Five Career Paths in Nursing

Explore popular RN specialties and see what might be right for you

A lot of people think becoming a nurse is a single gig and you’re in the same role for your whole career. But nursing is actually a very diversified field in medicine. Having your nursing degree and license is like having keys to a giant hallway with several doors, each leading to something completely new. You might find yourself working in an operating room, tending to premature babies, caring for families and the elderly, or even practicing nursing while also traveling the entire country.

Love the adrenaline rush that comes from being in a surgical suite? Consider a career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Enjoy supporting women, childbirth and families through major life changes? A Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) might be the way to go. Want to treat patients from birth to old age and keep things interesting while doing so? A Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) could be your perfect match. Or craving adventure? Travel nursing is right there for the taking.

Starting your nursing adventure

First things first, let’s cover the basics. You’ll need to get either an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and then pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) exam. With that sorted, you’ll have your nursing license and be all set to embark on this incredible adventure.

Many nurses start out in general medical-surgical units–sort of like a nursing boot camp. From there, you’ll figure out what exactly tickles your career fancy–whether it’s high-stakes critical care, caring for children, or something else you never imagined you’d end up loving.

Let’s explore five truly amazing nursing career paths that could become your true haven.

Five most common RN career paths to consider

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

CRNAs are the highest-paid nurses, with an average salary of $193,000, depending on location. But, for the majority of these nurses, it’s not about the salary. It’s about the extreme responsibility, the high level of expertise required and the sense of satisfaction that comes with it.

As a CRNA, you’re responsible for safely putting patients to sleep when undergoing a surgical procedure, while also ensuring they wake up as good as new. You’ll administer anesthesia and then monitor patients throughout surgery and recovery. This is a delicate responsibility that demands highly specialized skill sets and clinical expertise.

You’ll need a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) with a focus on Nurse Anesthesia, along with at least two years of experience in critical care, before you qualify to sit for the national certification exam.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Nurse

If you’ve ever held a premature baby the size of your palm, you’ll understand the importance of the work you can do in the NICU. These nurses care for the tiniest, most vulnerable patients–sick and premature newborns in need of around-the-clock specialized care.

NICU nurses earn approximately $128,211 a year, depending on location. Ask any of them why they do it, and they’ll tell you it’s all about the families they get to tend to. They’re not just nursing babies–they’re providing much-needed support for terrified parents and families through the scariest experience of their lives. And the day a baby you’ve cared for gets to go home, you just can’t put that feeling into words.

You’ll need a BSN to begin, but if you want to go further, lots of nurses get their RNC-NIC certification to boost their careers. You can work in hospitals, NICUs, birth centers or even work private duty as a baby nurse.

Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)

There’s just something beautiful about assisting in bringing new life into the world. CNMs provide prenatal care, deliver babies and support new parents through those magical early weeks. And as more women seek natural birthing options and personalized maternity care, the need for CNMs continues to rise.

With an average salary of around $109,995, depending on location, CNM is a rewarding career. However, most CNMs will tell you the real reward is witnessing one of life’s most transformative moments–not just for the baby, but for the whole family.

You’ll need a graduate degree from an accredited midwifery program, and subsequently certification from the American Midwifery Certification Board. Many CNMs go on to earn a DNP for even better career opportunities.

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)

Nearly 70% of nurse practitioners go into family nursing. Why? Because FNPs get to do it all. You get to tend to patients ranging from babies to the elderly and make diagnoses, write prescriptions and basically become a family’s primary care physician.

FNPs enjoy incredible autonomy in their practice, and with 40% job growth projected through 2034, the potential is endless. Depending on location, average salaries are around $108,133, and you’ll be able to work in clinics, hospitals, private practice, or even telehealth.

Graduating with a nursing degree and getting an RN license are the first steps. This is then followed by passing the FNP national board certification exam.

Travel Nurse

Imagine you get to work at a hospital in sunny San Diego for 13 weeks. Then in January, you pack your bags and head to Colorado for some skiing. After that, in the spring, you’re soaking up the charm of Charleston. That’s what life as a travel nurse looks like!

Travel nurses earn an average of $92,366, but that salary can be much higher or lower depending on the area of the country and nursing specialty you work in. Plus, there’s the benefit of housing allowances and the freedom to explore the country as you build your career. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll be exposed to different healthcare systems, work with patients from all walks of life, and learn how to adapt to just about anything.

You’ll need at least an ADN and, usually, a year or two of experience on staff at a facility. Some facilities may ask for a BSN or specialty certifications.

Finding the perfect fit for you

The truth is, no crystal ball can tell you exactly which career path to take. What you can do, though, is to follow your heart, explore your curiosities, and try different things until you find the nursing career paths that get you looking forward to going to work every single day.

Michelle McAfee

Healthcare organizations face some of the toughest workforce challenges: tight budgets, lean IT teams and limited tools for sourcing, hiring and onboarding staff. Add in manual scheduling, rising labor costs and high burnout, and the pressure grows. Rolling out complex systems can feel out of reach without dedicated tech support. Even simply evaluating new technology can overwhelm already stretched-thin teams.

These challenges make it clear that technology isn’t just helpful; it’s essential for healthcare organizations. Especially when they’re striving to do more with less. Not only are healthcare organizations falling short on implementing new technology, but they’re struggling to update outdated systems. A 2023 CHIME survey found that nearly 60% of hospitals use core IT systems, such as EHRs and workforce platforms, that are over a decade old. Outdated tools can’t integrate or scale, creating barriers to smarter staffing strategies. But the opportunity to modernize is real and urgent.

Tech in Patient Care Falls Short

In healthcare, technology has historically focused on clinical and patient care. Workforce management tools have taken a back seat to updating patient care systems. Yet many big tech companies have failed when it comes to customizing healthcare infrastructure and connecting patients with providers. Google Health shuttered after only three years, and Amazon’s Haven Health was intended to disrupt healthcare and health insurance but disbanded three years later.

Why the failures? It’s estimated that nearly 80% of patient data technology systems must use to create alignment is unstructured and trapped in data silos. Integration issues naturally form when there’s a lack of cohesive data that systems can share and use. Privacy considerations surrounding patient data are a challenge, as well. Across the healthcare continuum, federal and state healthcare data laws hinder how seamlessly technology can integrate with existing systems.

Why Smarter Staffing Is Now Essential

These data and integration challenges also hinder a healthcare organization’s ability to hire and deploy staff, an urgent healthcare priority. The U.S. will face a shortfall of over 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026. At the same time, aging populations and rising chronic conditions are straining teams already stretched thin.

Smart workforce technology is becoming not just helpful, but essential. It allows organizations to move from reactive staffing to proactive workforce planning that can adapt to real-world care demands.

Global Inspiration: Japan’s AI-Driven Workforce Model

Healthcare staffing shortages aren’t just a U.S. problem. So, how are other countries addressing this issue? Countries like Japan are demonstrating what’s possible when technology is utilized not just to supplement staff, but to transform the entire workforce model. With one of the world’s oldest populations and a significant clinician shortage, Japan has adopted a proactive approach through its Healthcare AI and Robotics Center, where several institutions like Waseda University and Tokyo’s Cancer Institute Hospital are focusing on developing AI-powered hospitals.

Japan’s focus on integrating predictive analytics, robotics and data-driven scheduling across elder care and hospital systems is a response to its aging population and workforce shortages. From robotic assistants to AI-supported shift planning, Japan’s futuristic model proves that holistic tech integration, not piecemeal upgrades, creates sustainable staffing frameworks.

Rather than treating workforce tech as an IT patch for broken systems, Japan’s approach embeds these tools throughout care operations, supporting scheduling, monitoring, compliance and even direct caregiving tasks. U.S. health systems can draw critical lessons here: strategic investment in integrated platforms builds resilience, especially in a labor-constrained future.

The Power of Smart Workforce Technology

In the U.S., workforce management is becoming increasingly seen as more than a back-office function; it’s a strategic business operation directly impacting clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. Smart technology tools are designed to improve care quality, staff satisfaction, scheduling, pay rates, compliance and much more.

For example, by using historical data, patient acuity, seasonal trends and other data points, organizations can predict their staff needs more accurately. The result is fewer gaps in scheduling, fewer overtime payouts and a flexible schedule for staff. AI-powered analytics can help healthcare leadership teams spot patterns in absenteeism, see productivity and forecast needs in multiple clinical areas in real-time. Workforce management tools can help plan scheduling proactively, rather than reactively. It’s a proven technology tool that can help drive efficiency and reduce costs.

Why So Many Are Still Behind

Despite the clear benefits, many healthcare organizations are slow to adopt smart tools that empower their workforce. Several things are holding them back from going all-in on technology:

Financial Pressures

Over half of U.S. hospitals are operating at or below break-even margins. For them, investing in new technology solutions is financially unfeasible. Scalable, subscription-based and even free workforce management tools are available, but most organizations are unaware of or lack the resources to source these products. Workforce management tools can deliver long-term return on investment for most organizations. Taking the time to understand where the value lies and which tools to invest in needs to happen.

Outdated Core Systems

Many facilities still depend on legacy technology infrastructure that lacks real-time capabilities. Many large players in the healthcare workforce management industry dominate hospital systems. Other smaller, real-time tools that offer innovative solutions to scheduling, workforce hiring, rate calculators and more are available at a fraction of the cost.

Competing Priorities and Strategic Blind Spots

Healthcare organizations and hospitals have many high-priority business objectives and regulatory demands. Digital transformation naturally falls down on the priority list, which causes them to miss improvements that can lead to long-term stability. With patient care and provider satisfaction at the top of the priority mountain, technology changes can be easily missed or shoved to the side when other business objectives are perceived to “move the needle” more.

Poor Change Management

Even the best technology efforts can fail without the right strategy for adoption and support from senior leadership. Resistance from staff, lack of training, or poor rollout communication can undermine success. Effective change management—clear leadership, role-based training and feedback loops—is essential.

Faster than the speed of technology

Change needs to come quickly to healthcare organizations in terms of managing their workforce efficiently. Smart technologies like predictive analytics, AI-assisted scheduling and mobile platforms will define this next era. These tools don’t just optimize operations but empower workers and elevate care quality.

Slow technology adoption continues to hold back the full potential of the healthcare ecosystem. Japan again offers a clear example: they had one of the slowest adoption rates of remote workers (19% of companies offered remote work) in 2019. Within just three weeks of the crisis, their remote work population doubled (49%), proving that technological transformation can happen fast when urgency strikes. The lesson is clear: healthcare organizations need to modernize faster for the sake of their workforce and the patients who rely on providers to deliver care.