If you’re thinking about going back to school to become a nurse practitioner, salary is obviously part of your decision making process. Do the dollars and cents add up when is comes to the time and expense required to enter a new career path? Nurses earn a good living and so before returning to school you’ll want to make sure the numbers crunch favorably.
Salaries for nurses and nurse practitioners vary greatly depending on location and specialty. Today, we’ll look at salary differences for RNs and NPs based on the general setting in which they practice. Gathering salary specifics by setting is difficult, but can be used as a general barometer of what you can expect. We’ll use data gathered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to get the most consistent, accurate information possible.
If you’re a nurse considering a nurse practitioner career, the following table shows just how much more you can expect to earn working as an NP:
Overall, if you are currently working as an RN, you can expect to earn between $36,000 and $40,000 more each year in the NP role depending on the setting in which you’re employed. Nurses transitioning to a nurse practitioner role in the outpatient setting stand to make higher salary gains than their counterparts employed by educational institutions with salaries increasing by $39,460 and $37,390 respectively.
So, what does this nurse practitioner salary data mean for you? If you’re a nurse, you will substantially increase your earning potential by furthering your education to become an NP. Yes, taking the steps to make the transition will be costly, but the expenses you incur in school will be quickly outweighed with a higher salary.
Note: RN and NP salaries vary by specialty and region. It’s important to do further research about the cost of furthering your education as well as how much you can expect to earn as an NP given your own personal circumstances.
Did you see your salary jump when you became a nurse practitioner?