highest paid nursing specialty

Hey all,

I'm a med-surge nurse with three years experience and a lot of expenses. I'm considering going for a Masters but want to be smart about it as life is not getting any cheaper. So my question is, what are the highest paying nursing specialties other then Nurse Anesthetist?

I appreciate all and any input.
I have certified nurse life care planner colleagues who routinely pull in multiple six-figure incomes. (Not, I hasten to add, that I am among them.) You won't get there in two years, though.
GrnTea you forgot to add in the huge salary allnurses give you for helping the students on this website. That should put you into the six figure range.
It is unwise to try to project future in come based on clinical specialty in light of what is happening in Health Care Reform. We are in a period of profound change in health care financing and this will have an impact on all clinical services. Instead of focusing on clinical specialties, I would encourage the OP to look at "functional" areas that are required for any organization to succeed. Nurse administrators/executives are becoming more important in healthcare operations as they are usually the leaders who have the most insight into all areas of service delivery. Their salaries are comparable to other executives. Nurses who manage/lead operational areas such as case management, loss prevention (risk management), quality & patient safety, transitional care, etc.... all command high salaries that reflect their value to the organization.
Quote from Don1984GrnTea you forgot to add in the huge salary allnurses give you for helping the students on this website. That should put you into the six figure range.
Quote from GrnTeaI have certified nurse life care planner colleagues who routinely pull in multiple six-figure incomes. (Not, I hasten to add, that I am among them.) You won't get there in two years, though.
Quote from HouTxIt is unwise to try to project future in come based on clinical specialty in light of what is happening in Health Care Reform. We are in a period of profound change in health care financing and this will have an impact on all clinical services. Instead of focusing on clinical specialties, I would encourage the OP to look at "functional" areas that are required for any organization to succeed. Nurse administrators/executives are becoming more important in healthcare operations as they are usually the leaders who have the most insight into all areas of service delivery. Their salaries are comparable to other executives. Nurses who manage/lead operational areas such as case management, loss prevention (risk management), quality & patient safety, transitional care, etc.... all command high salaries that reflect their value to the organization.
CRNA. Very hard to get into a program, but I've read the median salary is around $114k.
Anything but nurse anesthetist. I just can't. I need a game plan for my career to not end up 20 years from now still doing what I'm doing now for a slightly higher pay. I would really like to work less and make more, to make myself that much more valuable that my time and skill will actually be worth that much more.
Not to sound snarky, but wouldn't everybody like to work less, make more, and feel more valued in the workplace? While I understand what point you're getting at, I don't think there's a magic specialty that will pay big bucks with minimal hours. I think if you're skilled enough, no matter what your profession, you can earn more income. But you may have to be creative/an innovator, and show your employer that you are worth the $. Or, just bypass all that red tape and go into business on your own!
Look into legal nurse consulting