Emergency Room Nurse
Impact: Direct patient outcomes and public health
Provides immediate medical care to patients in emergency situations, assessing conditions, administering treatments, and stabilizing individuals experiencing acute illness or injury.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 80% Team / 20% Solo
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- Very High
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Rigid
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 36-48 hours/week
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $90,000
- Entry-level
- $65,000 - $80,000
- Senior
- $110,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 6% (average)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High to 70-90% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $20,000 - $40,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
- Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC)
- IV Insertion
- Wound Care
- Medication Administration
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Soft skills
- Critical Thinking
- Communication
- Empathy
- Problem-Solving
- Adaptability
- Resilience
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Associate's Degree
- Licensing
- Yes
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 7-10 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Staff Nurse
- Charge Nurse
- Nurse Manager
- Clinical Educator
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 5% to very low risk
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.9/10
- Meaning
- 4.2/10
- Work-life balance
- 2.8/10
- Prestige
- 7.5/10
- Social perception
- Very High