Nursing Careers are More Promising Than Ever, Here's Why

The world needs more nurses. The high level of demand has made the field a seller’s market. In other words, if you have the training and skills required for nursing, you are in an excellent position to find lucrative and rewarding work in this important field.

In this article, we take a look at some of the many reasons that now is a great time to consider a career in nursing.

High Demand

Most people are well aware that nursing jobs are in high demand right now. While this situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic, it was actually a long time coming. Why? The simple reason is that, for years, there have been more people leaving the profession than entering it.

This is a very bad dynamic for the healthcare system. It is, however, advantageous for people considering a career in nursing. Even someone who has yet to enroll in a nursing education program can expect to be met by a receptive job market.

Not only will this make it easy to find post-graduate employment, but it will also give you the ability to be selective. The odds that you will be able to find a job working at a hospital or doctor’s office that is compatible with your lifestyle goals is much more pronounced in an industry with more job openings than there are people to fill them.

Evolving Culture

There can be no denying that nursing is a very difficult career path. While the purpose of this article is to talk nursing up, it’s also true that this work won’t be for everyone. Even people with the skills and personality that are vital to nursing have been driven out of the profession by the work culture.

For years, nurses have complained of the long shifts (usually twelve hours in length and often overnight) the difficult pace, and the general lack of support from hospital management.

While these problems still exist they have been put under the microscope in recent years. As nurses have left the profession in droves, healthcare systems have had no choice but to examine the work environment they are facilitating and make changes accordingly.

The pandemic may have exacerbated many of the above-stated pain points, but it also gave nurses a highly visible platform from which to voice their complaints. The world saw firsthand how heroic and vital nurses are.

In other words, everyone knows that the world needs happy, healthy nurses, and hospitals have realized that they need to do everything they can to produce these conditions, or risk losing their staff as a consequence.

Competitive Wages

Nurses are also usually well compensated, with a median salary that exceeds that of the national average. While you shouldn’t expect to get rich from the field of nursing, you will enjoy competitive wages, with the potential for advancement that comes with the accumulation of experience, and perhaps further education.

Enticing Opportunities

Nurses working today also benefit from very lucrative and enticing career opportunities. These are usually the product of travel. Travel nurses have the opportunity to select areas they are interested in working in. They are usually provided room and board, and transportation.

While they work in their placement, they are paid wages that far exceed the national average—sometimes over \$100 an hour.

Not only are these extravagant opportunities there to entice people with an itch for travel but they can also (potentially) benefit homebodies as well.

While the field of travel nursing has, historically, existed as a way to assist high-need areas, that definition has broadened in the last several years. Now, hospitals everywhere are short-staffed. The result? Many travel nurses have been able to find placements within driving distance of their homes.

Opportunities for Growth and Advancement

While people don’t always think of nursing as being a career path with significant mobility, there are opportunities for growth and advancement. Many of these require further education. For example, you will need to go back to school if you want to become a nurse practitioner — though you will be rewarded for the effort with a lucrative career that allows you to perform most of the same responsibilities as a family doctor.

Nurses can also advance into supervisor positions which feature higher wages, and typically more scheduling flexibility.

It’s also worth remembering that nursing as a profession doesn’t always take place at the patient’s bedside. There are many ways to provide healthcare in doctor’s offices, private health clinics, and other avenues.

The key is to find a placement you are comfortable, with and find out what sort of training and education will be required to help you achieve your goals.