8 Pros of Being a Nurse Practitioner

Ever thought about becoming a nurse? Maybe a doctor? Nurse practitioners get the best of both worlds the majority of the time. 

Let’s face it, doctors go to school for a long time, and nurses are often underpaid and often end up with nasty tasks. Most nurse practitioners get a chance to meet in the middle and bridge the gap between being a doctor and a nurse. 

If you are considering being a Nurse Practitioner or are one already and just need an emotional boost, check out these 8 pros to help you see what a great career it is. 

Nurse Practitioners Make Good Money

Being a nurse practitioner means no more struggling to pay the mortgage or worrying about how you’ll get the HVAC fixed because you are most likely going to be comfortably above 6 figures per year. 

The average personal income of a U.S. citizen in 2022 is $63,214, and the average for being a nurse practitioner is $122,676 according to Indeed.

This means you won’t have to worry about every penny you spend but can rest easy knowing you are making enough money for bills, and maybe even those shoes you’ve had your eye on.

Loads of Career Growth

The current and future demand for nurse practitioners is impressive. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked it the No. 6 fastest growing and stated it is expected to grow 46% by 2031. 

This is great news for anyone considering becoming or is already a nurse practitioner because you will always have the opportunity for a well-paying job with great security knowing your career isn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

There are also many opportunities for growth within your hospital or office, by moving into higher paying specialties or areas that may require more responsibilities there are many avenues for growth as a nurse practitioner.

You Get to Help Others

Though job security and great pay are important in choosing a career, many people pursue being a nurse practitioner out of a passion for helping others.

You get to experience the satisfaction day to day of helping people that are sick, and that need medical advice, both physical and mental. You are on the front lines, as many nurse practitioners prescribe medication that ultimately helps someone get over their sickness.

Nowadays, many people need a career that has great meaning and helps society, and nurse practitioners can check that box.

Nurse Practitioners are Highly Regarded

This may not be something you care about, but it is a plus knowing that as a nurse practitioner, you are very respected and viewed well by society. 

Many career paths have stigmas or bad stereotypes associated with them (such as car salesman, but you probably have not ever heard someone talk bad about the career of being a nurse practitioner. So, you can proudly tell anyone you meet daily what you do with pride and joy.

Tons of Flexibility

Everywhere across the country, at all hours of the day, there is a need for medical care. Because of the expertise and demand for nurse practitioners, they typically get the advantage of picking when they want to work and where. 

If you like traveling, there are travel nurse practitioners, if you like to work the night shift, you can do that too, or the usual 9-to-5, there is plenty of need there as well.

You also get to select your specialty. So, you can decide to work with a variety of patients, or a specific demographic such as pediatric, or a specialty such as oncology or cardiology, there is a path for everyone with plenty of options.

Never a Boring Day

As a nurse practitioner, you never experience the same day twice. It is a very fast-paced job that keeps you from ever getting bored. 

You will see many people and have different issues to figure out throughout the day, which keeps your mind going, and walking from room to room throughout the day will keep your body going, so you get to enjoy staying physically and mentally busy every day.

A Great Support System

Nurses bond together because of their daily work together helping and working with sick patients, so you always have others to help you on difficult days or when you need advice.

Being that we spend about as much time at work as we do with our families, sometimes more, it’s a plus to have like-minded people around that know what you experience every day and are there for you.

Helps You Stay Fit

According to Nursing Times, nurses walk the equivalent of a marathon every week of work, wow! To further explain this, that is about 59,000 steps per week, which means the occasional brownie or slice of pizza isn’t going to hurt anything. 

As a nurse practitioner, you spend your day going between rooms or sometimes across a large hospital campus to get to appointments and meetings, which will keep you fit and healthy without any added exercise outside of work hours.

An added benefit of this is that the exercise you do each day as a nurse practitioner isn’t very stressful or hard on your body because it doesn’t require heavy lifting or moving and doing things at awkward angles, it’s mostly just walking which is great for you.

It’s a Great Career, Point Proven

There are so many more pros to being a nurse practitioner, but the point has been made, it is a great choice for anyone desiring a career with:

• Awesome salary as a nurse practitioner
• Plenty of opportunities for growth
• The joy of helping others
• Prestige and respect from others
• Flexible hours and schedule
• Different challenges day to day
• A great support system
• A good amount of daily activity

Nurse practitioners have it made when it comes to great careers, you really can’t go wrong choosing this path. If you aren’t already a nurse practitioner but want to find out more about what education and experience are needed to become one, you can click here.