Having a master’s degree in nursing opens the door to many of today’s top nursing careers. 

Nurses with MSN degrees, for example, can get nursing jobs as: 

• Nurse anesthetists
• Nurse practitioners
• Clinical nurse specialists
• Certified nurse-midwives
• Nurse informaticists

Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) administer anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures. They work in hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, private offices and pain management practices. 

Nurses in the profession need at least a master’s degree in nursing. By 2022, all CRNA programs will replace their MSN degree programs with either the Doctor of Nurse Practice (DNP) or Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP), according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. 

CRNAs are top earners in the nursing profession. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports CRNAs make an average annual income of $174,790 or an average hourly wage of $84.03. The top 75% of CRNAs earn an average $198,470 salary, according to BLS. The profession is growing faster than most. 

The outlook for nurse anesthetists through 2028 is a 26% increase in jobs, with an average 3,200 openings each year during the next decade, according to BLS.

Nursing informatics is where the science and practice of nursing meets information technology to promote health. Nurse informaticists develop communication and information technologies, as well as educate and conduct research. They’re CNOs, chief information officers, software engineers, implementation consultants and policy developers. Some are business owners, according to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). Read more about what these nurses do in our blog about the career. 

Nurse informaticists need at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing. But employers tend to prefer a master’s degree, especially when filling executive roles in informatics. 

More than half of nurse informaticists had master’s or doctoral degrees, according to the 2017 HIMSS Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey. Most of the master’s-prepared nurses had an MSN degree. There are master’s in nursing informatics degrees, including RN-to-MSN programs and online programs. 

Nearly half of those surveyed by HIMSS reported making more than $100,000 annually, and 8 in 10 nursing informaticists were satisfied or highly satisfied with their roles.