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Nursing & Nursing Assistants

Types of Degrees Nursing & Nursing Assistants Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Nursing & Nursing Assistants can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	45,653
Associate’s Degree	2,752
Bachelor’s Degree	14
Master’s Degree	10,849
Doctor’s Degree	5

What Nursing & Nursing Assistants Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Nursing & Nursing Assistants build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Nursing & Nursing Assistants emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Nursing & Nursing Assistants program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Service Orientation — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Coordination — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Nursing & Nursing Assistants careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.6 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.0 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Nursing & Nursing Assistants professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
YouTube	Video creation and editing software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
PointClickCare healthcare software	Medical software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
FaceTime	Video conferencing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates include:

• Long Term Care LPN (Long Term Care Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
• Private Duty Licensed Practical Nurse (Private Duty LPN)
• Charge Nurse
• Clinic Nurse
• Medical LPN (Medical Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Licensed Care Coordinator (LCC)
• Pediatric LPN (Pediatric Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Office Nurse
• Home Health Licensed Practical Nurse (Home Health LPN)
• Private Duty Nurse
• Triage LPN (Triage Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Nursing Home LPN (Nursing Home Licensed Practical Nurse)
• Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN)
• Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Some college courses	37.4%
Postsecondary certificate	34.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	15.7%
Bachelor’s degree	10.9%
High school diploma or equivalent	1.2%
First professional degree	0.1%
Master’s degree	0.1%
Less than a high school diploma	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Nursing & Nursing Assistants?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 88.9% of Nursing & Nursing Assistants degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	88,929	88.9%
Men	11,058	11.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	43,036	43.0%
Asian	5,070	5.1%
Hispanic or Latino	20,460	20.5%
Black or African American	22,051	22.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1,113	1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	341	0.3%
Two or More Races	3,702	3.7%
Race Unknown	3,493	3.5%
International Students	721	0.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Nursing & Nursing Assistants Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$45,399
4 years	$42,279
5 years	$47,962

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $47,962 — roughly 6% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Nursing & Nursing Assistants Programs

Distance learning are documented by IPEDS for Nursing & Nursing Assistants. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	4	5
Bachelor’s	2	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Nursing & Nursing Assistants Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Nursing & Nursing Assistants graduates earn a median of $42,279 four years after completion — roughly 11% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Health Care Professions	51
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	51.05
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	51.08
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	51.09
Alternative and Complementary Medical Support Services	51.34
Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems	51.33
Chiropractic	51.01
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	51.10
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	51.02
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	51.06
Dentistry	51.04
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services	51.31

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.