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Nursing

Types of Degrees Nursing Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Nursing may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	2,663
Associate’s Degree	85,232
Bachelor’s Degree	153,340
Master’s Degree	56,706
Doctor’s Degree	13,391

What Nursing Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Nursing emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Therapy and Counseling — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Nursing program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Abilities

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

• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Nursing graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.8 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.6 / 7
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.6 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Nursing professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	✓
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Nursing graduates include:

• Pediatric Oncology Nurse
• Psychiatric RN (Psychiatric Registered Nurse)
• Nurse
• Staff Nurse
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• PACU RN (Post Anesthesia Care Unit Registered Nurse)
• Charge Nurse
• Home Health RN (Home Health Registered Nurse)
• General Duty Nurse
• Telephone Triage Nurse
• Obstetrics Scrub Nurse (OB Scrub Nurse)
• Staff RN (Staff Registered Nurse)
• Flight Nurse
• Obstetrics Nurse (OB Nurse)
• Coronary Care Unit Nurse (CCU Nurse)

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	44.7%
Bachelor’s degree	23.8%
Doctoral degree	10.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	8.7%
Postsecondary certificate	7.6%
First professional degree	1.5%
Post-master’s certificate	1.4%
Post-doctoral training	1.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	0.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.2%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Nursing?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 86.5% of Nursing degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	269,459	86.5%
Men	41,913	13.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	164,642	52.9%
Asian	23,682	7.6%
Hispanic or Latino	50,989	16.4%
Black or African American	45,035	14.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1,563	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	873	0.3%
Two or More Races	9,824	3.2%
Race Unknown	12,024	3.9%
International Students	2,740	0.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Nursing Graduates Earn?

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

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$83,453
4 years	$80,149
5 years	$90,156

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $90,156 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Nursing Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Nursing. 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	15	68
Bachelor’s	227	379
Master’s	520	208
Doctoral (Research)	71	33

^{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 Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Nursing graduates earn a median of $80,149 four years after completion — roughly 111% 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.