Top Job Options For Registered Nurses

Once you hold an RN license, the field opens up. You can work in hospitals, community settings, schools, even law offices, caring for patient groups across the lifespan. Most of these paths are flexible rather than permanent, and they pay well. Here are 11 options to consider as a starting point.

Critical Care Nurse

Critical care nurses care for patients of any age with life-threatening illness or injury, stabilizing them and managing complex technology. The work demands strong communication, sharp organization, and composure in a fast-paced environment.

• Minimum education: ADN
• Certification (recommended): Certified critical care registered nurse (CCRN), AACN Certification Corporation
• Compensation: $99,240 average base salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: The BLS projects 5% growth for all RN roles from 2024 to 2034, and critical care should track with it as the senior population grows.

Occupational Health Nurse

These RNs prevent injury and illness across industries. They assess hazards, educate workers, and partner with employers to build a safe, productive workplace.

• Minimum education: ADN
• Certification (recommended): The American Board for Occupational Health Nurses offers the certified occupational health nurse (COHN), focused on clinical practice; the COHN-Specialist, focused on administration; and a case management specialty credential.
• Compensation: $85,418 average base salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: As employers put more weight on workplace health, demand for these nurses rises.

Informatics Nurse

Informatics nurses blend nursing, computer, and information science to manage data and improve workflow, using technology to support better patient care and decision-making.

• Minimum education: BSN
• Certification (recommended): Informatics nursing certification (RN-BC), ANCC
• Compensation: $85,487 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: The BLS doesn't project this role specifically, but medical and health services managers, a related field, are projected to grow 23% from 2024 to 2034.

Certified Nurse-Midwife

Certified nurse-midwives are advanced practice nurses focused on reproductive health and childbirth, providing prenatal, labor, and postpartum care along with gynecological and family-planning services.

• Minimum education: MSN
• Certification (required): Certified nurse-midwife (CNM), American Midwifery Certification Board
• Compensation: $111,891 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: The BLS projects 11% growth from 2024 to 2034, far faster than average.

Travel Nurse

Travel nurses take temporary assignments across the country, usually several weeks to several months, picking up new clinical skills and contacts along the way.

• Minimum education: BSN
• Certification: None specific to travel nursing, though specialty certifications help.
• Compensation: $92,366 average base salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: Demand surged after 2020 and has since leveled off, but as long as the nursing shortage holds, travel nurses will be needed.

Family Nurse Practitioner

Family nurse practitioners are APRNs who provide primary care to individuals and families, diagnosing and treating common acute and chronic conditions and emphasizing prevention.

• Minimum education: MSN
• Certification (required): Family nurse practitioner-board certified (FNP-BC) from the ANCC, or family nurse practitioner-certified (FNP-C) from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners
• Compensation: $108,317 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: The BLS projects 40% growth for nurse practitioners from 2024 to 2034.

Public Health Nurse

Public health nurses work to improve community health through prevention and health promotion. They assess community needs, build and run programs, and coordinate with stakeholders to address them.

• Minimum education: ADN
• Certification: Required in some states. Options include the advanced public health nursing certification (PHNA-BC) from the ANCC and the certified in public health credential from the National Board of Public Health Examiners.
• Compensation: $74,427 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: Opportunities are expected to grow, and nurses with strong data skills or fluency in more than one language may grow faster.

Geriatric and Continuing Care Nurse

These nurses provide comprehensive care to older adults with chronic illness or disability, coordinating services across settings to protect quality of life and continuity of care.

• Minimum education: ADN
• Certification (recommended): APRN gerontological specialist-certified (GS-C) from the Gerontology Nursing Certification Commission, or the gerontological nursing certification (GERO-BC) from the American Nurses Association
• Compensation: $78,063 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: Demand should climb as the entire Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age by 2030.

Oncology Nurse

Oncology nurses provide specialized care to cancer patients and their families, playing a central role in diagnosis, treatment, and management while offering support and education throughout.

• Minimum education: ADN
• Certification (recommended): Oncology certified nurse (OCN), Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation
• Compensation: $85,936 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: New cancer cases worldwide are projected to reach 29.4 million a year by 2040, and evolving treatments and technology should drive growth in the field.

Legal Nurse Consultant

Legal nurse consultants bring clinical expertise into legal proceedings, helping attorneys on medical cases by reviewing records, interpreting information, running medical literature searches, and providing testimony.

• Minimum education: ADN
• Certification (recommended): Legal nurse consultant certified (LNCC) from the American Legal Nurse Consultant Certification Board, or certified legal nurse consultant (CLNC) from the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants
• Compensation: $90,493 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: With 1.3 million attorneys in the U.S., opportunities are expanding in malpractice, personal injury, and workers' compensation cases.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

CRNAs are APRNs who administer anesthesia and manage pain during surgical procedures, central to patient safety throughout an operation.

• Minimum education: Doctorate. A doctoral degree is now the entry standard for new nurse anesthetists.
• Certification (required): National certification examination (NCE), National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists
• Compensation: $192,885 average salary, October 2025, per Payscale
• Outlook: The BLS projects 9% growth for nurse anesthetists from 2024 to 2034.