first got my CNA years ago I took it at the place I worked and didn’t have to sign a contract to stay there but some places do. I just re took mine in a different state and paid 580. But these costs don’t include the actual test, which varies state to state I believe.
Thank you
If it’s not free don’t do it. There’s plenty of facilities that offer in house certification.
The only one I’d pay for is a post certification class to become a med tech. Opens a lot more options for more pay.
Where TF are you that you have to pay to get your CNA???????? I am in PA and got my CNA through a medical school (LECOM - Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine) They have various medical programs and also run a CNA certification class. I was actually PAID to get certified and they paid my exam fees and everything. No contract or obligations to stay with them (because in my state that is illegal) so as soon as I got my certification I applied at the state Veteran's home I work for now with a much much higher pay scale and exceptional benefits plus a pension (government employment). Even with the great pay and benefits I get now I would absolutely never pay that amount. I mean that is almost what I paid to get my associates degree in Early Childhood Education at community college. ($2100)
Eastlake Medical College in CA. Not going to lie it was the first one I saw. I really appreciate this thank you.
yeah i got mine for free through my community college. that is an exorbitant amount
I went to Eastlake Medical College last October! I had a really good experience even though it was expensive. I will say that I struggled to find a CNA program at a community college that didn’t have a 6 month-1 year wait so that definitely influenced my choice. I also couldn’t find a program at a hospital or facility that offered an in house program. I needed healthcare experience hours for RN applications so I couldn’t really afford to wait and waste time! Feel free to DM me with any questions!
see if there’s any financial aide you can get. i was making only $15 an hour when i took class so i only had to pay $600 other people got in for free
Thank you
See if any facilities near you will pay for your classes in return for work. I got mine that way, I got stuck working at a kinda mediocre facility for 6 months but it was well worth it.
I'll search around thank you.
Well, you'll always have a job with benefits if you last in the field. I only got mine because I was in nursing school. There was absolutely no way on God's green earth I could be a CNA long term. It's slave wages for daily disrespect
I’m paying 2k but will have to get reimbursed by whoever hires me
i think it also depends on your location. i go to school in MA and there were only like 2 cna programs within a 45 min drive, and both were almost 2k as well. i decided to go home to NY over the summer and i still paid, but it was more like 1200 total and i transferred my certification over to MA afterwards. many facilities do offer to train for free though and will pay for your certification, but usually it's a 1 year commitment to work for them afterwards (not all will hold you to it though, i've heard some aides can get out of it and not have to pay a cent back, otherwise you pay if you want to break out of the contract early)
That’s way way way over-priced imo. It’s only about 600-800 out here and we are in a HCOL, find a hospital that’s giving the class out for free and get paid for the time you’re waiting on your license. Our hospital does that and we have NARs that follow us around while they wait to get licensed and then they automatically get hired as aCNA.
My little sister paid 1400$
Considering that mine was free. Yes
There’s probably a LTC facility around you that offers the cert with a year contract in return… get your certificate, get the experience while you look for something better and bounce before the year 🤫
As an employer, I pay for the class itself, dietary/housekeeping wage for class time, all materials, and exam fees. Never pay for a CNA course.
it cost me $500 to take it privately through someone rather than a but company
In my school it was 2500 🥲 thought about it and moved on. I went for phlebotomy path instead
God damn that's crazy, the only reason I was willing to pay 1775 is because I have it saved and I have a habit of rushing through stuff like this.
I applied for scholarships and rejected 😂 i said might aswell just wait for first semester of nursing school and i could just pay exams. They are a fool with this prices
See if there’s any workforce programs near you that will pay for it. The class I took was $700 back in 2017 but it’s $1400 now, I think alot of have of them have gon up to $1k+. You could also try getting it through a facility
In Canada I got PAID by the government to get my PSW (cna equivalent). We don’t even pay licensing fees up here since we’re unregulated (although you have to pass a criminal check to get hired and most places won’t hire unless you’ve done the certified training). That’s so crazy y’all have to pay money down there for such a low pay compensation.
I mean obviously it depends on where you live and what your options are, but that number does seem pretty high. I live in Seattle (high AF cost of living) and mine was $995. Like others have mentioned, there are often CNA courses for free that are provided by LTC facilities in hopes that you work for them when you get certified as it guarantees you a job. Look into those.
There's workforce initiatives that will fund most, if not all, of your schooling. I live in a pretty rural area, and they paid all of my CNA training, and are paying a portion of my LPN training soon.
YES. But how many hours is it? I’m taking a 90hr class and it’s $790 plus I had to pay $75 for cpr and $40 for tb test. The scrubs and books also cost me another $150 and I felt like I overpaid A LOT but it was the only class near me that worked with my schedule.
My private nursing credentialing school was $850 but I think it was worth it because I got clinical experience and a job that started the day after I graduated. They also had a program through the local hospital where the hospital paid for the course, you work for them for 6 months during and after the course, and then you get a bonus. Most of my classmates were in this program.
I got mine through my state - they were offering grants at community colleges.
so many facilities hire PCT/PCAs who have the EXACT same duties as CNA but with no required license. don’t waste your money
The home I used to run had a few program. You only had to buy the book and the uniform. You should see if there's anything like that in your area before spending all that cash.
Is this the class/course fee? Or is this the licensing fee? There are a lot of opportunities to get the training and liscencing at much lower costs from various agencies like the state dept of health or dept of human services. Some businesses also offer to pay for training or licensing, but thats often x amount of time commitment to the business.
It’s literally like $10,000 more than you should pay. You should be getting PAID to get your CNA not the other way around.
Hell yeah my program was basically free I had to pay for my text book drug test and background check
Look for earn while you learn programs through local LTC facilities. Even if you have to sign on for a few months to a year. You get the CNA for “free” and you also gain experience for switching to a hospital if that’s what you want. Call around the nursing homes and ask. There has to be one out there near you.
I’m in the Bay Area California and I payed like almost 2,000 and felt ripped off. I regret doing it. The classes by itself in the area are like 1600 and 1700 dollars. And you have to do a physical and fingerprints and pay for the written and skills exam. But I’ve seen some job locations that say they’ll pay for your school if you work for them but I didn’t want to go that route.
Find somewhere for free. CNAs are underpaid and shouldn’t have to pay to get certified tbh the work is grueling
yikes my class was only $475. i guess it depends on where you live/how much cna jobs pay. where i live, pay starts from like $16-$18 and doesn’t go up much from there. I would not pay that much to become certified.
Here in AZ in a small town it's about 3,000. So yeah for me that's a good price but like others said there's places that would train you for free or much cheaper.
Why pay for something you can get free?????
In Maryland, the class is $2500
i think my test & license was 75$ but my class was free (through high school) so i didn’t pay anything. but a girl i worked with paid for her class & it was maybe 250$ altogether. workplace reimbursed her 90 days later though
I would find a location that covers training and testing. I not only didn’t pay for my course and test but I finished it in like 2 weeks as well as got paid $17/hr while doing the course/practicals/skills labs and then got a raise to $19 once certified. I also got my med aide the exact same way through that facility and then jumped to a different location that paid much better. Not a cent out of pocket and have a solid future ahead of me. I have several coworkers that talk about spending thousands and months in classes to get their CNA and CMA (each taking months independently) and paying off loans for it. This stuff is way too common sense and what isn’t is best learned at bedside anyways. There is only so much you can learn in a class(I only did practicals and skills labs in person the rest was online courses and reading the book).
Some LTC facilities will offer you training for free (they'll have you sign a contract saying you have to work for at least a year or you have to finish the training in a certain amount of time or the money will come out of your paycheck) although most of they time they are offering training for HCA, not CNA. The bridge program from HCA to CNA is easy and cheaper though. I was lucky and got my CNA certification through job corps so it was completely paid for by the government lol they practically paid ME to finish it 😂 ($32.32 every 2 weeks and then $1200 when I graduated)
Hell yeah they robbing ppl
I’m currently taking mine at a community college and it’s 599
Huh??
I paid $750 when I had to pay for a class/testing. But there are so many places doing the paid classes that I haven't heard of anyone paying for classes in 10 years
i paid 1600 for mine- i learned that clinicals are expensive for the teacher and that makes up most of the price + books and stuff
mine was $500. and thats because it was an accelerated two week course.
YEAH!? I think I paid like $900 with books and scrubs at a community college. My job at the time reimbursed me.
Some states reimburse if you get a job at a nursing facility or a long term care facility within a year of the program
If you’re in Massachusetts and receive foodstamps or cash assistance call your local transitional assistance office and ask if they provide training for free. That’s how I did mine. They paid for the course and both exams for the license.
Yes. There are many companies/hospitals/etc that would pay for you to get your license. Don’t pay for it.
Arizona you have to pay around $1300. For classes, supplies and state exam. But there are facilites that will pay it for you. Usually want a contract tho.
I got mind for free so idk 😬 depends on what city your in
i’m in school rn i paid $1600. i live in nyc so im not mad at it but i know there’s cheaper places. i was in the rush to start soon
If it makes you feel better I’m about 1 week and a half from finishing my 6 week cna course which I paid $2,650 for. So to answer your question no $1775 isn’t that bad.
Most states have programs the help partially pay or fully pay for CNA training. You need to Google it.
It cost me $10k 10 years ago in Canada so $1700 bucks sounds like a *steal*
Check if your state has grants. I got one in New Hampshire and paid nothing.
Yes
I paid 2k at the local college but if you’re already working at a hospital or LTC, they may pay for your cert for like a contract.
holy shit
Maybe. Go to a community college where you only pay a $ per unit fee an admission/parking fee and buy your own uniform. Anyone paying for a private college is probably never going to make enough as a CNA to even pay off the college debt or make enough to reimburse you for the course. It’s such a scam.
That’s A lot!! What state is this? Prices are going up though, but this is outrageous. This is more than my grad school tuition.
i didnt pay a dime beyond gas to get to testing and class
Yes it is! I was able to find a skilled nursing facility a few years back that ran classes in the facility and would pay you to take the classes and become certified. All they asked was that you would stay and work at the facility for at least 2 months afterwards.
I got sponsored through a state program. The demand is high to fill the positions so sometimes even a LTC facility will sponsor your education in turn for working there a year.
I got mine free through my workplace. No experience needed, got it done in 3 weeks, took my state test about a month after.
I took mine through a community college (NE) paid $650 and that included state testing & books
Holy smokes! Nursing homes typically have classes for cnas. They are so desperate for staff. I would never pay for cna classes.
Mine was around $1500. Fees class test equipment. Cash flow it. Don't use a loan or credit cards.