Is nursing a good career? There are several reasons to choose a career in nursing. First, nursing provides job stability with competitive compensation and career advancement. It also offers schedule flexibility, a collaborative team environment and the ability to help people every day.
As you consider entering the ever-changing world of nursing, it’s important to be sure of your decision. You might wonder, “Is nursing a good career?” or “Is nursing for me?” Nursing is a gratifying career; however, it’s not for everyone.
Nursing may be right for you if you want to make a difference through your career. It provides an avenue to help others and offers many career benefits, from high potential earnings to career advancement opportunities.
Our nursing educators at Felician University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program firmly believe nursing is a worthwhile career. Every day, we help students make the journey to earning their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, which allows them to embark on a passion-filled nursing career in as few as 16 months.
Below are some things to consider as you decide if a career in nursing is right for you.
Nursing’s Role in the Healthcare System
To help you decide whether nursing is right for you, it’s important to first understand nurses’ role in the healthcare system: they are crucial. Without registered nurses (RNs), patients would not receive the care and monitoring they need.
In fact, nurses spend more time in patients’ rooms than physicians. A recent study showed that nurses spent 32.97% of their time in patient rooms, while physicians spent only 14.73%.
Nurses can make a lasting impact on their patients as they help them lead healthier lives. The day-to-day nurse responsibilities heavily depend on the number of patients and their medical conditions, nursing specialty and workplace. Nurses may perform any of the following tasks:
- Conduct head-to-toe patient assessments
- Record patient condition changes and medical history
- Monitor patients’ vital signs
- Administer medication and fluids
- Follow patient treatment plans
- Provide patient education
Why is Nursing a Good Career Choice?
Nursing is a dynamic and rewarding field. From offering a meaningful line of work to competitive pay and career advancement, the field has much to offer. Consider the reasons below for why nursing is a good career choice:
Is Nursing a Respectable Career?
Taking pride in your career is a special quality not always available in every field. Becoming a nurse allows you to experience a fulfilling career where you can profoundly impact people’s lives.
Nursing is a highly respected career. Over the past two decades, nurses consistently appeared at the top of Gallup’s Honesty and Ethics Poll. In the most recent 2023 poll, nurses were ranked no. one for the 22nd consecutive year.
Is Being a Nurse a Good Paying Job?
Nurses have a very important and demanding job, which gives them high earning potential. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median salary for nurses as of 2023 is $80,070, significantly higher than the national median for all occupations. Registered nurses also have even higher earning potential in New Jersey, with a median salary of $100,160.
Pay heavily depends on experience, specialty and employer. If you pursue a sought-after nursing specialty like emergency nursing, critical-care nursing or an advanced nursing specialty, you can expect a pay boost. According to the BLS, the highest-paying industries include the government, state, local and private hospitals.
In addition to their salary, nurses generally receive comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off and maternity leave.
What Kind of Nurses Make the Most Money?
The highest-paying positions are reserved for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). APRNs have undergone graduate-level training to experience greater career autonomy and broaden their scope of practice.
The types of APRNs include:
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
- Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)
- Certified Nurse Specialist (CNS)
- Certified Nurse Practitioner (NP)
As with registered nurses, each type of APRN has several subspecialties. APRNs can specialize in population and type of medicine. For example, NPs can specialize in women’s health, pediatrics, neonatal or adult-gerontology.
Is Nursing for Me?
Start by asking yourself these questions to help decide whether nursing fits well with your personality and strengths:
- Do you enjoy helping people and showing empathy?
- Do you have an interest in science and biology?
- Are you comfortable helping people who are sick?
- Do you like working in a physical role on your feet?
- Do you enjoy navigating complex, sometimes stressful, situations?
- Are you a team player?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, your passions may be aligned with nursing. It’s worth continuing your research into this career to see how it suits your aspirations.
Nursing also requires critical soft skills like empathy and compassion to excel. If you possess the following or are willing to cultivate these skills, nursing might be right for you:
- Do you have strong empathy?
- Can you effectively and clearly communicate with others?
- Are you adaptable and emotionally resilient?
- Can you make quick, sound decisions while under pressure?
Nurses are committed to lifelong learning. While you will cultivate many skills in nursing school, the learning does not stop there. Whether learning how to use new technology or adjusting to changes in procedures, nurses must be open to new information and acquiring new skills.
Why Is Nursing a Good Career: The Benefits of Becoming a Nurse
As you consider the question, “Is becoming an RN a good career?” here are several advantages of the profession to consider:
1. Nurses Have Job Stability
Nursing is one of the most reliable and stable careers out there. That’s because nurses are always in demand, and the need only grows as more people retire and require more healthcare. On top of that, many of our nation’s current nurses are nearing retirement age, and new nurses are needed to fill those gaps.
Given this, it’s no surprise that the nursing field is on the rise, expecting to grow 6% between 2023 and 2033, according to the BLS. This means you’ll have plenty of jobs to choose from when you graduate from nursing school and enter the workforce.
Is earning a BSN important for nurses? Learn why having a bachelor’s degree is essential for your career.
2. Nurses Have a Rich Purpose
People might have told you to choose a career you love since childhood. Nursing is hard work, but those who enter the field usually love working with patients and are passionate about their jobs.
As a nurse, you’ll get to positively influence patients, whether that’s through providing comfort to a cancer patient, guiding a patient through surgery or helping a patient recover from an injury. Additionally, nurses can form meaningful connections with patients, another fulfilling aspect of their careers.
Is nursing school worth it? Here are eight questions to help you decide if it’s worth it.
3. Nurses Can Advance Their Careers
Nursing is a bustling field with ample career opportunities. Nurses with a BSN can grow their careers through leadership positions, certifications and advanced degrees. If you enjoy leading people, you could become a nurse manager or healthcare administrator. If you like clinical nursing, you could earn more advanced certifications and specialize in more niche nursing roles.
Finally, if you want to go back to school, you can earn a Master of Science in Nursing or a Doctor of Nursing Practice to become an APRN.
As you can see, nursing offers an excellent path for career growth, making it a fantastic option for those who aspire to climb the ranks in their profession and take on greater responsibility over time.
Looking to become a nurse practitioner? Here’s how you can get there.
4. Nurses Have Many Scheduling Options
Nursing is a unique career field that offers many options for your work schedule. Depending on where you work, your schedule can vary greatly. For example, clinics and outpatient care centers tend to have traditional weekday hours, Monday through Friday.
However, if you opt to work in a hospital or nursing home, these facilities need nurses 24/7, so you can take on day or night shifts during the week or on the weekend as needed. Hospitals often have nurses work 12-hour shifts, meaning full-time work is only three shifts per week.
Furthermore, many nurses choose to work part-time or on an as-needed basis, which offers more flexibility if they have children or other commitments.
5. Nurses Enjoy a Collaborative Team Environment
Another reason why nursing is a good career is that it is dynamic and team based. You do not work in a bubble but rather as a part of a fluid healthcare team, all working together to achieve success for patients.
You’ll work alongside nurses, physicians, therapists, dietitians and more, each uniquely contributing to patient care. If you enjoy collaborating and connecting with coworkers daily, nursing may be an excellent career for you.
Accelerate Your Nursing Career at Felician
Now that you know nursing is a good career, it’s time to earn your degree, and Felician is a great place to start. You can earn a degree in less time than a traditional nursing program if you have a minimum of 60 non-nursing college credits or a bachelor’s degree in another area.
Wondering how to become a nurse in NYC? Follow these four steps to earn your nursing degree.
We offer a 16-month Hybrid ABSN program in Parsippany, New Jersey, and an On-Ground ABSN program in Rutherford, New Jersey. The difference between the two programs is that the Hybrid ABSN uses online courses, while the On-Ground ABSN uses in-person lectures. Both programs combine nursing coursework with hands-on labs and clinical experiences to provide a well-rounded education.
Our coursework establishes core nursing concepts, which are explored further through nursing skills and simulation labs. These labs provide students with a safe environment for them to practice foundational nursing skills and participate in mock clinical scenarios with their cohort.
Finally, students learn to provide direct patient care at real facilities throughout the Parsippany and Rutherford areas during clinical rotations. Under the supervision of their preceptors, students gradually perform more involved patient care tasks as they progress through the program.
To learn more about how Felician can help you achieve your goals, contact an admissions counselor by completing our online form. We’ll discuss your eligibility and answer any questions you have. It’s time to make your nursing dream happen.