Moving between states / Alaska
Massachusettsto
Alaska, CNAMoving from Massachusetts to Alaska as a certified nursing assistant
What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Massachusetts has to do to work in Alaska, what the move does to your pay, and who in Alaska is hiring from out of state.
Transfers by reciprocity. Your Massachusetts certificate stays on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Alaska you apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program) for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.
What the move does to your paycheck
On a $60,000 salary Alaska leaves you roughly $3,000 a year more than Massachusetts does, because Alaska has no state income tax on wages.
| Salary | Massachusetts state tax | Alaska state tax | Difference a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,000 | $0 | +$2,000 |
| $60,000 | $3,000 | $0 | +$3,000 |
| $90,000 | $4,500 | $0 | +$4,500 |
Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. In Massachusetts: plus 4% on income above about $1 million. Property and sales tax are not in it.
RN and LPN: Massachusetts to Alaska
Endorsement needed. Neither Massachusetts nor Alaska is in the Nurse Licensure Compact. You apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement: verification of your Massachusetts licence through Nursys, a fingerprint background check and the fee. Start before you give notice; six to twelve weeks is normal.
Electrician: Massachusetts to Alaska
Reciprocity likely. Alaska licenses electricians at state level through the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, and State certificate of fitness for journeymen; Alaska takes part in the western reciprocity group, so a journeyman card from a partner state can be endorsed. Your Massachusetts licence comes from the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.
CDL: Massachusetts to Alaska
Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Alaska resident you surrender the Massachusetts CDL at a Alaska driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Alaska. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.
Does Alaska pay you to come?
- Permanent Fund Dividend: roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year. For every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year.
Openings filed in Alaska
11 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Alaska employers who could not fill them locally.
- Fish Roe TechnicianNorth Pacific Seafoods, Inc. · Kodiak · $20.62 to 37/hr
- Shop HelperInterior Alaska Roofing, Inc. · Fairbanks · $21.43 to 30/hr
- Surimi and Roe TechnicianPremier Pacific Seafoods, Inc. · Bering Sea and North Pacific · $21.31/hr
- Surimi and Roe TechnicianWestward Seafoods, Inc. · Unalaska · $24.65 to 40/hr
- Pollock Roe TechnicianWestward Seafoods, Inc. · Unalaska · $18.23/hr
- Assistant Store Manager Aurora CenterAT&T · Fairbanks
Your own route from Massachusetts to Alaska
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