Going back to school for nursing informatics- have some questions

[SHRN]

Hi,

I currently am a med/surg nurse working mainly with post-surgical patients. When I passed my NCLEX and began nursing, I always thought that NP was going to be my ultimate goal. After starting bedside nursing, I realized I may not want to do direct patient care for the rest of my career. I began looking into nursing informatics as a possible career. I'm on the informatics council at my hospital, beginning to work on a Clinical ladder project that involves informatics, and am trying to become an EPIC super user with my hospital. Super user classes have been put on hold because of COVID, but I think they're starting back up. I am thinking of going back to school online for my Master's in Nursing informatics.

For anyone who is currently working in informatics, I have a few questions that I feel would be answered most honestly on this forum.

Am I doing what I should to make myself a competitive candidate for when I do finish my degree? Is there anything else I should be doing more?

I'm trying to get my foot in the door when it comes to informatics so I don't have a hard time finding a job once I'm finished with my degree. Does anyone know if it's possible to begin working with informatics with just a BSN? I live in Maryland and all the jobs I have come across require a MSN

For anyone working informatics in the DC, Maryland, and VA area, what is the job outlook and salary like in our area? I know there are different levels when it comes to health informatics, but if someone can give me a general idea of salaries. I've been seeing conflicting things online with my research. I feel like this area is really progressive and technologically advanced as almost all hospital systems work with EMR.. so hopefully the minimum salary is competitive *fingers crossed*

If anyone has the answers to any of these questions, that would great! Thanks in advance!