Registered Nurse
Look after patients in hospitals and clinics by giving medicine, watching for changes, and teaching families
What does a Registered Nurse do?
Registered nurses work in hospitals, clinics, schools, and nursing homes. Many work 12-hour shifts, including nights and weekends. They check vital signs, give medicine, and speak up when a patient looks worse. Caring, alert people who stay calm under stress do well.
A day in the life
What's great
- Jobs in hospitals, clinics, and schools
- Chances to specialize, like in kids' or heart care
- Direct thanks from patients and families
- Some jobs offer three long shifts per week
The hard parts
- 12-hour shifts on nights, weekends, and holidays
- Heavy lifting and long hours on your feet
- Sad and stressful moments with sick patients
- Must pass the NCLEX-RN licensing exam
What is a Registered Nurse's salary and outlook?
Typical pay in this guide runs from about $46,200 to $115,500 a year, with a midpoint around $77,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.
CareerLens rates the outlook as High demand / Rapid growth.
For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.
How do you become a Registered Nurse?
A common path is Associate degree (ADN) or bachelor's (BSN) in nursing, plus the NCLEX-RN exam. The ladder often runs from Staff Nurse (RN) to Charge Nurse, then Nurse Manager, and Chief Nursing Officer. Other routes: Practical nurse (LPN) first, then a bridge program to RN; RN-to-BSN program after an associate degree; Accelerated nursing degree if you already have a bachelor's.
- Practical nurse (LPN) first, then a bridge program to RN
- RN-to-BSN program after an associate degree
- Accelerated nursing degree if you already have a bachelor's
Career path
Explore colleges
See College Scorecard facts for programs related to this path.
Will AI replace a Registered Nurse?
How much will AI change this job?
AI will help with some tasks in this job, while the most important parts stay human.
AI helps nurses with paperwork, but caring stays personal.
Nurses will use AI tools to track patient records, spot warning signs, and cut down on paperwork. This gives nurses more time for hands-on care and talking with patients. The heart of nursing, comforting people and making quick decisions, still needs a real person.
AI can help with
- Organizing patient records and charting notes
- Spotting early warning signs in vital signs data
- Scheduling tasks and reminders for medications
What stays human
- Comforting patients during scary or painful moments
- Making fast decisions in emergencies
- Building trust with patients and their families
Skills to build now
- Practice biology and health science in school
- Volunteer or help care for family members
- Join clubs that build teamwork and communication skills
Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know
This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.