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Question: Can you still find a job with only an associate's degree in nursing?

(Posted by: Jae Lynn on 2010-03-16 21:22:01)

Is the pay really going to be much less than someone with a bachelor's degree in nursing? I live in the Portland, Oregon area.

Posted by: raspberryph on 2010-03-16, 21:26:30

Yes it will be considerably less these days. Call a hospital and see if you can talk to someone and find out a pay difference. They may not be allowed to tell but it's worth a call. From everyone I have talked to when I was interested in the major, they said the BS was well worth the time and effort in pay difference. You are eligible for supervisory jobs with a BS degree, where you are not eligible or qualified for those jobs with an Associates.

Posted by: ms.marie on 2010-03-17, 07:56:46

The difference between having an Associate degree in Nursing vs Bachelor degree in Nursing, is with an Associate degree you have more Clinical and Bachelor teaches you more Theory. You can always go for the Associate degree, work as a Nurse and then take online classes to get you RN-BSN. That will take another year or so to complete. As far as pay scale, having your Associate vs Bachelor there isnt a difference in pay. A Bachelor helps you if you want to get into management. Like a Charge Nurse, Head Nurse etc. At the end of the day, what matters is you taking the NCLEX-RN exam.