Should I Get My MSN Degree?: Pros and Cons
If nursing is your dream career, you're in the right place. Becoming part of the healthcare world comes with many benefits, especially now that there's a high demand for nurse roles. The Healthcare sector is a much broader and richer career path, including high-paying positions. Besides, the healthcare occupations have a 16% projected growth over the next decade, adding about 2.6 million new jobs.
After completing your Bachelor's degree in nursing, a master's degree is the next step if you want to specialize in a specific area and gain skills.
Ultimately, if you want to pursue this career, it's crucial to weigh the pros and cons to have a clear understanding of whether a master's in nursing is worth pursuing. If you're part of this group of individuals, this article will list the pros and cons of an MSN.
What is a Master in Nursing?
As you can already tell, MSN stands for Master's Degree in Nursing. Once you finish your Bachelor's Degree of Science in Nursing (BSN), you are eligible to apply for an MSN. Usually, this graduate-level of study takes two or three years to complete. Throughout this program, you will advance your nursing skills and specialize in any area you have an interest in.
An MSN degree covers a variety of positions, such as nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse educator, director of nursing, or nurse-midwife. Apart from these academic and administrative positions, and MSN prepares nurses to work in different facilities:
Hospitals,
Schools,
Academic nursing programs,
Community agencies, and
Industries and businesses.
While these are all advanced positions, an MSN medical field comes with many responsibilities. It includes your science and technology skills for patient data or showing your expertise in clinical diagnostics. Depending on your education or experience, an MSN degree can be earned by:
RN-to-MSN: If you have an RN, but you skipped BSN, this option offers you around three years to complete your studies at a more intense level.
AND TO-MSN: This is a faster way to become an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), but it requires more effort and dedication to complete this program in three to four years.
BSN-to-MSN: This is the most common MSN program, and if you have work experience and your BSN, you only have one up to two years of study to finish this program.
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Pros of Getting an MSN Degree
To decide whether an MSN is worth it or not, we have compiled a list of the most important pros that you can get out of a master's degree in Nursing.
An MSN degree opens new career opportunities
The biggest advantages of an MSN are the career opportunities that come with it. You can work in many roles and specialize as a nurse practitioner, nurse educator, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse anesthetics. Other nursing roles that require a master's degree in nursing are:
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Certified Nurse Midwife
A master's degree in Nursing is highly beneficial if you plan to work in a hospital or focus on a nursing specialty. The program allows for more academic achievements, which leads to more competencies in many areas. With this degree, one can train to become a certified nurse-midwife as well.
An MSN degree helps you earn a higher salary
A high salary is always a benefit, no matter the field. Depending on the medical field you want to work in or metropolitan area, you will see that the salary fluctuates for nurse practitioners and registered nurses. In 2020, the BLS stated that NPs' annual wage is $117,760, while RNs make $75,330 per year. Some advanced positions, such as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, have a high-paying salary, with an average of $183,580 or even more.
Aside from a higher base salary, you can increase your annual salary as you gain experience and expertise over time as an MSN nurse.
You can take leadership roles with an MSN degree
An MSN program allows you to get in-depth with your studies, so you become an expert in your specialized area. As an advanced nurse, you may have to work with cardiac patients or as a forensic nurse, and all of these important roles require leadership skills that only an expert can have.
Once you gain those advanced skill sets, it becomes easier for you to access more leadership roles. With an MSN degree on your credentials, you become a potential candidate for managerial or administrative nursing roles. As an MSN graduate, you can lead other nurses by teaching skills that improve and influence healthcare systems or patients.
Cons of Getting an MSN Degree
MSN programs require a lot of effort, money, and, most importantly, time to complete your degree. As it happens with other life decisions, there are some disadvantages that you need to consider before deciding on an MSN degree.
An MSN degree will cost a lot of money
While money may not be an issue for some people, others can find this a drawback to getting an MSN degree. However, it would be a waste of money if you don't want to expand your career options beyond being a registered nurse (RN) since you can become one by pursuing an associate's degree.
Another drawback is that an MSN degree will add more debt to your student loan. It includes another 1 to 2 years of costs in tuition, materials, and fees.
According to US News & World Report, the cost of an online master's in nursing can range from $35,000 up to $60,000 in fees and tuition. Knowing that on-site education includes other expenses, the costs of obtaining an MSN can be much higher than that.
Earning a scholarship is always a good thing, but it's never guaranteed. So, you need to examine your career and decide whether you want to continue with an advanced degree or not.
You will face high competition in an MSN program
We don't want to crush your dreams and say that it's impossible to get into an MSN program, but it's a tough competition and often hard to get into. You might need a 3.0 GPA to be considered in the first place, and there are already many students interested in the same program as you.
MSN programs have laborious coursework and clinical hours
If you have a job or family to take care of, an MSN degree can take up too much of your time. Before deciding on your degree or program, it's essential to remember that a considerable amount of your time will go on clinical requirements and coursework.
While clinical hours will allow you to gain more experience in the nursing field, they are also time-consuming. For example, nurse practitioners spend 500 to 600 clinical hours, clinical nurse specialists spend over 600 hours, and certified nurse-midwives spend over 1,000 hours. You need to be able to balance and prioritize your responsibilities and make sure that you have supportive friends and family in this journey.
The Bottom Line: Should I Get My Masters in Nursing?
If you want to expand your career options, have a good salary, and specialize in a nursing role, then MSN is definitely an option. However, it's always better to wait if you want to be in a good place financially or have more time to pursue an MSN program.
An MSN degree is a major decision; that's why you need to consider the pros and cons before landing on a decision. But, don't feel pressured to secure this degree right away, especially if you're an RN.
Ultimately, this decision depends on your plan for your career, but an MSN degree is a promising and prosperous career. The degree and programs provide you with higher education and develop your personal and professional skills.