Business Insider recently published an article that highlighted some pretty grim statistics for salary growth throughout an individual’s career in healthcare, which includes nursing.
The article was based on a study conducted by PayScale.com, an “online salary, benefits and compensation information company.”
Using what it calls the “PayScale Index,” the company forecasts wage growth for a given industry over a 20-year period. Nine out of the top ten careers Payscale identified as the lowest growth potential were in the healthcare industry.
Nursing positions and their respective growth rates that made the list include:
- Nursing director (13.3%)
- Nurse practitioner (11.6%)
- Nurse manager (10.5%)
- Nurse educator (10.1%)
What is unclear about the data is whether or not external factors such as continuing education, training, promotion, overtime pay or change in specialization were considered in the PayScale equation. Put simply, the current dataset assumes nurses’ salary growth is based on the assumption that they stays in one particular role for 20 years.
Years of experience does contribute to salary growth
In fact, we used real-time market intelligence from Burning-Glass.com to gather statistics for 346,819 registered nurse jobs posted in 2013 and found similar results that there was a significant increase in salary, based upon the years of experience required for the role.
|
Years of Experience |
Average Salary |
Percent Change |
|
0 – 2 years |
$66,839 |
– |
|
2 – 5 years |
$70,768 |
5.88% |
|
5 years or more |
$76,241 |
14.01% |
Other ways to increase nursing salary potential
It is clear that years of experience is a significant driver of one’s ability to grow his or her salary, but there are a lot of other ways to increase salary potential without leaving all of your eggs in the experience basket.
- Enroll in continuing education
Many of the highest-paying nursing specialties require a terminal degree. If you start your career with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, you can dramatically increase your salary potential by adding a master’s or doctorate degree.
- Consider relocation
A nurse’s earning potential varies widely between states. California is at the high end with an average salary of $94,310; Alaska comes in last with the average nurse earning $50,980. But once you factor in cost of living in that state, the picture alters even more. Sometimes just crossing your state border may provide the opportunity of a higher salary.
- Work on your negotiation skills
In most organizations, salaries are negotiable. If you work on improving these skills, you have a better chance of capitalizing on that opportunity. Some tips for negotiating include coming prepared with market comparables (from sites like Indeed), taking time to reflect on the offer and being clear with the skills that you bring to the table.
- You have the power to grow your nursing salary
When it comes down to it, nursing is consistently regarded as one of the best career choices. There is a lot to get excited about with above-average job growth and multiple starting salaries that exceed $60,000 for nurses with less than two years’ experience.