4 Reasons to Become a Nurse Today

Why should a young person consider becoming a nurse today? Is it the same type of job as it was 30 years ago?

Today nurses can get their degrees online and they have more options to get advances degrees than ever before.They can specialize in various nursing programs rather than just the general nursing degree. There are RN’s, LPN’s, CRNA’s, CNM’s, NP’s, etc. Not only are the new nurses getting Bachelor degrees, more are getting their Master’s and Doctorates as well.

Some LPN’s are now delivering medications through IV’s which before was just the job of a registered nurse.  In some areas appropriately trained Registered Nurses are finding opportunities to prescribe certain medications, previously only the domain of the doctor.

Nurses today also have to deal with more paper work and/or computer work than ever before. Many have to be trained with the new computer technology that must be done in conjunction with their work as the United States is going to computerized medical record keeping.

The number one reason today to become a nurse is the demand will increase as the aging population increases.They can not only work in hospitals but nursing homes, home care or be a travel nurse. They will have lots of choices as to where and when they work.

The number two reason is the flexibility. One does not have to work 9-5 Monday through Friday. Many nurses can work part-time if they wish as they are raising their young families. Some work 12 hour shifts and only a few days a week.They can also choose which area of the country to work in and can move easily as work is available in most places compared to other vocations.

The third reason would be the pay. More male nurses are emerging today as the pay for nurse’s is quite well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn an average of $17. 57 per hour and Registered Nurses earn an average of $27.54 per hour.

 So where can registered nurses make the most money, or at least stretch their salaries the farthest? According to Nurse Zone in terms of the highest average salaries for RNs, California lives up to its name as the Golden State, laying claim to four of the top five paying metropolitan areas in the country, based on data from the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the top of the list is the San Jose area, where the average nursing pay is approximately $46 per hour, or $95,000 annually for nurses working full-time. While $95,000 may sound like a lot of money to a nurse in Phoenix who is making the regional average of $60,000 per year, the reality is that the two amounts are very comparable in terms of what lifestyle he or she can afford in these cities. One way to compare nursing salaries and affordability in several locations around the country is with some of the free tools you can find online, such as those offered by PayScale.

It all comes down to the cost of living—which happens to be 55 percent higher overall in San Jose. Cost of living comparisons factor in the necessities such as housing, groceries, transportation, utilities and health care.

And finally the number four reason to become a nurse today is most people want to become a nurse for the love of the job.They find helping sick people to be a very rewarding job that outweighs the stresses of the job.