Nurse Practitioners: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Stan T.Career, Overview

Nurse Practitioners

Nurse Practitioners diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

Salary
$114510
Becoming One
Very Hard
Education
Master's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality



Job description

Nurse Practitioners diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part of a healthcare team. May focus on health promotion and disease prevention. May order, perform, or interpret diagnostic tests such as lab work and x rays. May prescribe medication. Must be registered nurses who have specialized graduate education.

  • Analyze and interpret patients’ histories, symptoms, physical findings, or diagnostic information to develop appropriate diagnoses.
  • Diagnose or treat acute health care problems, such as illnesses, infections, or injuries.
  • Recommend diagnostic or therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy.
  • Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized.
Read more about what does a Nurse Practitioner really do at work and what is it like being and working as one.



Salary

Average salary
$110030 per year

Average hourly wage
$53 per hour


Nurse Practitioners with little to no experience tend to make between $78300 and $90760 while the more experienced ones can earn over $125440 per year.

Top 5 paying states Hourly Annual
CA $64 $133,780
AK $59 $122,880
MA $59 $122,740
NJ $59 $122,100
NY $58 $120,970

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Nurse Practitioner is to move to a higher paying state like CA. Right now, the highest paying states for Nurse Practitioners are CA, AK, MA, NJ and NY.

However, a higher pay at CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CA might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Nurse Practitioner is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.


Requirements

Recommended degree level
Master’s degree

We asked other Nurse Practitioners what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Master’s Degree followed by a PhD.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Adult Health Nurse/Nursing
Family Practice Nurse/Nursing
Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing
Pediatric Nurse/Nursing
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing
Read more about how to become a Nurse Practitioner and the degree, training and education you need.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Nurse Practitioner.

PROS
Suitable for people who likes to help and teach others
Suitable for people who values relationships between co-workers and customers and wants to work in a friendly non-competitive environment
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.
One of the fastest growing careers
CONS
Not suitable for people who likes to start and carry out projects
It is very hard to get into this career. Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience is required for this career.
Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week)

What is the job like

Job satisfaction
74%

Is this job meaningful
82%


74% of Nurse Practitioners said they were satisfied with their job and 82% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.


Is this right for me

Best personality for this career
The Helpers and The Thinkers

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.



Learn more about Nurse Practitioners

Summary (You are here)
Job Description
Salary
Requirements
Quiz

Related career information

Nurse Practitioners job description, Nurse Practitioners salary, Nurse Practitioners information, what is the job of a Nurse Practitioner like, pros and cons about Nurse Practitioners, colleges and universities for Nurse Practitioners, is Nurse Practitioners the right career for me, careers in Healthcare and Medical

Similar careers

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), Cardiology Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Practitioner, Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner, Dermatology Nurse Practitioner, Electrophysiology Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Medicine Nurse Practitioner

Additional resources