supjo

Hello! I am from Alberta, Canada and recently have been considering pursuing nursing as a possible career choice. It's very foreign to me as very few family members have dabbled in it as a profession and I am fresh out of high school with many avenues I have considered exploring. If my questions come across as naive/uninformed, forgive me as they probably are. 1. I was looking into an RN program and a Psychiatric Nursing Program. What are the disadvantages to pursuing a psychiatric nursing career, if any? It seems to be the area that most interests me, but definitely seems to be the less popular route. Why is that? Is the pay less? Is it harder work? 2. What is the average starting salary for a nurse? I've googled it a few times and have received a variety of answers. Also, how much room is there for pay increase and what are the factors that warrant it? 3. How exactly do Nurse Practitioner programs work and are they worth pursuing? Why or why not? These questions probably sound very silly, so forgive me. Thank you in advance for anyone who can help me out! :)