Many nurses don’t feel the need to earn their BSN degree, and there’s nothing wrong with that. An RN with an associate’s degree and an RN with a BSN are both nurses, after all, working in the same hospitals and doctor’s offices and clinics. However, the differences start to show not long into the career, especially as nurses begin considering advancement to a bachelor of science in nursing salary. The more specialized needs patients require, the more advanced skills, experience, and education level nurses may need to accomplish, and it’s those more advanced skills of bachelor of science in nursing jobs – and the difference between RN and BSN salary – where the advantages of BSN in nursing education begin to appear.

Why a BSN in Nursing is Important

The title RN is a license, not a degree, giving a nurse the right to practice medicine; an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) is the minimum amount of education to qualify for an RN license in most states. Often, nurses earn their ADN from a community college at a much lower cost. However, a BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) is a four-year degree, which allows the practicing nurse better opportunities for employment and provides career advancements in the field of nursing, along with higher BSN nursing salary opportunities.

Students in an RN associate’s program may wonder why a BSN in nursing is important; many working RNs, in fact, may question the advantages of BSN in nursing education. After all, a student that has earned an associate’s and a student with a BSN degree are equally qualified to take the NCLEX exam and get their RN license. Once the applicant has passed and received their RN license, they can start working as an RN. But RN vs BSN salary, and the jobs that pay that salary, makes for a different story.

Advantages of BSN in Nursing Training

A student of a BSN can have a broader look at the nursing field as a whole; that’s another reason why a BSN in nursing is important. With a broader view of the profession, nurses get increased professional development and a greater depth of knowledge that an ordinary RN lacks. While the associate’s degree builds the basic skills, the BSN provides the context, the leadership, and the analytical abilities needed for more advanced positions (and the higher BSN nursing salary that goes with them). Going on for your BSN also allows the student to a curriculum full of clinical experiences through internships and fellowships, which can often directly lead to jobs.

A student that holds a BSN will improve their skills in the field. For the RN, simple nursing methods and care is learned. However, for the BSN graduate, many programs are equipped with better nursing techniques, more responsibility to their patients, and they may work more closely with doctors for patient consultations. Managerial and leadership skills are also taught as part of the BSN degree. This allows students with better positions once they graduate.

RN vs BSN Salary: Bachelor of Science in Nursing Jobs

At the entry level, there’s very little difference between RN and BSN salaries. Walk into any hospital, nursing home, or doctor’s office and you will see an RN, and the average patient will not know if they have an ADN or a BSN. The difference between RN vs BSN salary comes with promotion and more advanced positions. To put it simply, there’s a much wider spectrum of job opportunities for a BSN graduate, including leadership and educational roles, making for a big gap in the difference between RN and BSN salaries.

We can break this down very simply: The average pay of an RN with an ADN is about $60,000. However, a BSN nursing salary averages $73,550, according to the BLS. In addition, for those going further with specializations, the salary is even more. With a BSN, nurses can specialize in areas like pediatrics, geriatric care, oncology, hospice nursing, and another higher-paid bachelor of science in nursing jobs. Travel nurses with a BSN can earn high salaries (though, of course, their positions are temporary and may be anywhere in the country, so it’s not a path for many nurses with family obligations). BSN nursing salary, then, is not only potentially much higher, but much more varied.

Now that you have a better scope of the difference between RN and BSN salary, and why a BSN in nursing is important, the last thing to do is to answer the big question. Does a BSN really pay off? Yes. While it may take longer to achieve, and have more clinical hours to manage in their schedule, the advantages of BSN in nursing education are well worth the time to get a BSN degree and advance yourself in the nursing field, earning the bachelor of science in nursing salary you deserve. The value of a BSN degree is obvious.

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