Thinking About Getting Masters in Informatics

[kaybrianna0, LPN, RN]

hello! I have been thinking about getting my masters in nursing informatics. can anybody tell me the pros and cons? is it easy finding a job? 

[ikarus01]

First thing, look at many of the posts here...a lot of people looking for preceptors. I myself don't understand the concept---you're paying thousands of dollars for a degree, and then you're on your own looking for a preceptor. Imagine going to nursing school and being told, yea, you're on your own in finding your own clinicals. Simply dumb...

As far as the pros/cons....if your goal is to become a leader the master's degree helps, but then again, you could get it in business and it wouldn't matter. Got couple of friends in executive boards and all they got is experience and a bachelors. 

As far as finding jobs...I've seen a couple of roles where  you have 5 candidates and 4 of them have masters degrees, yet the one who got the role was the registered nurse who expressed more passion for the role.  Maybe the masters degree gives you an open door to apply for jobs? Personally, when we have interviewed candidates, we are looking at thought process, experience with the software either as a superuser and how questions are answered. Again though, some roles in leadership do want a masters degree, but again,  you might need to have the experience in the field before you're even considered. 

Oh yea...and finding a job...you could find a job without a masters degree. Plenty have done it.

[JMR85112]

ikarus01 said:

First thing, look at many of the posts here...a lot of people looking for preceptors. I myself don't understand the concept---you're paying thousands of dollars for a degree, and then you're on your own looking for a preceptor. Imagine going to nursing school and being told, yea, you're on your own in finding your own clinicals. Simply dumb...

As far as the pros/cons....if your goal is to become a leader the master's degree helps, but then again, you could get it in business and it wouldn't matter. Got couple of friends in executive boards and all they got is experience and a bachelors. 

As far as finding jobs...I've seen a couple of roles where  you have 5 candidates and 4 of them have masters degrees, yet the one who got the role was the registered nurse who expressed more passion for the role.  Maybe the masters degree gives you an open door to apply for jobs? Personally, when we have interviewed candidates, we are looking at thought process, experience with the software either as a superuser and how questions are answered. Again though, some roles in leadership do want a masters degree, but again,  you might need to have the experience in the field before you're even considered. 

Oh yea...and finding a job...you could find a job without a masters degree. Plenty have done it.

Exactly!! 

kaybrianna0 said:

hello! I have been thinking about getting my masters in nursing informatics. can anybody tell me the pros and cons? is it easy finding a job? 

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Check out CUNY SPS for their masters. Affordable and Reputable. 

[Julia Liou, RN]

Hello,

Feel free to review our AllNurses Article about Informatics: Nursing Informatics: Job Description, Salary, and How to Become One - Nursing Careers (allnurses.com) to get some insight into whether the job is right for you.

I think at the end of the day it really comes down to where you are located. If you like digital health, and technology I think it would be a great job! I've been working in an informatics role since January, and I would say the main difference between bedside and informatics is that sometimes you'd take your work home with you, and you would have to get used to doing 9-5 work versus shift work. However, I do love it!