As a nurse, your career could take you to almost any part of the United States. Most states are experiencing a nursing shortage, and advanced nurse practitioners with master’s degrees are in high demand. Although it might be hard to find a job in some rural areas, you shouldn’t have a hard time getting interviews and job offers in most areas of the country.

That doesn’t mean that there’s no job competition at all. By getting your MSN, you’ve certainly made yourself more marketable, but even if your resume is at the top of the pile, you’ll still probably be in competition with a few others for the top positions. Since you have an MSN degree, you qualify for positions with higher salaries and more responsibilities, and these are harder to get than just typical RN and LPN positions, which you can find almost anywhere. So, if you’re worried about finding a job, you might want to start you job hunt somewhere where there’s a huge need for nurses with MSN degrees.

In general, registered nurses (including those with just a bachelor’s degree, as well at those with an MSN or doctorate) make $62,450 per year on average. That number will only increase as more and more hospitals and other care facilities see an increase in the number of vacant nursing positions. As of 2008, the states that hired the most registered nurses, in relation to their total population, were as follows, according to the U.S. Department of Labor:

• South Dakota: 10,010 nurses (2.5 percent of the population)
• Massachusetts: 79,670 nurses (2.5 percent of the population)
• Mississippi: 27,350 nurses (2.4 percent of the population)
• Rhode Island: 11,360 nurses (2.4 percent of the population)
• West Virginia: 16,910 (2.35 percent of the population)

In all of these states, average annual salary ranges from $52,000 to $80,000, with the highest salaries in Massachusetts. If that’s more important to you than moving to a state with a high percentage of jobs available to nurses, the top states in terms of salary are as follows:

• California: $83,040
• Massachusetts: $79,390
• Hawaii: $77,950
• Maryland: $74,370
• New York: $73,160

It is important to keep in mind that your specific career path makes a difference in terms of where you should go to find the most job openings. With an MSN degree, there are four general specialties you can pursue – clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, or nurse educators. From there, you can specialize further to work with a certain group of people, such as the elderly, or to work with a certain part of the body, such as reproductive health. Further specialization is especially important for clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners.

Lastly, the type of facility where you want to work can also change the number of jobs open in certain areas. For example, in a state like Florida, there’s a higher need for nurses in extended care facilities, home healthcare organizations, and nursing homes, while in a state like New York, there’s more of a demand for emergency room nurses or nurses who want to work at family practices.

MSN - Adult Nursing MSN - Clinical Nursing MSN - Nurse Midwifery MSN - Women's Health More...	University of Cincinnati — The University of Cincinnati's online nursing programs knows no geographic bounds. Cinci offers several online master's degree programs in nursing, including MSN in clinical nursing, MSN in adult nursing, MSN in nurse midwifery, MSN in nursing administration, MSN in psychiatric health nursing, and MSN in women's health. Students of these programs are required to be BSN holders with some nursing experience.
RN to MS in Nursing MSN - Informatics MSN - Education MSN - Leadership BSN to MS in Nursing	Walden University — Walden University provides nurses with the unique opportunity to advance their careers through master's programs for registered nurses. Specialties include informatics, education, leadership and a general course to help you acquire the knowledge to educate nursing students, staff and patients-and prepare for current and future career opportunities. Walden also offers several BSN to MSN programs.
MS in Nursing MSN - Health Education MSN - Informatics MSN - Health Administration MSN - Healthcare Mgmt	University of Phoenix — The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of registered nurses with baccalaureate-degree preparation. Coursework covers advanced nursing content and process, as well as leadership skills, teaching experience and the ability to manage health care systems. Areas of specialty within their MSN program include health education, informatics, health administration, and healthcare management.
Dual Degree: MSN/MBA MSN - Nurse Education MSN - Nurse Leadership	Grand Canyon University — Earn your dual master's degree in business and nursing, along with specialties in clinical care, education, family nurse practitioner, or nursing leadership at Grand Canyon University's college of nursing and health sciences. Each course can provide you with the skills and techniques you need to become the best in your field.
RN to BSN to MSN MSN - Psychiatric Nurse MSN - Clinical Trials MSN - Adult Acute Care More...	Drexel University — The RN to BSN to MSN track offered by Drexel University is a cutting-edge program that allows students to work on their bachelor's degree while simultaneously pursuing their master's. Students enrolling in this program must be a licensed registered nurse with some prior college experience, perhaps an associate's degree. MSN programs offered: adult acute care, adult psychiatric and mental health, clinical trials research, contemporary nursing faculty, innovation and intra/entrepreneurship in advanced nursing practice, and nursing leadership in health systems management.
MSN - Nurse Education	Graceland University — The 40-credit MSN nurse educator program from Graceland University is CCNE accredited, with online courses lasting eight weeks per session. The curriculum, which includes courses in advanced health assessment, education technology, and issues in nursing education, is designed with the working RN in mind, as students are able to complete the degree from home after hours.
MS in Nursing	Liberty University — Learn how to provide expert clinical care and related health care services to individuals, families and groups of people across the lifespan in a variety of acute care and community settings through Liberty University's Master of Science in Nursing program. Liberty University incorporates core Christian values into all of their degree offerings in order to provide all students a thorough academic and spiritually enriching program of study.
MS in Nursing	Saint Xavier University — For nurses looking for a more advanced role in the workplace, consider the online MSN degree program from Saint Xavier University, which offers a Clinical Nurse Leader focus. Graduates of this program will be prepared to critically assess patient data and treatment options as well as coordinate with doctors and other nurses.
RN to MSN MSN - Informatics MSN - Case Management MSN - Leadership MSN - Infection Prevention	American Sentinel University — For registered nurses looking for further advancement in their careers, the RN to MSN degree programs offered by American Sentinel University offer the learning experience required to advance in nursing informatics, case management, organizational leadership, infection prevention, and more. Students of this program complete 21 undergraduate credits plus 36 graduate-level credits to obtain their degrees.
MS in Nursing MSN - Nurse Administration MSN - Nurse Education	Kaplan University — Earn your M.S. in Nursing with a specialty in nurse administration or nurse education with an online degree from Kaplan University. The Master of Science in Nursing is also a foundation for future doctoral studies, and these online programs makes it easy for you to keep working while you study.
MSN - Nurse Educator MSN - Nurse Educator Bridge	Capella University — The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs from Capella University Online are geared toward BSN graduates currently working as registered nurses (RNs). They offer MSN - Nurse Educator and MSN - Nurse Educator Bridge programs. For those wishing for a flexible and affordable plan to take their nursing careers to the next level, Capella is a very sound choice.
MSN - Nurse Administration MSN - Nurse Education	Norwich University — Norwich University offers master's in nursing degree programs in nurse administration and nursing education. Graduates of each of these programs will be well skilled in healthcare communication, critical thinking, and nursing leadership. Both programs consist of 36 credit hours of online coursework divided into six online seminars.
MS in Nursing	Benedictine University — Benedictine offers an MS in Nursing program that prepares students with the expert nursing knowledge and skill they will need to become specialized nurse practitioners in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinical care units, and doctors' offices.
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