Traditional advanced-degree nursing programs can place an RN with BSN degree in a variety of settings, but the hospital environment for RNs without an advanced degree is waning. Today, a graduate can complete the BSN to MSN degree in accelerated programs and increase employment opportunities and prospects for a higher salary. An RN with a graduate degree can expect to earn more in a career that can fill nursing shortages nationwide. Those fields demand RNs with advanced degrees in roles such as nurse educators, nurse practitioners, and nurse informaticists.

RN with a BSN Employment Opportunities

The Bureau of Labor Statistics offers the most up-to-date information about registered nurses’ salaries and employment opportunities. In 2008, RNs held about 2.6 million jobs in hospitals, physicians’ offices, home health care services, nursing care facilities, government agencies, social assistance agencies and in educational services. While the overall employment outlook for RNs is excellent through 2018, those opportunities may vary by employment and geographic setting.

Because this occupation is large, 581,500 new jobs will result. Hundreds of thousands of others job openings will also result from the nursing population aging and the need to fill those positions as they retire. Growth will also be driven by technological advances in patient care, which permit a greater number of health problems to be treated, and by an increasing emphasis on preventive care.

In addition, the number of older people, who are much more likely than younger people to need nursing care, is projected to grow rapidly. But even with the increased need for nursing staff, RN employment will continue to drop in hospitals as more sophisticated procedures — once performed only in hospitals — are being performed in physicians’ offices and in outpatient care centers.

RN with an MSN Employment Opportunities

The RN who completes a master’s degree in nursing has the opportunity to earn more than the RN with a BSN degree. The following roles are filled by RNs who have a specialized graduate degree education:

• Advanced Practice Nurse (APN): Advanced practice nurses have a specialized, formal, post-basic education and function in highly autonomous and specialized roles.
• Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS):The CNS assists patients and families to navigate a complex healthcare system from wellness through acute states of illness to a peaceful death.
• Nurse Administrator or Manager: Administrators and managers plan, direct, coordinate, and supervise the delivery of healthcare.
• Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA): These nurses administer anesthesia, monitor patient’s vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia.
• Nurse Consultant: This is a specialty area that can branch out into various capacities, even legal nurse consultation.
• Nurse Educator: Unlike health educators, nurse educators teach nursing topics and are in high demand. Qualified applicants to nursing schools are being turned away because of a shortage of nursing faculty.
• Nursing Informatics: Nursing informatics is the sub-discipline of health informatics that applies information technology to the skills and work of nurses in healthcare.
• Nurse Midwife: Nurses who diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team.
• Nurse Practitioner (NP): Nurses who provide primary health care and nursing services in clinics, schools, employer health units, or community health organizations. Other services may include: providing primary care for trauma cases, including suturing; planning and conducting a clinic, school, or employer health program; or studying and appraising community health services.
• Nurse Researcher: This type of nurse plans, researches, develops, and implements new or modified techniques, methods, practices, and approaches in nursing care.

Employment opportunities for the jobs shown above are growing, exactly as they are for the RN with a BSN. In comparison with an RN with a BSN, the MSN salary typically reflects advanced specialized training, experience, and certification. All advanced practice specialties, especially those who fill the four core areas of clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, and nurse anesthetists, will be in high demand.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics considers medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural areas as areas for employment expansion. Relative to physicians, RNs with graduate degrees such as nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists increasingly serve as lower-cost primary care providers. Although faster employment growth is projected in physicians’ offices and outpatient care centers, RNs may face greater competition for these positions because they generally offer regular working hours and more comfortable working environments.

BSN to MSN Salaries

Special nurse practices can vary in salary depending on the type of facility, location within the U.S. and whether or not the job is urban or rural. The average salary for an RN was $62,450 in 2008; however, the map below shows that this salary varies by state:

The light blue states averaged between $31,620 and $56,500 per year, while the dark blue states show an annual salary range between $75,320 and $87,480 per year. Some specific average annual salaries:

• Rhode Island: $70,640
• South Dakota: $54,730
• Massachusetts: $84,990
• Mississippi: $57,940
• Kentucky: $58,130

Remember that these salaries do not reflect the RN in a specialized role, but serves to represent RN salaries across the board. With two more years of study toward an MSN program and a focus on nurse midwifery, your median salary could increase to $91,321. A nurse anesthetist could make a median salary of $155,989 and a nurse practitioner could make a median salary of $89,845.

When you consider employment opportunities vs. salaries, the rural areas may need more nurse practitioners, but they may not earn as much as nurses who practice in urban areas.

Average salaries for RNs in the lightest blue areas ranged between $19,590 and $54,430. The darker blue areas include salaries that ranged from $71,500 and $116,150. Some of the highest-paying metropolitan areas include:

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $116,150
• Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division: $100,900
• San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division: $97,600
• Salinas, CA: $97,450
• Napa, CA: $97,090

Many employers are also offering benefits to lure RNs to work, including flexible work schedules, childcare, educational benefits, and bonuses. The dollar amount of those benefits is not included in the salaries shown above.

Increase Your Net Worth

Nurses who have completed their NCLEX-RN exam can improve their employment opportunities and their salaries by furthering their education and focusing on a specialty. If you earned your RN with less than a BSN degree, you can enter accelerated programs for that undergraduate degree. Or, you can enter a BSN to MSN program to catapult your career.

These schools offer fully accredited programs that can take someone with a BSN to an MSN and beyond, which leads to more opportunities to specialize in the kind of work you love and earn a better paycheck while you do it. If you’re ready to get started, click some of the links below to learn more about their specific course offerings.

BSN to MSN MSN in Nurse Administrator MSN in Nurse Educator MSN in Nurse Informatics RN to MSN	Kaplan University — The Kaplan School of Nursing offers a variety of graduate degree programs for registered nurses looking to advance their careers into special areas of interest. In addition to their general BSN to MSN program, Kaplan also offers MSN degrees with concentrations in nurse administration, nurse education, and nursing informatics. For registered nurses who have not yet completed their bachelor's degrees, Kaplan also offers an RN to MSN program.
BSN to MSN (General) MSN in Leadership & Mgmt MSN in Nursing Informatics MSN in Nurse Education	Walden University — In addition to its general BSN to MSN track, Walden offers a specialty MSN degree programs in leadership & management, nursing informatics, and nurse education. Available to RNs with a BSN, ADN, or nursing diploma, Walden's MSN programs are designed to prepare current nurses for new opportunities in their field by giving them the tools and skills needed to succeed in the workplace.
BSN to MSN MSN in Health Education MSN in Informatics MSN in Health Administration MSN in Healthcare Mgmt	University of Phoenix — The University of Phoenix is America's largest accredited online university. Their School of Nursing offers several different online BSN to MSN degrees, including degree programs with concentrations in healthcare education, health informatics, healthcare administration, and healthcare management. These graduate-level programs of study are available to all registered nurses (RNs) who have completed their bachelor's degree and have a minimum of three years working experience.
Dual Degree: MBA & MSN MSN in Nursing Education MSN in Nursing Leadership	Grand Canyon University — A highly-rated Christian school based in Arizona, Grand Canyon University's School of Nursing offers multiple master's degree-level nursing programs, including a dual MSN and MBA degree for business-oriented students and MSN degrees with concentrations in nursing education and nursing leadership.
MSN in Adult Nursing MSN in CNS/Nurse Educator More...	University of Cincinnati — The University of Cincinnati offers online BSN to MSN programs with numerous specializations, including adult nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist and nurse educator, family nurse practitioner, nurse administrator, nurse midwifery, psychiatric nursing, and women's health specialist. Students of these programs are required first to be registered nurses holding BSN degrees.
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