Few career paths offer higher salaries and more opportunities than nursing. In fact, the future is exceptionally bright for nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Data from the United States Department of Labor and other sources predict that the number of available nursing positions will increase by nearly 20% each year… that’s tremendous growth… for at least the next 7 years. Equally good news is that projected job growth will occur across the country, so nurses can live anywhere they choose and relocate whenever they wish without worrying about finding work.

Among the primary factors fueling the rapid growth in nursing jobs are our aging population (principally the baby boomers), the fact that people now live significantly longer lives, and the increase in chronic maladies like obesity and diabetes. As a result, the United States will need more than half a million (500,000) additional nurses over the next 10 years.

All this means that nurses should enjoy almost unprecedented job security for the foreseeable future.

And, the salaries are attractive too, with the median nursing salary now at about $66,000 a year and rising. Those with graduate degrees or certain specialties, and those willing to travel for short-term assignments, can earn considerably more.

Like most other professional degrees, a nursing degree requires commitment. It also requires a willingness to accept academic challenges, such as courses in chemistry and anatomy and physiology, as well as the rigors of hands-on clinical training in hospitals and other medical facilities.

Fortunately, due to the skyrocketing demand for nurses, nursing programs are offered at colleges everywhere, and it is now even possible to earn an online nursing degree.