8 Lucrative Career Pathways for Nurses
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2023, registered nurses make a median annual wage of $86,070. Becoming a registered nurse is already a great move for your career—and after you’ve reached RN status, there are lots of even better career pathways for nurses to consider.
Below, we’re going to explore some of the best career pathways for nurses. Read on to learn more about eight different pathways to becoming a nurse in a specialized field, and to discover what makes each of these nursing pathways both personally and professionally rewarding.
1. Become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
This is a registered nurse career path that lets you help make patients comfortable during surgery and beyond. The average CRNA works with patients to create a patient history and to discuss the types of anesthesia that will be used during the procedure. When it comes to the procedure itself and the recovery period, you’ll administer pain medications and anesthesia while monitoring the patient and their vital signs so that you can make adjustments as necessary.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
This nursing pathway provides ample opportunities to learn and develop skills. You’ll need to start your pathway to becoming a nurse by obtaining an RN license, and you’ll also need to invest in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing plus at least two years of relevant critical care experience.
On top of the skills you’ll get to learn, this registered nurse career path offers robust networking opportunities, which can help you advance your career even further—or find the perfect position at a facility of your choice. CRNAs work in a variety of settings, from hospital ORs to outpatient surgery centers, private practices, pain management centers, and more.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
CRNAs make some of the best salaries possible in nursing. BLS statistics from May 2023 show that nurse anesthetists make a median wage of $212,650.
2. Become a Certified Nurse Midwife
Pursue this nursing pathway if obstetrics is your passion. Certified nurse midwives provide care for patients throughout labor and delivery, and they can also provide postpartum assistance, too. Some nurse midwives also offer more generalized gynecological healthcare services.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
This is a registered nurse career path that offers opportunities to work in a variety of settings, from hospitals to birthing clinics and private practices. In fact, it’s one of few pathways to becoming a nurse who runs a private practice. Some states allow members of this nursing pathway to operate independently.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
This is another lucrative career pathway for nurses. Certified nurse midwives can expect a median salary of $129,650 according to BLS data from 2023. It’s a growing field, too. The number of nurse midwife positions is expected to grow by 7% between 2023 and 2033.
3. Become a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse
The neonatal intensive care career pathway for nurses will usually see you working in intensive care units for infants, although there are opportunities to work in private practices or as a private nurse. It means you’ll be caring for premature newborns and newborns with other critical conditions. It can be a high-stress position, but because you’re providing a vital service to young families, it can also be an extremely rewarding one.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
When you embark on the pathway to becoming a nurse in neonatal intensive care, you’ll discover opportunities available in a variety of different settings. Most will find positions in neonatal intensive care units, but there is also a demand for neonatal nursing outside of hospital settings, too. There are opportunities to provide care beyond the newborn phases, and some neonatal nurses work in well-baby clinics or private practice settings.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
This is another career pathway for nurses that pays well above the average for a basic RN. According to ZipRecruiter, neonatal intensive care nurses can expect an average salary of $128,211 per year.
4. Become a General Nurse Practitioner
If you’ve already started your registered nurse career path by becoming an RN, becoming a general nurse practitioner (GNP), is a great way to level up your career and open up all kinds of additional nursing pathways. You’ll need more advanced education—but you’ll be able to provide a higher level of care, earn more money, and pursue many more career opportunities.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
The pathway to becoming a nurse practitioner leads to a high degree of career flexibility. You can find positions in almost every setting imaginable, from hospitals to private practices, outpatient clinics, urgent care clinics, and more. In many states, you can even set up your own private practice.
Additionally, this nursing pathway opens up doors to further career pathways for nurses. With the right education, GNPs can specialize in almost any medical field,, which gives you the freedom to pursue your passions.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
This career pathway for nurses is another that pays well above the median for RNs: BLS statistics reveal that GNPs can expect a median salary of $126,260. On top of that, demand in this field is enormous. The total number of GNPs is expected to grow by 46% between 2023 and 2033.
5. Become a Clinical Nurse Specialist
This can be a long registered nurse career path since clinical nurse specialists need a high degree of education—usually a Master's or Doctorate of Nursing in a specialized area. However, it’s rewarding in that this is a career pathway for nurses that is all about choosing a focus area or specific disease. For example, some clinical nurse specialists focus on rehabilitation, pain management, dermatology, or emergency care. Others may choose to specialize in specific diseases like diabetes or cancer.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
This nursing pathway is ideal for anyone who wants to focus on a particular specialty. Once you’ve selected your specialty, you’ll be able to seriously develop your skills in that area.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
Clinical nurse specialists make a median salary of $125,000 per year, according to Glassdoor. However, keep in mind that this can vary based on the specialty that you select. As you consider the pathway to becoming a nurse with a clinical specialty, look out for specialties that are in high demand in your area, since these could offer substantially higher wages.
6. Become a Pain Management Nurse
This career pathway for nurses is about helping patients manage pain of all types. That could mean post-surgical pain, chronic pain, or even pain management for injuries. This nursing pathway typically requires that you have a minimum of two years of bedside experience before you begin pain management training.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
The pathway to becoming a nurse in pain management opens up doors to work in various unconventional settings. While many pain management nurses work in hospital settings, you’ll also find many opportunities in drug dependency clinics, oncology clinics, fitness centers, rehabilitation centers, or even sports medicine practices.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
Pain management nurses can expect to make on average $124,957 per year, according to Indeed.
7. Become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
If you have a particular interest in mental health, this is a great nursing pathway to pursue. You can work with physicians who specialize in psychiatric health to counsel patients, or you can work with patients separately, prescribing medications and offering therapy to treat substance abuse, mental health disorders, dementia, and more.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
Pathways to becoming a nurse practitioner in this area allow you to build your skills in the field of mental health. It also offers a variety of opportunities outside of hospitals, like within addiction centers, outpatient clinics, or long-term care facilities.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
As noted above, the demand for nurse practitioners is enormous, with the number of positions available expected to grow by 46% between 2022 and 2023. For psychiatric nurse practitioners, demand may be even greater since there is a large need for mental health services in the United States.
This is also a high-paying field. According to PayScale, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners earn a median wage of $121,642 per year.
8. Become a Public Health or Health Policy Nurse
Interested in a registered nurse career path that focuses on the big picture? Public health and health policy nurses do just that. Rather than working with individual patients, this nursing pathway will have you working with particular populations or communities to improve overall health. For example, you could work in government to help inform public health policies, work in hospitals to develop hospital policies, or even work with international health organizations to research various threats to public health and develop solutions to combat them.
Why It’s Personally Rewarding
This registered nurse career path is less about practicing medicine for individuals and more about serving the common good. In governmental roles, you’ll be helping your community, whereas other roles may see you serving disadvantaged communities or working toward solving a specific widespread public health concern.
Why It’s Professionally Rewarding
Salaries for this registered nurse career path can vary widely, but according to ZipRecruiter, health policy nurses earn an averge $117,469 per year.
Partner With AAOPM to Pursue Your Nursing Career Pathway
The registered nurse career paths that we listed above are some of the most personally and professionally rewarding opportunities available. However, where nursing is concerned, the sky is virtually the limit. There are many more pathways and specialties to consider—and most offer a fantastic wage, plus plenty of opportunities to further your career through education and networking opportunities.
When it comes time to advance your nursing career, be sure to check out the courses offered through the AAOPM. Our certification programs offer an accessible way to gain the skills you need to pursue your chosen pathway.
