Why Earn an MSN?
Advantages of Entering Nursing with Your MSN
You want to make the switch to a nursing career, and you want to do it right: with the right training, the right qualification, and the right potential for advancement. An Entry Level MSN offers several advantages.
Start your career with greater potential to advance.
As an MSN-qualified nurse, you’ll stand out with employers when securing your first nursing job. You’ll also have a wider range of options when it comes to advancement. With your MSN, you can pursue an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) certification in a variety of fields, such as:
- Clinical nurse specialist
- Nursing administration
- Nurse anesthetist
- Nurse practitioner
- Nursing education
Earning a master’s degree also establishes the foundation you need to pursue a doctoral-level degree later in your career. If you already know you’re interested in long-term opportunities in research, teaching, advanced care or primary care, earning your MSN gets you one step closer—right from the beginning of your career.
Start your career with an MSN salary.
In addition to more scope for professional advancement, earning an MSN puts you in a position to command higher salaries as you gain experience when compared to a BSN-qualified nurse. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, APRNs including nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists earned a median annual salary of $123,780 in 2021, compared to $77,600 for registered nurses.
While you won’t graduate straight into an APRN job, you will graduate with most of the coursework necessary to complete APRN certification already under your belt.
You may qualify for graduate financial aid.
A master’s degree program offers access to graduate-level financial aid for those who qualify. If you already carry loan debt from your previous undergraduate program, you may be close to the federal undergraduate loan limit.
Qualifying for graduate aid could give you more options when it comes to financing your MSN.
You gain advanced clinical skills for serving patients.
Finally, the advanced assessment and administrative skills you learn in our ELMSN program equips you to provide superior care from the very start of your career. You can graduate confident that you’re ready to offer patients, their families, and your colleagues a higher level of service.