Nursing Salaries

Nursing is not only a rewarding career to pursue but a lucrative one as well. Nurses earn good salaries. With the widespread nursing shortage across the country, this profession is very much in demand. Qualified nurses have their pick of the states and cities they wish to work in once they have graduated from nursing school. Before you start your nursing education it would be very smart to research the salary potential that the different types of nursing careers have to offer.

Nursing salaries vary from place to place and are dependent upon a variety of factors. These include the type of nursing degree the nurse possesses, her nursing education and the number of years of experience she has in a particular field of nursing. Cost of living makes a difference as well. In other words the city and state the nurse resides in can affect the salary she potentially has the ability to earn. The type of work the nurse does also matters as does the kind of specialty she decides to pursue.

Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) often train to become nurses through a vocational school, a community college or at a hospital. The LPN program can take anywhere from 12 months to 24 months to complete. Once students have graduated they then must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN). Once they do that then they will earn their nurse’s license. The median hourly rate for licensed practical nurses (or practical nurses as they are sometimes referred to) is $17 to $18 an hour. This is according to data compiled at the website PayScale.com in May 2009.

In order to become a registered nurse (RN) individuals can take one of three paths to do so. They can earn a two year associate’s degree through a community college or they can earn a four year bachelor’s degree through a university. There is another option and that is to complete a nursing diploma program at a junior college or community college. Once students have earned their degree they must take and pass the national licensing examination which is called the NCLEX-RN exam. Only then will they be granted their RN license.

As of June 2009 RNs in the United State were earning a median hourly rate of anywhere from $25 to $33. One of the highest according to PayScale.com was in California where registered nurses were earning $33.73. The second highest was the state of New York where nurses were earning $27.91 per hour.

Of all nursing occupations RNs are growing the fastest. What this means is that salaries for registered nurses will continuous to increase and be very competitive despite downturns in the economy.