Regarding the pay levels of nurses…
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html indicates that nursing pay is relatively low Gini compared to that of college graduates in other majors. The 10th percentile mid-career pay is relatively high, but the 90th percentile mid-career pay is relatively low. The starting median pay is relatively high, but does not increase as much as for other college graduates.
So according to this table it is more lucrative to major in “communications”, “business” or “history” than “nursing”. “Forestry” is pretty close too.
Volunteer at your local hospital so you can get a sense of what nurses do.
Like any other field, some of the compensation differential results from choices that people make career wise.
A nurse can opt for a job in a school system. In my area, these jobs don’t pay as well as nursing jobs in hospitals. But there is no weekend, holiday, or evening scheduling issues; you are part of the teacher’s pension plan (relatively lucrative); you get part of the summer off (not all of it- school nurses are typically back at work in early August). The work is part public health and part actual nursing- and from what I am told, is much less stressful than anything in primary care.
I have a friend who leads patient recruitment for a drug company for a wide range of clinical trials. Jobs like that likely pay at the very high end of the comp scale-- you don’t need to be a nurse to get one of those jobs but the credential certainly helped her pivot from patient care to a corporate role. Another friend works occasional shifts at a nursing home- she has a BSN plus certification in a couple of critical care areas, but is only “keeping her skills” for right now- and doesn’t make much money all- in from what I gather (but who makes a lot of money as a part-time worker doing anything?)
So these comp surveys need lots of footnotes before anyone picks a career based on a chart.
Looking at the Gini table it says those are salaries for people ONLY with a bachelors degree. So it will not include any RNs, MSNs or nurse practitioners.
From my experience in the healthcare field, a career in nursing (with a BSN) has multitude of options, some that are stressful and pay really well, others that are less stressful and pay less, some that have unlimited overtime opportunities, etc. You can move freely throughout the country, you can work with kids, adults, elderly, your choice most of the time. There probably aren’t as many careers that provide so many options. Yes, the nurses at my place of employment work really hard, have few breaks, and honestly, aren’t treated so great by management. But most of those nurses are LPNs with 10 months of schooling or RNs with two years of schooling making upwards to $100K with overtime. Those that have been working here for an average of ten years are making between $30-40/hour with unlimited overtime bringing them into 6 figure incomes.
In my post #24 I meant RNs that have associate degrees.
In my region, I am told that an RN (associate degree) is pretty much blocked from any of the really lucrative career paths in nursing- cardiocare, transplant services, ICU.
To have THE most flexibility and career progression you really do need to go ahead and get that BSN.
And I agree with all of the above… It is an amazingly flexible job and I’ve always considered the pay to be pretty solid. The best part is the variety within the profession… You only get stagnant or bored or hit the ceiling if you let that happen.
Yes, that’s very regional. In many places, the associates degree nurses are found in all of the “desired” units of the hospital.
That said, if the OP may ever want to advance beyond bedside care, best to go for the BSN from the outset.
The city I live in merged two hospitals a few years ago. Lots of nurses were downsized, and it’s taken a while for the supply/demand curve to right itself. No career is bullet proof- even nursing.
Many of the nurses I know start at hospitals. The work is hard. Some places have great options, like Mass Gen Hospital, where 12 hour weekend shifts counted as full week. Others become PAs. My office mate is a NP In psych, and makes far more than I do. She is offered many jobs at ALFs and rehab centers as she can do both therapy and meds.
Another friend worked at the same psychiatric hospital that I did years ago, and now does home health. She wanted the flexible hours.
When I applied for LOng term insurance, I was reviewed by an older nurse. She is a snowbird. She lets the company know when she is coming South, and they set her up with interviews. Her work is not stressful and pays well.
My young patient is now in a nursing program. He wants to obtain the NP degree, as he loves to travel, and dreams of working for the CDC or something similar. He loves his clinical a far more than the classes.
I think it is a great field, with lots of flexibility.
Does anyone know how flexible the hours are as a nurse? I believe that it depends on which area you choose to work in; is this correct?
@artdeco73 …just depends on the unit and setting. Here is a look through my nursing career/schedule:
CCU: new grad, 7a-7p. Manager would put out the schedule a month ahead of time and we literally would fill in the days we wanted to work. So if I wanted a week off without taking vacation time I would (stupidly, ha!) work three 12’s and then would be off for a week. My usual schedule was two days on, a few days off and then another 12. We were required to work at least two major holidays a year and a few minors (Mother’s Day, etc.) every year and a certain amount of weekend days were required.
Cardiac Rehab: I worked 6a-4p. No work on Thursdays. No weekends, no holidays.
After I had a baby: simply requested to go part-time and poof…now part-time. Worked 8-2 every day except Thursday (office closed). No weekends, no holidays.
During graduate school: requested departmental change to ER, worked PRN (higher pay, no benefits) and worked 1-2 days per week, twelve hour shifts.
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner: worked part-time again, job shared with another NP. Monday and Tuesday 8-5 (usually more like 6-7 pm…until the paperwork was done) and then Weds 8-12. OFF every Thursday and Friday.
Home visits/Geriatric NP work: I totally create my own schedule about six weeks out. If I want to do ten hour shifts then they will fill my schedule with patients. If I want to do six hour shifts, fine. But once the schedule is made and people are scheduled, then it is set in stone.
I have friend who work traditional 9-5 in management, quality review, etc. etc.
As a NP I work 7:30 am to 4pm M-F and the RNs that work the Case Manager RNs that work we me also work the same hours. They have 40 patients each and I am the NP over all the patients. They have really great jobs. I wish I knew about such positions when I was a RN, I may had not became and NP then…
There is no much you can do with a RN BSN! I recommend it.