If you’re going to spend six figures on something, you want it to appreciate in value, right? This is something people understand easily enough when they are thinking about buying a house. Certainly when funding their retirement account. But how many people consider ROI when they are choosing their degree?
Nurses make good salaries, but there are ways to improve their earnings significantly by acquiring specific credentials. In the article, we take a look at which nursing jobs have the highest return on investment.
Is there more than one nursing degree?
The confusing thing is that at the undergraduate level, there is not. All entry-level licensed nurses begin their careers with essentially the same credential: a BSN.
This degree enables them to work in a wide variety of entry-level nursing careers. If you would like to work on a hospital floor, all you will most likely require is a BSN.
Can you maximize the return on your BSN?
Oh, you absolutely can! The first and most fundamental way is to think about your earning potential as a nurse with a BSN. The highest-earning nurses generally only generate $80-$90,000 a year at the height of their earning potential. That is certainly a good salary, but there is also a limited capacity for growth.
Someone going into business can strive for an almost limitless increase in salary over the course of their career. Nurses pretty much know what they’re going to make going in.
That being the case, it does not necessarily make sense to go to a glamorous school. A Harvard education is probably a great thing to have, but at the end of the day, it won’t improve your salary or job outlook as a nurse.
If you intend to work as a nurse, be practical in choosing your undergraduate university. Choose a school that has good resources, but also make sure that it aligns with your salary expectations. Most experts agree that you shouldn’t borrow more than you can expect to make in the first five years following your graduation.
There are, of course, other ways to look at a college degree. It is not only an investment, but also a personal milestone and an experience. Still, keep ROI in the back of your mind as you are looking at programs.
The other way to improve the ROI of your undergraduate degree is to seek out good scholarship and grant opportunities. You may be surprised to learn that you do not need to be at the top of your class to take advantage of scholarships and grants.
There are need-based opportunities. There are grants and scholarships that are available only to minorities. There are also those that are designed simply to help alleviate the nursing shortage. Admittedly, most of these opportunities are not full rides, but they will help with the overall cost of your degree.
Every dollar you save on your college education will wind up in your pocket. Don’t forget that.
Graduate School
Nurses willing to attend graduate school have the potential to increase their salaries enormously. While there are tons of nursing careers, it’s safe to say that nurse practitioners have some of the highest salaries out there.
Nurse practitioners are a little like junior doctors (not an officially endorsed description). Depending on where they live, they may be able to diagnose patients, make wellness visits, and even write prescriptions.
In fact, many people see nurse practitioners in lieu of a general practitioner. In states where it is allowed, nurse practitioners are able to open up their own practices and run their own businesses.
In this capacity, they are often able to make well over six figures.
What’s more, nurse practitioners have the opportunity to specialize almost endlessly. What about healthcare interests and excites you the most?
For example, do you love the idea of working with babies? You may be interested in becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner. If you feel very strongly about the mental health crisis in America you may choose to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Not only does becoming an NP give you a higher earning potential, but it also allows you to engage much more deeply in your areas of interest.
Of course, all of the other pieces of advice still apply in the context of ROI. You still want to choose a graduate program that is sensibly priced. Naturally, you should also look for any and every scholarship opportunity you can get your hands on.
Another thing to keep in mind? Timeline. If you are 25 years old, you have tons of time to pay off your degree and still earn handsomely from the increased salary. If you’re 48 you have less time. That doesn’t mean that more experienced nurses should forget about becoming nurse practitioners.
It does mean that you shouldn’t drag your feet. If you are interested in becoming a nurse practitioner, the sooner you do it the better the return on your investment will ultimately be.
For People Pivoting
If you already have an undergraduate degree in a different discipline but want to pivot into nursing, there is good news: You don’t have to start from scratch. Accelerated programs allow you to complete nursing-specific coursework in as little as eighteen months.
They also cost a fraction of the price of a four-year degree. Accelerated programs are the quickest way to become a nurse, and they have the potential to improve ROI considerably.
Are there other options I should know about?
Aside from becoming a nurse practitioner, there are almost endless certifications that nurses can pursue. For example, are you interested in solving crimes? If so, you can aid the criminal justice system by becoming a forensic nurse. Forensic nurses are generally required only to have a BSN along with a special certification that allows them to work in forensic nursing.
Or maybe you’d like to be a school nurse. The return on the investment may not be as high, but you will be enjoying an enhanced quality of life in the form of favorable hours and summers off. In this case, you will need your BSN, and a certification allowing you to work in the public school system.
We could go on. And on. And on. There are almost endless nursing specialties. Some of them require only a BSN. Many more will require you to attain a specialized certification. The good news? Often the certifications are very affordable. Sometimes you may even find that your employer is willing to pay for them.
If you are interested in expanding your earning potential as a nurse, there are loads of ways to do it. Make sure you think not only about salary expectations but also the quality of your life. Nursing is hard work. You want a job that not only pays well, but also makes you happy.
