With a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, job and career opportunities flourish. Boost your career possibilities and salary potential with a CCNE-accredited RN to BSN program from the well-established and nationally ranked Loyola University New Orleans. Demand for professionals with higher levels of education is now greater than ever. In fact, as the baby-boomer population ages, the need for health care facilities and high-quality coordinated care is increasing. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that 45.1% of hospitals and other health care settings require new hires to have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, while 79.6% of employers are expressing a strong preference for BSN program graduates.1 With this growing demand, it is more critical now than ever to earn a RN-BSN that leads to provision of superior patient care and opens doors to competitive salary and benefits.
RN NURSES WITH A BSN CAN EARN MORE
Nurses with higher education are well positioned within health care organizations to also hold higher-ranked job titles that come with larger salaries. According to Payscale’s salary survey, nurses with a BSN and less than 4 years of experience earn 11% more salary than their ASN-educated peers and 32% more salary than their nursing diploma-educated peers do.2
DEGREE MEDIA SALARY BY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
| Years of Experience | Diploma | Associate's | Bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 4 years | $50,000 | $59,510 | $66,115 |
| 5-9 years | $56,400 | $64,726 | $71,018 |
| 10-19 years | $65,037 | $63,822 | $77,474 |
| 20 years or more | $70,143 | $66,242 | $80,575 |
Source: Payscale
CAREER PATHS FOR BSN GRADUATES
New nursing graduates often begin their careers working in acute care settings, where they are met with diverse patients, each requiring various levels of care according to their own particular needs. With a BSN degree, the options for employment are wide-ranging and seemingly endless, especially considering the increasing demand for professionals who hold this valuable degree demonstrating their ability to provide exceptional care and make informed decisions in the twenty-first century’s fast-paced health care environment.
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | 61% |
| Nursing and residential care facilities | 7 |
| Offices of physicians | 7 |
| Home healthcare services | 6 |
| Government | 6 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics3