Continuing on...

As a specialized cardiac nurse, you won't need an MSN unless you want to be an advanced practitioner. You can find jobs on units that focus on cardiac patients, whether post-cardiac surgery, CHF, or other cardiac issues.

Different schools offer different MSN tracks. The one I attended offered management, education, and informatics. While it's great to start making plans for the future, you should also focus on the present: finishing school, passing NCLEX, and finding that first job. Then perhaps reevaluate where you want to be in the future- do you still want to go on for an NP degree or will you change what you want to do in the future? Will an MSN suffice or is your area only hiring DNP? What do schools in your area offer?

Life is what happens while you're making plans. People's plans change; I graduated nursing school and even started my MSN in education thinking I wanted to teach in the academic setting. While I did have an enjoyable experience as a temporary adjunct position and am looking for another (hopefully permanent or at least long-term) adjunct position, I discovered that rather than the academic setting, the staff development role is more to my liking- I'm just not ready to leave my clinical position for a full time education position. However, that's my new plan for the future when I'm no longer physical up to the demands of bedside patient care.