Master's degree, or post-baccalaureate certification

[JRockey76]

Hello everyone, I am hoping to get some insight on which direction I should take with furthering my education, and getting the most out of my career and degree. I recently graduated(Aug 2010) with my BSN, but have been an RN for 4 yrs prior. I really want to continue on for either my Master's or Doctorate degree, or even maybe a post-baccalareate certificate. Which ever would be the biggest bang for the buck. Certificate wise, I can only see going for management, which I can't really see helping me a whole lot more if I want to continue to climb the ladder with my career. Now with my Master's or Doctorate, I was originally looking into programs for a family health practitioner, but now feel that management, or informatics would be a better choice. If anyone has any insight I'm more than open to it! Also which would have better pay, and more opportunities to step up into higher positions.

[Guest717236]

In our area, I would say the FNP. Doctors here are staffing their office

with FNP and it appears to be a growing trend here. PAs as well.

For management, consider often these better paying positions are often eliminated from the budget (even before the economy took a nose dive.)

A friend of mine years ago, obtained an MBA with the financial assistance

of the hospital where she was employed. Two years later, she and a

number of RN manager peers had their jobs eliminated.

She applied to numerous other hospitals without success and ended

up taking a job back at the bedside.

So just something to consider, nursing can be a journey filled with potholes...

[llg, PhD, RN]

You should base your career decisions on the type of work you want to do ... your natural talents and strengths ... etc. and not focus too much on "which jobs are hot right now." Get the knowledge, skills, and credentials that prepare you to do the types of things that "fit you well" and worry about the specific jobs later.

Nobody knows for sure what the job market will be like 5 or 10 years from now. So, don't rely too much on those predictions and make a big investment in a career path that won't satisfy your soul.

[NAURN]

I am also pondering this as well. I am pretty sure of the NP route... FNP. It seems to be the most versatile. Management does have high paying jobs (CNO) but for me, I don't think I would enjoy that. Although I do want to be paid a nice salary, I want to enjoy what I do or its not really worth it. Have you thought of CRNA? This is a growing field and they get paid very well. Informatics is going to be a good one because of the electronic medical records... Education is always an option too. They don't always get paid the best, but its definitely something I want to do someday.