Working in nursing takes a lot of commitment and can mean being available when people in some other careers will have finished for the day. So, seeking to further your opportunities and increase your pay helps to compensate for this. Here are some ways to improve your earnings as a nurse.
Table of Contents
Further degrees
If you have an existing nursing degree, you can always take another qualification that builds on that. For example, DNP online programs help you learn about and focus more on different aspects of nursing. After gaining your degree, you will have more choices available to you. Many of them will be more highly paid, reflecting the time and effort you’ve put into learning.
If you’re in a nursing role already, you will know how time-consuming it is, leaving little free time for study. So, it’s great that some universities, like Wilkes, offer online learning. After completing a course, it will also say a lot about you and your commitment to this profession. Healthcare employers know and understand the challenges nursing professionals face in their roles and when they’re juggling these with extra qualifications. That understanding can help you be successful in securing higher-paid positions with more responsibilities.
Work placements
Nursing degrees often include a work placement that lets you put your newfound knowledge into practice. It’s also something else you can mention on your resumé when seeking other opportunities in the healthcare industry. Even if you’re already working in nursing, it helps to get further experience specific to the degree you’re studying.
Training at work
Getting extra qualifications is a big commitment, and if that’s too much, or you already hold more than one nursing degree, you might not want to commit to another. However, you can still increase your chances of getting higher-paid roles by asking for training. Many workplaces will offer training to their nursing staff. When the opportunity is presented, volunteer yourself. Depending on the specific training, it can open further opportunities for you, such as leadership roles. This may mean extra responsibilities in your current job or an opportunity for training within another position. If these don’t offer higher pay to start with, they will once you’ve completed the training and/or probation period.
You May Also Like: Tips to Advancing Your Nursing Career.
Voluntary work in the local community
Even if you’ve gone as far as you’re willing to go with your education and there are no relevant training opportunities available, you can still find voluntary work. This doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. Even just a few hours once a week in your local community can help you achieve a more varied experience. It looks great on your resumé if further opportunities are advertised at your current workplace or if you want to change employers.
It also lets you experience different aspects of healthcare, which you might not see in your current role. You may be treating or offering advice to patients who can’t or won’t seek help from a doctor or hospital for a variety of reasons. You will deal with a range of issues from patients in the local community.
Of course, voluntary work isn’t paid, but like further qualifications, work placements, and training at work, it can be an investment in your future. It can build on your current knowledge and experience so that you can gain higher-paid roles.
Making an impression in your current role
In addition to some of these suggestions, making an impression in your job can also lead to better-paid opportunities. We all know the hours can be long, and nursing staff often receive little thanks for the work they do. So, by showing up every day, being friendly, offering a reassuring smile even to those who don’t return it, and always asking, what else can I do, then doing it, can set you apart. It’s easy to let the job get to you from time to time or to have off days, but if you can find a way to present this friendly and caring image, even on the days you’re not feeling it, you’re more likely to be considered for higher-paid roles when they become available. Sometimes, training can be offered if you don’t match the requirements, but attitude is harder to change.
Many of these suggestions will require working or studying for a while without an increase in earnings. However, as many in the nursing profession join up to have a lifelong career, these suggestions should be seen as an investment in your future. You are working towards unlocking higher-earning roles.