Career Outlook For Nursing
January 4th, 2017
If red-haired orphan Annie was a nurse – or a college student thinking about entering the nursing profession – she would definitely be singing the sun will come out tomorrow. Thats because more than one million positions for registered nurses (RNs) are projected to open up by the year 2022.
Why such a surge in the demand for RNs? Its largely due to an aging population that, because of longer life expectancy, is also sicker and in need of more nursing care. Factor in the growing rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, plus an increased emphasis on preventative care, and its easy to see why the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics is painting such a rosy picture for nurses and nursing grads.
And if youre a nurse with a Bachelors of Science (BSN) degree you can expect even greater opportunities, with nearly 50,000 more positions for nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners expected to open up by 2022 – a 31 percent jump over the number of positions in 2012.
Of course, if youre one of Annies college friends majoring in a field other than nursing, you may continue to find it difficult to land a job in your field. All of which is to say, if your major is currently listed as Undecided, you may want to decide to become an RN.
After all, like Suzanne Prevost, dean and professor at the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama says, nursing is always a marketable degree.