If you are a registered nurse who is considering further education, there plenty of incentive following through with this plan. These days, the best nursing jobs are reserved for those nurses who have an advanced degree in nursing. Whatever your motivation, there are many benefits to continuing your nursing education. Those benefits include better jobs, higher pay and career opportunities that do not exist without a BSN or MSN. Here is a look at some of the benefits of continuing your education once you become a registered nurse.

You’ll learn new skills that you can use no matter what you do in nursing

The courses for your Bachelors Degree in Nursing will help you develop knowledge and skills in management which many hospitals and nursing homes require for promotion to head nurse or charge nurse. You will learn about theories in management, mediation and decision making. You will have a wide range of elective courses so that you can develop your expertise in various specialty areas. If you would prefer to write, manage, or work at a specific setting or with a particular population, the courses that you take on your way to a BSN will help you explore health issues in age, religion, ethics and government policy.

A Bachelors Degree in Nursing opens doors in many different areas

A BSN opens doors in nursing beyond firsthand nursing care. Among the many career options that you will have available to you as a BSN are:

• Management Positions in nursing homes, hospitals and clinics, including Head Nurse and Charge Nurse positions. Staff nursing positions can keep you close to your patient care roots while giving you openings to advance into better paying positions with more responsibility.

• Community and Public Health nurses work directly with the public in a variety of settings. With a BSN, you’ll be qualified to manage staff and run small clinics under a doctor’s supervision. You may be able to find work as a nurse researcher with a team of community workers, or even help develop policy for community health standards.

• Independent Practice is another option for a nurse with a BSN, particularly one who specializes in home health care or midwifery. Work through temporary staffing agencies or out of your own office as a consultant with a BSN.

• Government Service in any field requires at least a Bachelors degree. Some of the government careers that are open to nurses with a BSN include military careers, the Public Health Service, Indian Health Service, the Veterans Administration, Peace Corp and Vista. You can work as a medical attaché in consulates around the world, or work toward a Masters Degree in public policy to help shape public ethics and medical policy in local, state or federal government.

Those are just a small subset of the various nursing positions that are open to nurses with a BSN. Others include working in the insurance industry, product management, research and public administration.

Nurses with an advanced degree earn more money

Even when nurses work in similar positions, BSNs earn more money than their non-degreed counterparts. A more compelling detail however, is that the degree opens the door to higher paying career opportunities in nearly every field. A nurse working in medical management can earn above $70,000, nearly $20,000 more than the mean salary for registered nurses.

A BSN is the stepping stone to a Masters Degree in Nursing

If your intent is to become a nurse practitioner, a nurse midwife or a nurse anesthetist, you’ll need to continue your education further and get a Masters Degree in your chosen field. Those professions offer both more money and greater autonomy for a more satisfying career.

Tuition reimbursement and other tuition aids are readily available for advanced nurse degrees

Nurses with a BSN are so valuable to an organization that many hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities offer tuition reimbursement and other tuition aid to registered nurses in their employ. There are more grants and scholarships available for registered nurses than there are in most other fields.

A Bachelors Degree in Nursing gives you more job security and portability

As the medical field becomes more specialized, more and more nursing jobs require an advanced degree. In order to remain competitive, you need to advance your education beyond the standard continuing education that’s required to keep your job and your license. If you intend to advance in your career, a BSN is a must.

Many nursing schools now offer easy access to Bachelors Degree courses for Registered Nurses. The benefits available include online classes, shorter semesters and credit for your work experience. If you’re considering a degree in nursing, be sure to check into colleges that offer courses for working nurses and make it easier for you to gain your degree while continuing to work.