Top 15 Highest Paying Career Change Options For Nurses: Nurses are among the most trusted professionals in the world, but are often under-appreciated. They have to deal with a lot of emotional ups and down on the job due to the long shifts and lack of pay and appreciation they face.
Luckily, there are plenty of career options for nurses seeking a career change, be it in a hospital or non-hospital setting to a less stressful and well-paying career alternative.
In our previous article, we looked at the Top 10 Highest Paying Countries for Nurses. This article will dive into the Highest Paying Career Change Options For Nurses! Then we’ll discuss a few tips for switching careers.
Is A Career In Nursing Hard To Achieve?
The appropriate answer to this question is relative. While a career in nursing could be difficult for some, others could choose from a wide range of nursing vocations with maximum satisfaction. So, nursing could appear to be challenging but it all depends on what you consider to be challenging.
Is It Time To Make a Career Change?
A career change is of the the life-altering decisions one could make. There are some skills you have gained in the nursing profession that could be of great addition to your success in an another profession.
There are so many exciting opportunities available for a nursing graduate that could offer you your desired work-life balance.
Here are a few indicators that you need career shift.
1. Burnout
Nursing job might require you to be your feet all day lifting patients, providing care round wards and this may at some point cause back, knee and feet pain. Once you fell like your health is in danger you should consider a career vacation, you need to be able to care for patients without putting your health at risk.
2. Lack Of Motivation
As time goes by you might start getting use to your routine of performing patient evaluations, understanding electronic medical records, working with ancillary specialist and your interest might begin to dwindle. At this point you could consider making a career switch and step out of your comfort zone.
3. A Desire For Higher Pay
If you are not overly satisfied with your salary, you might want to research better paying career options. This might require you to consider options outside or within the hospital.
4. Need A New Work Environment
Nurses are needed for a wide range of positions, from management, education to advanced practice. If you feel you need a new work environment, you could consider upgrading your skill set and resume then consider applying for jobs in other areas where your skills are required.
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Things To Do Before Changing Career As A Nurse
Before the life changing decision of a career change, here are a few factors to consider to help you decider whether to make that shift.
- Asses your likes and dislikes
- List your skills and strengths as a nurse
- Decide what you want
- Research careers and salaries
- Consult a career coach
- Pursue more education or training
- Update your resume to reflect transferable skills
- Create a well-crafted career pivot cover letter
- Apply for a new job.
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Transferrable Nursing Skills For A Career Change
There are certain skills that are not peculiar to just one job role, these skills could be useful in other job roles. When considering a career shift, these skills should be put into consideration to know what other jobs you will be a math for.
Here is a list of some transferable nursing skills that could aid a career change
- Analytics
- Leadership
- Compassion
- Negotiation
- Instructional
- Interpersonal
- Organizational
- Detail Oriented
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Decision Making
- Problem Solving
15 Highest Paying Career Change Options For Nurses
The best career change options for nurses are jobs that require nursing skills in addition to soft and organizational skills.
Here are the Highest Paying Career Change Options For Nurses you should consider.
1. Nurse Writer / Medical Writer
A Nurse writers writes to educate people on different healthcare topics in forms of articles, books or scripts about nursing. They earn a salary range of between $60,000 – $121,000. For a shift to this career option, you will require an associate’s degree (ADN) or bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN), with work experience as a registered nurse.
2. Telemedicine Nurse
A telemedicine nurse, uses telecommunication methods such as video call, phone, email, and messaging to provide patient care. This career shift requires an associate’s degree (ADN/ASN) or bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN). They earn an average $48,000 – $105,000.
3. Public Health Nurse
A Public Health Nurse job is to educates the general public, this could be done through community-based intervention programs. An associate’s degree in nursing (ADN/ASN) or a hospital-based diploma program is usually sufficient for this role. They earn an average of $45,000 – $106,000.
4. Specialist In Clinical Informatics
If you enjoy handling clinical information and can work with a bulk of medical records you might want to consider this career shift. Specialist in clinical information makes the medical records easily accessible, lecture staff on how use data repositories, brainstorm on ideas to enhance management. They earn on an average roughly between $45,000 – $156,000. A bachelor’s degree in nursing, informatics, health information management, or related field is required.
6. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
They educate doctors and medical specialists about the newest pharmaceutical products on the market. They earn an average of $43,000 – $103,000. For a career shift in this path a bachelor’s degree and a Certified National Pharmaceutical Representative certification is required.
7. Nurse Lobbyist
Nurse lobbyists make use their voice, power, and knowledge to influence healthcare-related bills. They usually have strong interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills. and they are registered with the state. They earn between $42,000 – $145,000.
8. Director Of Case Management
Director of case management make sure patients receives quality care from when they walked in to when they are discharged. They also provider policies and procedure to the clinic or healthcare to follow to ensure quality service. The average salary received by the case management director is estimated as $97,560.
9. Nurse Educator
As a nurse educator you get to work as a lecturer in a nursing school, you can work with an hospitals to offer staff assessments and training programs or choose to be a laboratory or clinical instructor. Nurse educators are paid an average of $78,505 as recorded in march 2022
10. Clinical Documentation Specialist
A clinical documentation specialist helps the clinic or healthcare maintain their records, they make sure that patients records area accessible to healthcare providers. They earn an annual salary of $76,283.
11. Insurance Nurse
Insurance nurses assess patients’ medical records, treatment options, and claims, and review, manage, and process health insurance appeals and claims. An associate’s degree (ADN) or bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) is required for this job role. They can earn a salary rang between $38,000 – $76,000.
12. Nursing Quality Improvement Coordinator
Nursing quality improvement coordinator ensure nurses keep medical records, conduct quality assurance audits and follow policies. To shift to this career you will need RN license, BSN and a five year work experience. Their annual salary is approximately $74,375.
13. Clinical Manager
A clinical manager ensures the organization and efficient operation of the clinic or department the job also includes the purchase of tools and supplies. they usually work on shits they are paid an average annual salary of $72,612.
14. Social Worker
You can choose to pursue a job as a social worker with a nursing degree. You can work the elderly, low income earners or incarcerated social workers to provide assistance or counsel. They could earn an average of $$50,499 with an salary range of $36,000–$70,000, according to BLS
15. Healthcare Recruiter
An healthcare recruiter plans and coordinates the recruitment process of the organization, this includes job ads posting, screening process, interviews, negotiation and salaries. A bachelor’s degree in human resources, healthcare administration, business administration is required for this role. The average salary is between $34,000 – $64,000.
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Conclusion
Nursing can be a rewarding profession, there are a whole lot of options when it comes to choosing an alternate career path. Your nursing knowledge and skills can offer you an opportunity to work in a variety of settings, there are a variety of roles that nurses can play outside and within the medical setting.
