Where A Nurse Needs To Work For The Best Starting Salary

A nurse may pick his or her specialty largely based on professional and personal interest. But before you jump into a degree program it doesn’t hurt to take a good look at pay scales to expect based on what type of degree you earn and what specialty you work in. From a basic hospital RN, who can expect a median wage of about $64,000, to a nurse anesthetist who might earn as much as $140,000. per year (more than some doctors make!), there are a lot of career choices to be made. Here’s an overview of how to match your nursing degree with a particular specialty, and how much starting salary you can look to earn when you finish your nursing degree program.

Here’s also a good illustration of nursing salaries on a state by state basis across the U.S.:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics