In many medical organizations, a nurse with a BSN earns more.
When you consider pursuing a degree program, a two- or three-year Registered Nurse (RN) program or a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, you have a big decision. One or two years of extra college education will cost you more in the short-term. You must decide if a BSN will open up more career and financial opportunities for you in the long run.
Salary Information
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook does not distinguish between wages for registered nurses with associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees. However, prospective nurses can look to other resources to see projected earning power. Look for wages reported by the state nursing board and for comparisons between employers, such as hospitals versus private medical practices.
Salary Differences
Nurses can look to the results of the ADVANCE Salary Survey to find differences between the earnings of BSN nurses and ASN nurses. Significant variations exist between regions and between states. In New York, a BSN nurse earned $36.08 per hour, or $0.82 more than an ASN nurse ($35.26 per hour). In New Jersey, a BSN nurse earned $35.65 per hour, or $2.66 more than an ADN nurse ($32.99 per hour). In Tennessee, a BSN nurse earned $20.80 per hour, or $1.98 less per hour than an ADN nurse ($22.78 per hour).
Type of Employment
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 60 percent of all nurses in the U.S. work in hospitals. Some nurses also specialize in an area of medicine, such as pediatrics, oncology or surgical nursing. Based on their professional certification, nurses with a BSN may earn more. If you aren't sure, see where your certification area ranks among other nursing specialties in a salary survey such as the ADVANCE survey.
Impact of Education
If you look at the education issue from a national perspective, earning a bachelor's degree gives you a more favorable job qualification. According to a fact sheet from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), nurses with a bachelor's degree have stronger problem-solving and communication skills. BSN-qualified nurses are also preferred hires among chief nursing officers of university hospitals. That's because these officers found differences in practice, including stronger leadership and critical thinking skills among BSN nurses. From a career-advancement perspective, the BSN prepares nurses to move into advanced nursing programs, management, higher education and research, according to the AACN.
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