Nurse salaries are not only lucrative, but nursing is also a highly in-demand profession. There are many nursing career opportunities available across the country because of the current nursing shortage. 

If you were to poll nursing students enrolled in associate degree programs at the nation’s community colleges, you would find that a good percentage of them are pursuing second or third careers. Former business majors, accountants, teachers, social workers, bankers, and engineers can be found studying to sit for the state boards in Professional Nursing. One of the reasons nursing is chosen as a career is the wages.

For high school seniors searching for a career, nursing is a wise choice. Where else can an 18-year-old go for two years to a reasonably priced community college, and come out with the earning capability to gross up to$75,000 for a staff nurse, according to http://Monster.com. 

Wages vary from state to state and even within communities. Nurses working for a union-organized urban health center affiliated with a university may make more money than a small private community hospital in the same area.

Wages are generally paid to staff nurses on an hourly basis. A staff nurse is a professional nurse who supervises the tasks performed by Licensed Practical Nurses, orderlies, and nursing assistants. They provide direct nursing care and make decisions regarding plans of care for patients based on treatment orders written by the patient’s physician. Most hospitals designate broad parameters within which the nurse operates. Staff nurses need a huge information base to care for the varied needs of their patients.

Clinical specialists and advanced practice nurses are paid higher wages based on their advanced education and increased responsibility.  Wages can also differ based on specialty. 

Here is what a general salary range of nurses in the U.S. looks like:

Salaries according to specialties by Nurse.org

• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist - $181,040

• General Nurse Practitioner - $111,840

• Clinical Nurse Specialist - $106,028

• Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner - $105,658

• Certified Nurse Midwife - $108,810

• Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse - $102,487

• Pain Management Nurse - $101,916

• Nursing Administrator - $100,980

• Family Nurse Practitioner - $98,408

• Registered Nurse First Assist - $96,418

• Gerontological Nurse Practitioner - $89,637

• Nurse Educator - $83,160

• Informatics Nurse - $79,014

• Critical Care Nurse - $74,588

• Health Policy Nurse - $71,703

Salaries of an average RN in the top 10 highest paying states by Nurse.org

• California -  $113,240 

• Hawaii - $104,060

• District of columbia -  $94,820

• Massachusetts - $93,160

• Oregon - $92,960

• Alaska - $90,500

• Nevada -  $88,380

• New York - $87,840

• Washington - $86,170

• New Jersey -  $84,280

Apart from the states and specialties, how much a nurse gets paid also depends on the organization hiring the nurse and their certification as well as their experience in the field. Some nurses earn more than traditional nurses. 

Travel nurses, are RN nurses who work on a contract basis for different hospitals and healthcare facilities to fill staffing needs. Assignments or contracts last an average of 13 weeks or three months. The assignments may be at different hospitals in different cities or states. Additionally, nurses are also able to request a contract renewal if they particularly like a hospital or a state. They are often employed by a nursing registry or nursing agency. 

Travel Nurse wages currently range between $48 per hour compared to that of a fixed nurse’s $30.45. This price may rise even further based on your specialty and experience up to $52.88. Even more so, your salary could depend on which state you are working in. Although the pay is typically higher than a fixed nurse, you have to keep in mind that different assignments, states, specialties, etc could all factor in on a salary and it is not a fixed income.

In addition to higher wages for nurses, the high-stress nature of the job requires more time off than jobs with less stress. Vacation, personal days, and sick time add up to 50 – 60 days in some Northeastern US hospitals.

Nurses are highly compensated for their services and they even have higher opportunities to grow within the field. Some nurses can even go on to become certified legal nurse consultants to help out law firms during cases that require specific knowledge in the medical field. 

Nursing is one of the well-paid jobs in the world right now and the medical field is running short of them creating more opportunities for prospective students. It is a field worth investigating.