Skip to content

Master's in Nursing Education: Career Outlook

Build a meaningful career in education and address the nursing faculty shortage.

Driven by the baby-boomer generation living longer, more active lives, the nursing field is projected to grow 9% — a rate that’s much faster than the national average — between 2020 and 2030.1

While the need for nurses grows, the number of nursing faculty is falling behind, with a nationwide vacancy rate of 7.2%2 and 33% of current nursing faculty expected to retire by 2025.2 There are simply more nursing students than nurses trained to teach them. You can help address this shortage by earning your Master’s in Nursing Education degree with Utica University.

  • 80,407 QUALIFIED APPLICANTS TURNED AWAY FROM NURSING SCHOOLS IN 2019, DUE IN PART TO LACK OF FACULTY2
  • NO. 9 RANKED TOP-PAYING CAREER FOR NURSES3
  • $121,180 MEDIAN SALARY FOR NURSING EDUCATORS IN MEDICAL AND SURGICAL HOSPITALS4

The online Master’s in Nursing Education program includes 180 practicum hours working with an experienced nursing educator.

You’ll graduate ready to build curricula, deliver exams, assess your students’ performance, and more in real-world classrooms. Pass on what you’ve learned as a practicing nurse, build a meaningful career educating future nurses, and shape the future of health care.

CLINICAL EDUCATOR

$78,934/year

As a clinical educator5 (also known as a nursing professional development specialist), you’d work in a clinical setting to ensure nursing staff members are current on the latest research and clinical competencies. You’d also advise current or aspiring nurses as they continue their education, develop their career, and pursue lifelong learning opportunities — all to ensure patients continue to receive exceptional care.

PROFESSOR OF NURSING

$91,423/year

As a professor of nursing6, you’d collaborate with fellow professors on research and teach in the classroom or online. You would supervise your students during hands-on clinicals, deliver lectures on nursing topics and skills, assign homework and create exams, advise students one-on-one, and more. Nursing professors report high job satisfaction and believe their work makes the world a better place.

Additional roles in nursing education:

  • Nursing Curriculum Coordinator
  • Nursing Instructor
  • Nurse Training Consultant
  • Clinical Competency Coordinator
  • Nursing Staff Development Counselor
  • Continuing Education Director

Request More Information

We’d love to get to know you and hear more about your educational and professional goals. If you’d like to learn more about one of our programs, fill out this form and we’ll be in touch:

Note: All fields required.

Key Skills Employers Need

  • Analyze, design, implement, and evaluate nursing care.
  • Initiate, maintain, and demonstrate skills in care coordination, delegation, and conflict resolution strategies.
  • Promote safe, high-quality care through your ability to monitor, analyze, and prioritize outcomes that need to be improved for individuals, families, communities, and clinical populations.
  • Use critical reflection to translate evidence and integrate scholarship into advanced nursing practice.
  • Incorporate current technologies to deliver and coordinate care across multiple settings.
  • Promote health, help shape the health-delivery system, and advance values like social justice through policy processes and advocacy.
  • Actively collaborate with other health professionals to improve care across systems.
  • Design and ensure the delivery of clinical prevention interventions and population-based care that promotes health, reduces the risk of chronic illness, and prevents disease.
  • Facilitate commitment to a culture of nursing excellence through lifelong personal and professional development.

Beyond the Degree

We have the tools to help you make your next career move:

One-on-One Mentors

Work with your program director and professors for professional mentorship and support.

Job Search Assistance

Build your résumé, do mock interviews, and find new opportunities in your area.

Career Counseling

Have our experts review your résumé and LinkedIn and learn to stand out from the crowd.

Handshake

Register for events, create a visual profile for employers, and apply for jobs and internships through our online portal.

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022 April 18). Registered Nurses. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved on August 31, 2022, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm#tab-1
  2. American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2020 September). Nursing Faculty Shortage. Retrieved on August 31, 2022, from https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Fact-Sheets/Nursing-Faculty-Shortage
  3. Best Health Degrees. (n.d.) Top 10 Highest Paying Careers for Nurses. Retrieved on August 31, 2022, from https://www.besthealthdegrees.com/lists/nurses/
  4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020 July 6). Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary. Retrieved on October 7, 2020, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes251072.htm
  5. Payscale (n.d.). Clinical Educator Salary. Retrieved on August 31, 2022, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Clinical_Educator/Salary
  6. Payscale (n.d.). Professor of Nursing Salary. Retrieved on August 31, 2022, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Professor_Of_Nursing/Salary