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I have never heard of a BSN getting paid more than an ADN. I am not working but most of my nurse friends are, and most in large hospitals. None of them have a lower pay rate than the BSN nurses, however with a BSN you can get into management i.e. charge nursing. It is certifications that will get a differential in pay, at least that is my current knowledge about nursing.
Actually, I think in the majority of places, having a BSN vs an ADN doesn't get you any increase in salary. If it does, it's so small that it's practically negligible.
But the value of a BSN is not in the increased salary. It's in the greater marketability for acute care positions, the ability to be hired into outpatient, public health, and non-acute care positions, and the greater ease with which a BSN nurse can move into management positions.
Where I've worked, a BSN got you 10 cents more per hour than an ASN or diploma-school degree. Certification got you a whopping extra 30 cents per hour. Considering how much it costs to get a BSN or certification, someone who gets them has to have a personal goal to get them, because they aren't usually financially helpful.
A BSN can lead to graduate school, though, and graduate school graduates have a potential to earn quite a bit more than either an ASN or BSN graduate.
As far as a BSN being a road to management--that depends. I worked in a hospital that used to have a diploma school attached to it. That school's graduates had the management jobs, and BSN graduates were seen as too-educated.
mell260
164 Posts
I'm wondering if the small differential for having a BSN vs an ADN is more common in the acute setting or is it the norm everywhere?