RN to MSN Online

One of the best reasons to consider getting a master of science in nursing (MSN) degree is the higher salary you’ll receive in your advanced nursing position. Due to the nursing shortage, this is already a field where you have a high earning potential. Let’s take a look at the even higher salary rates you can expect to earn with an MSN.

Salary by MSN Specialty

If you earn an MSN, you can choose one of four career routes: clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, and nurse midwife. Depending on the specialty choose, here are the salaries you can expect:

• Clinical Nurse Specialist: $80,975
• Nurse Practitioner: $84,250
• Nurse Anesthetist: $154,188
• Nurse Midwife: $90,119

After you graduate, you can also go on to get your doctorate in the nursing, which allows you to earn even more money in the nursing field. As you gain experience, you’ll typically make more money, especially if you continue to work with a single employer.

MSN Salary by Medical Department

So far, we’ve used “specialty” to mean the type of nursing work you do, but it can also mean the type of patient you treat. RNs typically learn more general nursing skills, but in a master’s degree program, you have the ability to learn more about a specific type of patient. Some of the highest-paying specialties in this respect are psychiatry, pediatrics, and orthopedics – in all of these departments, you can expect to an average salary of over $81,000 annually. Other top medical specialties include gerontology, emergency care, an neonatal nursing. You can also make more money by working as a traveling nurse, where you’ll move from facility to facility to serve as a temporary nurse until permanent employees can be hired. Not only will you get to travel in this role, but you’ll also be paid a higher salary in most cases.

Making More Money as a Nurse

There are a few other ways you can make more money as a nurse with an MSN degree. First, consider your location. If you move to a state or city where nurses are in high demand, you’ll automatically be offered a higher salary in most cases. You can also make more money by gaining leadership experience. Nurses who are placed in charge of other nurses typically make a higher salary.