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Career Advice on How to Become A Nursing Instructor or Teacher at the Postsecondary Level

General Career Information

Due to the fact that nurses need to have college degrees in nursing, it should come as no real surprise that nursing instructors and teachers do much of their work at the postsecondary level.  It is also important to note that the overwhelming majority of nursing instructors and nursing teachers have themselves been nurses at some point.  The good news is this means that they understand the job.  Registered nurses usually either have a bachelor’s of science in nursing or an associate degree in nursing.  

Anyone currently involved in career planning should learn more about nursing before putting this career at the top of their job search list.  Nursing is a demanding field that does have a good degree of burnout.  Nurses can work very long hours and are often vastly underpaid and under-appreciated.  Those looking to become a nursing instructor or teacher will need to be intimately familiar with the field.
 

Career Facts:

The nation is expected to have a considerable shortage of nurses in the coming decades.  This is due in large part to the millions of baby boomers that are expected to retire.  With their retirement, it is expected that the nation’s medical infrastructure will show serious signs of strain in attempts to accommodate the enormous amount of new elderly patients. 

 

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook- Excellent:

As of 2008, there were about 2.6 million nurses working in the United States alone.  Since the demand for nurses is expected to be very strong, with a job growth rate of twenty-two percent between 2008 and 2018, it is also certain that there will be a strong demand for nursing instructors and teachers at the post secondary level.  In short, the job opportunities for nursing instructors and teachers should mirror the growth of the nursing industry.
 
Job Outlook is Excellent
 

A Day in The Life:

Nursing instructors and teachers are in a unique position among postsecondary teachers. The lives of people that they will never met or know may depend upon how well they are able to teach their students.  Thus, unlike their teaching peers in the postsecondary teaching world, nursing instructors and teachers need to be certain that their students truly know what they are suppose to learn.  Increasingly, nurses are called upon to perform many of the tasks that have been traditionally performed by doctors.

Nursing instructors and teachers will find that their work environment, in some ways, is similar to other postsecondary teachers.  Nursing instructors and teachers will need to prepare lesson plans, relay certain information and show detail examples of how to perform different procedures.
 

Average Salary:

The average nursing instructor or teacher can expect to earn about $63,000 teaching at a university or college, and about $60,000 teaching at a junior college.

$63k

 

Career Training and Qualifications:

As with most postsecondary teacher positions, a graduate degree for nursing instructors and teachers is preferred.
 
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