Employment Opportunities in Nursing
If you’re looking for a career that will allow you to earn a good income, a measure of prestige, unlimited jobs in just about any area that you want to live, and is rated one of the fastest growing industries in the country, then look no further because a career in nursing offers you all of that and more. Let’s take these areas one at a time, and see how this satisfying career answers your every wish.
- Income: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage of RNs is approximately $68,000 per year. And the more education that you have, the higher the salary you can expect. What’s more, many hospitals offer sign up bonuses of up to $14,000 because they are desperate for qualified nurses!
- Prestige: Gallup conducts a survey every year to find out which of American’s professions rank the highest in ethics and honesty. Nurses continually rank in the #1 spot, and in fact, 81 percent of people polled this year rank them as high or very high in ethics and honesty.
- Unlimited Jobs: There is currently a shortage of approximately 100,000 nurses in the country, and it’s expected that by 2020, there will be a staggering 800,000 nursing positions to be filled. These jobs are and will be located in big cities and small, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and doctor’s offices to name just a few areas.
- Growth: The need for RNs is skyrocketing, and the nursing field is expected to grow faster than any other field. In addition, there will be a need to replace the experienced RN’s who are about to retire.
What does it take to get started on a career in nursing? First of all, you must get a degree or certification, depending on which area of nursing you want to work in. You can become a certified LPN or LVN in as little as a year, but if you plan to get a degree in nursing, you should plan on spending 2-4 years studying for your degree. Obviously, a nurse who has more education will make a higher income – some who have gone on to get their master’s degree in a specialty field earn over $100,000 per year.
But your first step in getting started is deciding which career path in this exciting field you want to pursue. Here is a list of the basic nursing careers:
- LPN or LVN: A Licensed Practical Nurse, also known as a Licensed Vocation Nurse is the easiest form of nursing to get into. It only requires about a year of school that is completed after receiving a high school diploma, and once graduated, these nurses can find jobs in hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes and prisons. They take care of patients under the supervision of doctors and RNs, and attend to things like taking vitals, giving baths, and administering injections along with a host of other duties. Because it’s the least trained of all nursing careers, it also has the lowest starting salary.
- RN: A Registered Nurses works side by side with doctors filling their orders for medications and reporting to them about the patient’s progress. They work very closely with patients and not only devise treatment plans and follow up for them, but also help educate them about the medical issues that they have. To become an RN, you must have a high school diploma, followed by an RN diploma, bachelor’s degree, or associates degree in nursing. Once you’ve completed this part of your education, you’ll need to pass the certification exam required for all RNs.
- APRN: Advanced Practice Registered Nurses are those who have completed the requirements to become an RN, but have then gone on to become a specialist in a particular area by obtaining a minimum of a Master’s Degree. For example, an RN may have an interest in oncology or pediatrics, and get her ARPN license in that area. Nurse Practitioners also fall into this category
This is just a brief summary of the types of nursing careers available to you. Each of the careers branch off into many sub-categories, such as traveling nurses, hospice nurses, school nurses, anesthetist nurses and more.
If this sounds like the perfect career for you, then read through the Members section of NursingJobFinder. We’ve put together just about everything you need to know to get started in this steady and rewarding career. After all, isn’t it time that you started your training in the fastest growing industry in the country?