Can a bachelors degree in other areas affect pay?

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

Didn't do anything for me. Perhaps it impacted getting my first job (coveted position in a critical care internship); I doubt it, though.

mindlor · Nov 10, 2011

Nothing personal but from a patient perspective I hope I never et an online educated nurse....I dont even see how its possible?

loriangel14, RN · Nov 10, 2011

No.You won't get paid more for having a degree in another field.

foreverLaur · Nov 10, 2011

Nothing personal but from a patient perspective I hope I never et an online educated nurse....I dont even see how its possible?

Most online programs are actually hybrid. Lectures/seminars are online, exams are at a testing center, labs are on campus, and clinicals are done around the city. My program is for those with previous bachelors degrees and that's how it is set up. I know of several like this. It is called an "online nursing program" but it really is a hybrid. I'm very close with my classmates and faculty.

noahsmama · Nov 10, 2011

Having the MBA might be useful if you ever want to go into management, though you'll still need several years experience as an RN first. The other BA is pretty much irrelevant. I have a PhD in another field and I don't get paid a penny more because of it (didn't expect to).

I think having another degree in a different field only helps if it's closely related to the field of nursing you go into. For example, one of the other students in my nursing program had a masters degree in gerontology and this helped her to get her a management position at an assisted living facility. Having a BA in psych might help you get a job as a psych nurse (but not any additional pay).

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

I asked this question on the student general board. Just wanted to know from you guys.
Out of curiosity, I currently have a BA and I will be finishing my MBA this year. I just got accepted to a nursing program for Spring 2012. Is there anyone who has found their degrees in other areas to be useful in their field of nursing in any capacity, like salary for instance? Has anyone been offered more money or are they still started with the standard salary. If you have, what do you do in the nursing field? I have seen many jobs as case managers, insurance companies, and things like that that I may be interested in.

First, for most case management..........experience as a RN is required. You need a working base knowledge of patient care and patient needsa s well as general knowledge of the system so you can navigate it effectively. You might get hired over another canidate but it will not gain you anymore cash.....you haven't even started LPN school and you are anticipating your strategy on how to get away form the bedside when you become an RN....That makes me sad and mad.

Why become a nurse at all? I wish you all the best, but I get frustrated with those who enter the field with a plan in place to get out....and I wonder, why become a nurse at all?

I too have serious reservations about online schools.......for being a nurse I don't think learning how to be one online can make you the kind of nurse nurses should be.....JMHO.

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

I'm a second degree BSN. I've been working as a nurse for 25 years, working professionally 40 years. In nursing, I never got an extra dime for my non-nursing academic career. However, I HAVE gotten extra money for my BSN.

I had sort of expected that my prior degrees would add up to some $ in my nursing career but that just never happened for me.

dasburyRN · Nov 10, 2011

Hopkins gives new grads credit for past work experience that requires use of a previous bachelors degree. For every 3 years of work experience in your prior field, they give you 1 year pay increase.

RNperdiem, RN · Nov 10, 2011

Afraid not. BA degrees are not exactly rare anymore, and there are a lot of people who were taught to "go to college".

People went to college with little thought towards career plans afterwards graduated with degrees that do not lead to a good job.

So, then many of these new college grads enroll in nursing school or elsewhere to acquire marketable skills.

About half of my nursing school class in community college had college degrees.

allnurses Guide · Nov 10, 2011

The only thing my previous degree has done for me is make me get selected ahead of others for nusing school. I start my first position in January and my previous degree didn't even come up in the interview. I was offered the traditional salary at that institution for a new graduate nurse.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Nov 10, 2011

Well, my previous project management experience has allowed me to move up the clinical ladder by chairing/managing the hospital's nursing information management committee. Not much to do with my prior degree but more about knowing how to actually manage a project with over 100 items in the hopper. Got a raise, takes about 2 hours a month, works for me.