After COVID 19 surge, each country has started working towards making a strong health sector under which nurses are considered one of the vital entities,
As per the report of the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, more than 20 percent of nurses will retire in the upcoming decade of 2019 to 2030, which relatively enclose more demand for nurses with good pay checks,
So, if you have an ambition of earning up to six figures in the health industry, then you can choose a career as a nurse,
While making a list of highest paid nursing jobs, our team has used various factors, including location, work-life balance, and industries you work with.
Factors which Influence Nurse Salary
Location – In a nursing career, location plays a vital role in getting a good pay check; as per BLS Report, we have listed the highest paid states for nurses –
- California
- Hawaii
- Oregon
- District of Columbia
- Alaska
Industry – There are immense career opportunities in nursing, as per trends of 2022. Nowadays, Nurses are not only limited to working in hospitals; many health startups invite them for Interprofessional Partnerships and offer good pay packages.
For your convenience, we have found industries that are giving good wage for nurses –
- Outpatient Care Centers Specialty Hospitals
- General Hospitals
- Psychiatric & Substance Abuse Hospitals
- Home Health Care Services
Specialty – It is one of the essential factors while listing high paying jobs for nurses.
In health industries, specialization has its own space. To provide good care to patients with cancer or cardiac disease or to overcome post-recovery circumstances, hospitals hire particular types of nurses who specialize in a particular field and gave them good salary package.
Nurse Anaesthetist
Nurse Anaesthetist is one of the top paying nursing jobs. They are registered nurses whose work is to provide anaesthesia medication procedures to the patients before and after surgery,
Under this nursing specialization, good experience delegates higher paychecks. In 31 states in the United States, they work independently, which undergoes more responsibility for hospitals to hire good nurse anesthetists and pay them well.
Work Life Balance
Being Responsible for patient recovery from post-anaesthesia and monitoring vital signs during the procedure, as little mistakes can affect patient life and no flexible working hours, which make nurse Anaesthetist into a stressful job,
Being a stressful job, as per experts, fewer nurses regret joining anesthesia specialization.
Rating – 3.3 out of 5
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree and become a Registered Nurse
- Minimum One Year of Experience in
- Pursue MSN or DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) Degree
- To become certified as Nurse Anaesthetist, get certification from NBCRNA
Future Demand
As per BLS Projection, nurse anesthetist is among the most in demand nursing jobs, with a growth rate of about 45 percent in 2020-2030.
Average Salary for Nurse Anesthetist is $181,000
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner’s role starts after the child’s delivery. They make a behavioural assessment of the baby, which include whether the child is breathing correctly or not; if not, they perform a complete medical procedure or transfer to the intensive care unit.
Apart from providing care to infants, NNP maintains records to consult physicians and more often educate infants’ parents on the problem and treatment.
Work Life Balance
Working in a critical care unit is a stressful job, so to maintain the stress breakdown level, most hospitals try to mimic flexible working hours for NNP, so they can give time to their families or can go on holidays,
As per experts, compared to other fields of nursing, most choose the NNP job as they are passionate about providing care to infants.
Rating – 3.8 out of 5
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree
- Pass NCLEX Exam to become RN
- Minimum two years of experience working in neonatal care unit before masters
- Pursue MSN or DNP
- Pass Exam National Certification Corporation.
Future Demand
Up to 52 percent in the decade between 2020 to 2030, Additionally, it is the best paid nurses with an average salary for about $125,000
Cardiac Nurse Practitioner
Cardiac Nurse Practitioner is the best nursing career. They provide care to patients who are suffering from cardiac diseases, which include coronary artery disease, angina, and many more,
In addition to their procurement service, they need to maintain records related to stress test evaluation, vascular monitoring, and medication provided via a continuous drip.
Work Life Balance
Cardiac Nurse Practitioner is not limited to coronary care unit (CCU) and Intensive Care Unit. Additionally, they also assess during surgery. Having so much work, CNP get flexible working hours,
And most importantly, if you are enthusiastic about learning new things, the cardiac nursing specialty is for you as you will regularly get new experiences.
Rating – 3.7 out of 5
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree
- Pass NCLEX Exam to become RN
- Minimum two years of experience working in cardiology unit before masters
- Pursue MSN
- Pass Exam from American Nurses Credentialing Centre or American Academy of Nurse Practitioner
Average Salary for Cardiac Nurses is $114,000
Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner
Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner is one of the nursing branches that provides care to patients who are facing problems related to musculoskeletal injuries, fractured bones, and chronic conditions,
Additionally, ONP maintains records of pain management, impulsion of medicines in the patient body, and physical examination of injured body parts.
Work Life Balance
ONPs take care of the patient until the recovery of the injury. They also educate the patient and their family about the precautions they need to take.
It is a long working hour job of about 12 to 14 hours, which affects family life, but ONP is among the top preferential job for perks.
Rating – 3.7 out of 5
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree
- Pass NCLEX Exam to become RN
- Minimum three years of experience working in cardiology unit before masters
- Pursue MSN or DNP
- To get certified, pass the exam conducted by Orthopaedic Nurse Certification Board.
Future Demand
Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner is among the high demand nursing jobs with a demand outlook of 28 percent in the upcoming decade.
As per sources, it’s been found by 2034; there will be approx. Seventy-seven million people will be above 63 years of age, and at the present time, each year, about a million joint replacement surgeries occur.
It is among the highest paid nurse specialties with an average salary of approx. $113,000
Oncology Nurse Practitioner
Oncology Nurse Practitioner provides care to patients who have cancer. They maintain records of chemotherapy schedules and additionally the effects pertaining to the body through the treatment.
To avoid any irregularities in the treatment, they prepare complete documentation of visits, medication, and radiation treatment. They also educate the patient family regarding diagnoses and preventive strategies they need to opt for.
Work Life Balance
For Oncology Nurse Practitioners, work-life balance is not up to the mark as in survey it been found due to overhauling of work, they aren’t able to give time to their families.
In the survey, it has been found. Some ONPs are so emotionally involved with patients that if something happens to the patient, they feel depressed. Due to this, their family life is very much affected.
*Experts advise that under this nurse practitioner specialty, one must be mentally strong and learn time management.
Rating – 3.8 out of 5
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree
- Pass NCLEX Exam to become RN
- Minimum two to three years of experience working in an oncology unit before masters
- Pursue MSN or DNP
- To get certified, pass the exam conducted by Orthopaedic Nurse Certification Board.
Future Demand
It is the highest demand nursing specialties. As per the reports of the American Cancer Society, about 1.9 million new cancer cases are found.
In order to serve every cancer patient in the United States, we do not have enough oncology nurse practitioners, so BLS projected the overall demand for nurse practitioners in the decade 2020 to 2030 which is 45 percent (including oncology nurse practitioners).
it is one of the best paid nursing jobs, with an average annual salary of about
Family Nurse Practitioner
Family Nurse Practitioner is among the highest paying nursing specialties. FNP provide care to all age groups. Their role is in disease prevention, screening for diseases, and disease management, whether it is an acute or chronic disease,
Additionally, FNP also provide anticipatory guidance to the patients, and they are also trained to assist patients in various situations such as
- If someone got head stitches, FNP get it done staples on that.
- How to do an incision and drainage
FNP is the most flexible nursing job in terms of work-life balance, as there is proper scheduling of working hours. In case of emergency, it is an exceptional thing.
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree
- Pass NCLEX Exam to become RN
- Minimum two to three years of experience working as an RN.
- Pursue MSN or DNP
- To get certified, pass the exam from AANP (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners) or ANCC (American Nurse Credentialing Centre).
Future Demand
There is a good demand seen for FNP in upcoming years. As per experts, there are two areas where FNP has good scope in the future: Med Surge Nurse (in subspeciality, one can include Liver and Kidney Disorders) and ICU.
The average Salary for Family Nurse Practitioner is $110,000.
Nurse Midwife
Nurse Midwife plays a vital role in the pre and post-birth process. They advise women to take precautions during pregnancy. As per requirement, they also prescribe diagnoses and prescribe medicines as well.
Nurse Midwives work in hospitals, OB/GYN clinics, Birthing Centres, and private homes.
Work Life Balance
As per the survey, Nurse Midwives do not feel much stressed. The main problem arises with an irregular working schedule which imbalances their family life.
Rated – 3.9 out of 5
How to become
- Get a BSN Degree
- Pass NCLEX Exam to become RN
- Minimum one or two years of experience working as an RN.
- Pursue MSN or DNP in Nurse Midwifery
- To get certified, pass the exam taken by AMCB (American Midwifery Certification Board)
Future Demand
Projected Job Growth for Midwives is 21 % between 2016 to 2026. The Average Salary for Nurse Midwife is $108,000
