Did you know that in the health care allied industry, registered nurses form the largest in terms of numbers? Approximately sixty percent of RNs are working in hospitals. Though they are required to work for long hours on irregular shifting and may be called on a moment’s notice, the position is still high in demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nursing career is projected to grow up to 22 percent from 2008 to 2018.

Moreover, the nursing profession offers a number of career advancement paths to higher-paying jobs. With the high demand for this profession, the roles and responsibilities of nurses are becoming more dynamic as well. Besides working in hospital institutions, they can choose to apply in different health care areas where nursing services are highly needed. The decision to choose the area of practice depends on several factors like professional expertise, work setting requirements, personal interest and compensation. Yes, compensation. Since, the nursing career is a very taxing job, nurses should be compensated properly. If you are like the many, who is aspiring to succeed in this career, following are the top nursing jobs today that are offering high pay and compensation to successful applicants:

Nursing Administrators/Directors
Nursing administrators and directors are the people responsible for supervising and managing not only the nursing department, but all the other allied health professionals employed by the health care institutions. The Chief Nursing develops and monitors the overall budget and expenditure, performance and conduct reviews or employees in line with the requirements set by state and federal regulators for patient care. Average salary of Nursing administrators and directors are $176,475 per year.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
In the past thirty years, this industry has dramatically grown, offering nurses a greater extent of autonomy and choice in their desired field. Today, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists is one of the highest paid nursing careers today. Their primary role is to administer anesthesia to patients. They also communicate with surgeons, dentists, anesthesiologists and podiatrists on whether the medications are safe for the patients or not. On average, the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist is earning $135,000 per year.

Nurse Researcher
Their average salary is $95,000 per year. They work as analysts. They may be hired by private companies or nonprofits organization. They are responsible for publishing research studies based on collected data on health care products, services and practices.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
Like the nurse researchers, they are receiving an average pay of $95,000 per year. They are the ones who provide immediate care and consultation to patients suffering from mental health disorders.

Travel Nurse
Travel nurses receive one of the most competitive pay and benefits in the industry, sometimes much better than nurses who are working in full-time and permanent positions. They normally garner between $30 and $50 per hour while on assignment. Many companies allow their nurse travelers to join in their 401(k) plans as well. (more…)