The days of women becoming nurses so they could “land” a doctor are long gone. Okay, that’s not true, women still become nurses hoping to land a rich plastic surgeon that will keep them looking younger and stuffed full on bon-bons. Ahh…the good life! All they have to do is take lots of blood samples, empty out bedpans, give gross old guys sponge baths and clean up all sorts of mystery fluids from beds. Oh, and hold people’s hands as they die. Yes, indeed it’s a dream job!

 

While doctors are trying to sleep off their latest raid of the drug cabinet, registered nurses “hold down the fort,” which translates into “keeping people from dying.” To this end, registered nurses work to monitor the health of patients, administer medication, take records and also work to educate the public. 

Anyone who has becoming a registered nurse as a potential fit on their career planning and job search list will be happy to know that the job opportunities are abundant. Shockingly, it turns out that people are not especially interested in cleaning up the bodily fluids of sick people for meager pay. As astonishing as it might be, the average pay of $57,000 for nursing careers isn’t drawing wave after wave of excited candidates.

 

While the pay may be something of a joke for the level of pressure, exposure to disease and constant exposure to death and dying, there is already an army of 2.5 million registered nurses just in the United States. The overall rate of growth is expected to be about twenty-three percent, but this rate is likely on the conservative side.

The rate of growth for careers in nurisng is just about as high as one could realistically expect. In some aspects of the industry, the demand for registered nurses borders on amazing. For example, the rate of growth for nursing careers centered around working in physician offices and home health care services is a remarkable thirty-nine percent.

Registered nurses do much of the heavy lifting in the health care industry. While doctors are off playing doctor, or playing golf, the registered nurses are left behind to make sure that no one dies. This, of course, means a level of mental stress that is not reflected, even remotely, in their pay. The work involved in a nursing career varies tremendously depending upon her position and where she works. Registered nurses working in a doctor’s office will likely have a much different workday than those working careers in nursing at a hospital in a burn unit, for example.

Considering the demands and pressures of the registered nurses’ job, the salary can safely be called a joke. Those working in nursing careers, average about $57,000 a year with the top ten percent of registered nurses earning about $83,000.

Registered nurses enter the profession by obtaining a degree in nursing, an associates degree in nursing, or through an approved nursing career program. Additionally, individuals exploring careers for registered nurses should know that the potential candidates must also be certified through a national licensing examination.