If you are considering changing your career to nursing, you are likely wondering: Is nursing a good career? It is important that you have these questions answered before beginning your ABSN journey. Utica University can help you answer your questions and show you why nursing is a good career.
Choosing to return to school to make a career change is no small decision. It’s important to be sure that you’re making the right move. With such a significant decision, you are probably wondering “is nursing a good career? Is nursing worth it?” At Utica University, formerly Utica College, we’re confident that nursing is a smart career path, and we love helping students journey through our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) Program.
The benefits of a career in nursing are extensive, but here are just 10 reasons to switch your career to nursing:
1. Job Outlook
The need for nurses is expected to grow. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of registered nurses is expected to grow by six percent by 2031. Approximately 203,200 nursing positions are expected to open each year. With a never-ending need for excellent individuals in the health care field, you won’t need to worry about job security or difficulty entering the nursing field.
2. Career Diversity
Holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree gives you the opportunity to work in many specialties and settings. There is a wide array of options available to anyone who wants to be a nurse but is interested in work outside of a hospital. Some of these options include military nursing, school nursing, and nursing home nursing.
If alternative careers in nursing interest you, read more about your nursing options outside of the hospital.
3. Salary and Benefits
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median wage for nurses with a BSN currently sits at $77,600. If you choose to stay in-state after your time at Utica University, the average nursing wage in New York is $80,830. In addition, nurses often receive excellent benefits on top of their wages that may include paid time off, retirement benefits, and reimbursement opportunities for tuition and certification fees. This makes a nursing degree a very secure investment.
4. Impact on Patients’ Lives
Nursing gives you the chance to earn a living while making a difference. The countless lives a nurse touches makes the career a rewarding one. Nurses share some of life’s hardest and happiest moments with those placed in their care. This requires great compassion and interpersonal skills. Not many jobs have this potential for life-changing impact in the day-to-day. Nursing gives the opportunity for personal connections with their patients and are often remembered fondly by those they have treated.
5. Trusted Profession
If you place high value in integrity, nursing might be a great option for you. Gallup reports that for the 20th year in a row, nursing ranks highest in honesty and ethics above doctors, grade-school teachers, and pharmacists. This means that patients perceive nurses to be highly trustworthy people – which is important when a patient’s health outcomes are directly impacted by the nurse’s knowledge and decision-making abilities. So, when you enter your nursing career, you will know that your integrity will be valued in the workplace by your patients.
6. Full of Excitement
Nursing is a career that is very well-suited to people who thrive in a fast-paced, exciting work environment. Nurses face a variety of situations and work with all types of patients and each day will hold something new. This means becoming a lifelong learner. Your B.S. in Nursing will provide you with the knowledge and experience to enter the field, but each new day will provide an opportunity to learn and adapt to the ever-changing field of medicine, and an always-exciting career in nursing.
7. Flexible Hours
Nurses have many options available to them other than choosing what specialty of nursing in which they would like to work. For nurses with a BSN, there is adaptability within your field of choice. Many nurses who are parents work part-time positions to be at home with their children. Other nurses elect to work night shifts to provide extra availability during the day. For those who would like to have weekends free, you might investigate working as a school nurse. If flexibility is a priority for you, nursing would be an excellent option as there are numerous opportunities to fit the career to your lifestyle.
8. Team-focused Environment
The field of medicine is oriented around collaboration of work and ideas. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities require teamwork to operate successfully. Nurses are an integral part of that team. As such, you can expect to spend a lot of time sharing ideas, solving problems, and making important decisions with your coworkers. Working as a nurse requires great people skills and the ability to work well with others, but with that comes the knowledge you will not be carrying the weight of such serious work alone. There will always be others to carry it with you.
9. Active Work
For many, sedentary work in an office is just not an option. Maybe you are the type of person who needs to move your body throughout the day. Maybe you have simply found that working at a desk isn’t for you. Work as a nurse is fast-paced and constantly moving. Nurses are often on their feet for long hours, but many prefer this over long hours of sitting. Moving your body at work may improve your overall health and will certainly be a component of your work as a nurse.
10. It’s Never Too Late
A feature unique to nursing is that you can become a nurse even if you already have a degree and work experience in a different career. The Journal of Nursing Regulation reports that in 2020, the median age of registered nurses was 52. Whatever your stage of life, you can still follow your dreams of becoming a nurse. The ABSN program at Utica University allows for a smooth transition into a career as a registered nurse.
Want to learn more about transitioning to nursing with a different degree? Read about nursing as a second career.
Get Started Today
After answering why is nursing a good career, does nursing sound like a good fit for you? Utica University can help you start working as a nurse in as few as 16 months. Schedule an appointment to get started by calling 866.892.6747 or by filling out the form on our contact page.
