Reasons to Choose a Career in Nursing

A presentation of the four biggest advantages of nursing careers

Written by Jay on July 10th, 2011

In today’s economy there are many people struggling to find employment and wishing they had different skill sets that would allow them to enter new fields. When you are faced with education and career training options it is advisable that you make these decisions very carefully and keep your future in mind. Nursing careers prove to be amongst the most overall attractive options available right now.

From an economic standpoint, if you perform a cost-benefit analysis of different professions it becomes clear that nurses receive relatively high compensation given the education requirements to become a nurse. An Associates Degree in Nursing qualifies an individual to become a Registered Nurse. Once you enjoy the designation of RN, you fall within a pay range of roughly $60,000 per year. There are very few (if any) other positions that offer starting salaries anywhere near that amount for candidates with an Associate’s degree.

From a training perspective, registered nurses go through somewhere between 18-24 months of schooling prior to employment. Although trade programs and vocational skills can be picked up in much less time, amongst the professions (i.e. doctor, lawyer, MBA) this is a relatively short period of training. This allows nurses to start their career positions sooner and begin advancing into higher-level positions or pay grades quicker. Since higher education is very expensive, this allows nurses to minimize their costs and avoid having to re-pay large amounts of student loans. There is a plethora of different nursing programs available including online courses, community college courses, hospital-based training programs and traditional colleges and universities. This makes it easy for nursing candidates to find training programs that fit their schedules, time frames and budget. The accessibility of nursing education is set to expand as many local governments are offering financial incentives to nursing students to help reduce the nursing shortages being experienced in many US states.

Many jobs might be appealing at a certain point in time, but not many careers offer long-term job stability. Many industries suffer massive job losses due to advances in technology and other economic factors. Although no job or industry is perfectly stable, health care and nursing are amongst the most stable employment offerings available. Some amount of health care and medical treatments will always need to be provided by human beings, which reduces the likelihood of nurses being replaced by machines or technology. For the last couple of decades the US health care system has been overwhelmed with more patients than the current infrastructure and workforce can support. Furthermore, the elderly population in the United States is growing and shows no signs of retracting within the next forty years. Since elderly persons consume the vast majority of health care services, this bodes well for those employed in the delivery of health care services.

One of the best things about being a nursing professional is that you provide care for those who cannot care for themselves. This is one of the most admirable things that a human being can do in their lifetime. To have the privilege of performing such caring acts as a part of your regular work activities is a truly unique opportunity.

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