Nurses are overworked and underpaid. Their jobs put them in constant contact with human grief and suffering. And yet, they do it to make a living which begs an uncomfortable question…how much will you get paid for all of that stress?

It depends on the job—and how long you’ve been doing it for. In this article, we take a look at nursing careers that produce high salaries. We also examine how stressful they are, and what it takes to get a job in these fields.

Does Stress Influence How Much Nurses Make?

It seems almost outrageous to suggest that it would. After all, every nurse is very stressed, right? So which among them are so stressed out that they get a salary hike because of it?

Actually “stress” itself is not the primary factor. There are two things that influence salary more:

• How hard is it to get a job working in this field? Careers with a big barrier to entry tend to result in higher salaries. This goes for healthcare the same way it does anything else.
• How high is the demand? Another standard aspect of economics. Low supply+high demand= high prices.

That said, stress can play an adjacent role in determining salary. Many stressful jobs are emotionally challenging because they are also practically challenging. They put the nurse in difficult positions. They require a higher level of understanding.

These barriers to entry mean that fewer people take these jobs on. This, of course, results in high levels of demand.

So, yes. In a sense, stressful nursing jobs can result in higher salaries. However, in a profession that is almost defined by its stressful situations, this alone is not a clarifying enough factor.

What Nursing Positions Earn the Most Money?

While actual income numbers can vary considerably from profession to profession, nurse practitioners generally command the highest salaries. Typically, they earn somewhere in the mid $100Ks and can even surpass those figures in states that allow them to operate their own practice.

The extent of their salary can vary based on the type of work they will be doing. Family NPs perform basically the same responsibilities as a general practitioner. Consequently, they can earn something similar to what a doctor practicing family medicine would—at least in communities where they are allowed to open their own practices.

Is working as a nurse practitioner stressful? It can be. Psychiatric nurse practitioners, for example, experience high rates of violence from their patients. They also work with people whose potential for improvement is very limited.

That is a stressful job.

Neonatal nurse practitioners work with babies who may not live for more than a week or two. They deal with families who are experiencing the worst imaginable grief every day of their working lives.

That is a stressful job.

Not every NP position is that wearing. They do, however, all have a built-in stress factor in the form of their barrier to entry. It takes three or more years—after you receive your undergraduate degree—to become a nurse practitioner. It also takes an investment of up to $100K in tuition.

That said, if you are willing to put in the time and money, you have the chance to work in a more specialized form of nursing that you may find very rewarding.

ICU Nursing

Intensive care nurses work with patients who are at high risk. Think about it this way: Everyone who goes to a hospital is in bad health. People in the ICU are in bad shape compared to the rest of the hospital population.

ICU nurses make more than the median salary, but they do not have a significantly higher earning potential than floor nurses. Lesson? Stress alone is not enough to get you a huge salary in a profession that is filled with stressed-out people.

Forensic Nurses

Forensic nurses work with victims of crimes. Often, they are called in to treat victims of sexual assault. When they are not collecting forensic evidence and administering care to victims of crimes, they are testifying in court.

The work is naturally very stressful, but unfortunately, not very lucrative. Forensic nurses make approximately the same amount of money as any other nurse.

Travel Nurse

Travel nurses will work on a wide variety of hospital floors or emergency rooms. The defining characteristic of their work is that they move frequently, going where they are most needed. The “travel,” is perhaps the most stressful aspect of their job.

They rarely spend more than a few months at one location. This makes it difficult to put down roots. It makes it difficult to form friendships or establish a stable environment for your family.

This job actually does pay better than most nursing positions. Travel nurses can make more than $100K annually.

Why? Not precisely because the job is stressful, but because not many people want to do it. As long as the demand remains high, and there aren’t enough travel nurses to go around, you can expect the pay to remain solid.

Conclusion

Ultimately, no one goes into nursing with the expectation of getting rich. All nurses are paid reasonably well. No nurse is paid what they are worth. If only stress were the differentiating factor. All nurses would be millionaires.

If you are considering a career in nursing and would like a job with above-average pay, consider one of the options described above.

That said, if a long-term career is what you are after, it helps to first think about what you are passionate about. All of the stress we described in this article is a lot easier to manage when you are doing work that you love.