Nurse Informatics MSN Info (Salary, experience, etc)

[Chicago445]

Hello fellow nurses! I have a BSN in nursing with 5 years clinical experience. I am in the process of returning to school (online program) to get a masters in Nurse Informatics, my first session begins January, 2016. I was doing some research on salary expectation and didn't find much information and the information I did find there were major salary gaps. For instance on one site they said master entry level informatics nurses make 50-60K while another said said 90-100K. I recently applied to a job at one of the top hospitals in Chicag, although my app was declined :-( I decided to email the nurse recruiter asking for all the helpful info she knows about NI. Not thinking she would give me the time of day she actually responded with a lot of good information. I've copied some of her response verbatim below..

"...In regards to salary, it is honestly going to depend on the institution, the area, equity, and the amount of experience you have. Education is extremely valuable and is something that will always make you stick out from other applicants. It definitely helps to increase your salary as well, however I usually see experience being weighted higher than education in similar roles. I would suggest to look into job postings around the Chicago area to see what the minimum requirements are. Generally positions like these will require a BSN but prefer an MSN, and there is a hard requirement on the amount of years of experience. If there is a hard requirement on experience, hiring managers will be a bit more lenient on an educational requirement or preference and vice versa. This will help you determine how much of a difference an MSN may make in salary.

To give a bit more insight, at (deleted hospital name), we consider this a higher-level position, and the salary starts at $71,000 but we do ask for 7-10 years of clinical experience. We require a BSN but prefer an MSN so any candidate with an MSN is considered a priority. The average salary we see is around $90,000 - $100,000 yearly. We value both education and experience relatively equally however I will note the majority of our Informatics Nurses have already had their MSN or were enrolled at the time of hire.

I am comfortable saying an Informatics Nurse with a Master's degree and minimal experience can start in the $70,000 - $80,000 yearly range. I feel $50,000 - $60,000 is a very low number and is closer in range to that of a newer staff nurse...."

This information helped me a lot, it's hard finding info on this major so I hope this will help another fellow RN whose considering pursuing NI. God bless!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

thread moved for best response

[sweetlilwolf]

At my system a MSN doesn't get you much more than a BSN. I'm in Milwaukee wi. It really depends on location too... at our place entry level NI with no IT experience but RN clinical experience is starting at about 60ish. Then goes up from there.

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

In my organization -- 14-hospital system in Memphis, TN -- neither an MSN nor a BSN nets any additional pay over an ADN. The only thing the degree gets you is a leg up on the competition. No additional pay for IT experience, either. It all comes down to experience as an RN and how long you've worked for the organization.

Entry level NI in my organization is about 65k.

[MusicNurse1]

Thanks for sharing this info. This seems comparable to what I've found to be the case in my area (East Coast).

[NavySRNA]

Hello all,

I really need some help. I have to interview a nursing informatics specialist for a class I'm taking, and I don't know that I've ever even met a person in this field. Is there anyone on here that may have a few mins tomorrow to answer a few questions for me? I have a list of interview questions just to give you an idea of what I am looking for. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

1. What advice do you have for new nurses in informatics?

2. How do you engage nurses in taking a more active voice in the informatics decision making at their hospital?

3. In what professional development activities have you been involved with in the past?

4. What is your favorite area to work on? Roll out? Innovation? Needs assessments?

5. What changes do you see truly impacting the healthcare delivery?

6. How does your practice interrelate to your research interests and practice?

7. What is your most challenging/satisfying informatics experience?

If you're available to help, my number is 919-440-9710

[diosa78]

I have found that salaries vary depending on what industry you work in. Hospitals pay less and generally employ more nurse informaticists. Medical device companies and tech companies tend to pay more (starting salaries around 110K). They also tend to employ nurses with the health informatics or biomedical informatics degrees, one being more project focused and the other being more technical focused.

[JStahl]

Great information, thanks for sharing everyone! I always wondered about salaries around the US for nurses working in IT. I currently reside and work in Connecitcut where the cost of living is very high. You can start out here making around $70K but can quickly get moved up. I work as a lead system analyst (after working for 5 years clinically and 5 years in IT, have an MSN) and I would say the salaries are in the $85-$100K range.