Registered Nurses
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients.
Registered Nurses assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. The role reports a median annual salary of $93,600 in the US with the middle 80% earning between $61,250 and $132,680 and is projected to grow 5% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Entry typically requires a Bachelor's degree, and shows low AI exposure (0.30 on a 0-1 scale) — the role's core work resists automation. The most in-demand skills for the role include Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Speaking, Critical Thinking.
Salary distribution (US)
Real salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The p10–p90 spread tells you more than the median alone.
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Psychology
- Biology
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Chemistry
A day in the life
You begin your shift by receiving a handoff report from the outgoing nurse, reviewing patient charts, and prioritizing which patients need immediate attention based on acuity levels. Your hours are spent administering medications, monitoring vitals, updating electronic health records, and coordinating with physicians, pharmacists, and specialists to adjust care plans in real time. You are constantly on your feet, moving between patient rooms, comforting anxious families, educating patients on their conditions, and responding to call lights and emergencies that can change the pace of your entire shift in an instant. The job is profoundly rewarding when you see a patient recover and go home, but emotionally and physically demanding when you lose a patient or work back-to-back twelve-hour shifts.
Frequently asked questions
What does Registered Nurses do?
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients.
What does a typical day look like in Registered Nurses?
You begin your shift by receiving a handoff report from the outgoing nurse, reviewing patient charts, and prioritizing which patients need immediate attention based on acuity levels. Your hours are spent administering medications, monitoring vitals, updating electronic health records, and coordinating with physicians, pharmacists, and specialists to adjust care plans in real time.
How much does Registered Nurses earn?
The median annual salary for Registered Nurses in the US is $93,600. The middle 80% of workers earn between $61,250 and $132,680 annually. Entry-to-mid-career earners typically fall between $70,310 and $106,530.
What is the job outlook for Registered Nurses?
The role is projected to grow 5% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Current US employment is approximately 3,391,000 workers.
How do I become registered nurses?
The typical entry education is a Bachelor's degree. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Registered Nurses need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Coordination. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Registered Nurses?
Our AI-durability model gives Registered Nurses a score of 0.30 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at low AI exposure — the role's core work resists current-generation automation. It's a comparatively AI-durable choice within its field.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Registered Nurses has high barrier to entry — highly gated — a graduate degree or extended training/apprenticeship is typically required.
Is Registered Nurses right for you?
Take the Holland test + Big-5 to see how well this career matches your profile.
Get personalised fit →