10 Most Common Career Changes for Nurses

Nurses may explore other careers for various reasons, from the desire to learn a new skill to the need for a different work environment. As a nurse, your educational qualifications, credentials, experience, and skills make you an attractive candidate in many industries and other non-clinical health care roles. Explore your post-nursing career options by considering the most common career changes for registered nurses. 

Reasons for making a career move

Nurses often have a passion for caring for others and a deep love for their work; however, it’s also a job that can be taxing mentally and physically. Nurses may have several reasons for choosing to make a career move. Some common reasons a nurse may seek out a new career include: 

• Discovering that nursing isn’t a passion.

• Having a desire to learn a new skill set 

• Wanting to seek out jobs with better pay 

• Experiencing feelings of burnout 

• Finding the work environment too stressful 

• Feeling the job is too physically demanding 

The good news is that you can find many non-nursing jobs that experienced nurses can easily transition into with minimal or no additional education or training. Discover some of the most common career changes for nurses.

Most common career changes for nurses 

Use your nursing credentials and experience to your advantage as you begin a new career. You can find many industries and employers that seek out nurses for their training and experience. If you’re considering a career change out of nursing, look into one of these career options ideal for nurses looking to make a change. 

1. Nutritionist 

Average annual US salary: $64,562 [1] 

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in food or nutrition or a related field, supervised training, and state licensure. Some employers may prefer you have advanced degrees or professional credentials such as Registered Dietician (RD) or Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS).

Read more: Your Guide to Nutrition Degrees

A nutritionist counsels individuals on making positive diet and lifestyle choices to support their health and well-being. Nutritionists typically work with a specific population—for example, individuals with diabetes or those struggling with obesity. As a nutritionist, you may spend a significant portion of your day meeting with clients to monitor progress, create customized diet and lifestyle plans, discuss and set personalized health goals, and assess and adjust nutrition plans to suit each client’s needs. Depending on where you work in this role, you may also hold classes or events educating the public on topics related to health and nutrition. 

Nutritionists typically work in hospitals and other clinical settings, public health facilities, private clinics, or government-owned agencies. Clinical nutritionists often provide medical nutrition advice in clinical settings. Community nutritionists educate the general public on topics related to nutrition and usually work in public health clinics or related facilities.   

2. Pharmaceutical sales

Average annual US salary: $77,974 [2]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in science or health and human services; many employers prefer advanced degrees. Certification, such as the Certified National Pharmaceutical Representative (CNPR) or other additional training, is optional but recommended. 

Pharmaceutical sales representatives travel to doctors’ offices and other medical facilities, meeting with physicians to present or provide information on specific drugs their company sells. As a pharmaceutical sales rep, you may specialize in a particular drug or class of drugs. Many companies offer training programs for pharmaceutical sales reps. You need extensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical drugs you sell and sales and marketing techniques to excel in this position.

3. Physical therapist

Average annual US salary: $113,195 [3] 

Requirements: Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from an accredited program and national licensure required; optional board certification to specialize in an area of physical therapy

Physical therapists diagnose, treat, and help prevent injury, health conditions, and some medical issues that affect someone’s mobility. Some people, such as athletes or active individuals, seek physical therapists to help them maintain health, prevent injury, and improve athletic performance. Part of your job as a physical therapist involves devising treatment plans, providing hands-on therapy, demonstrating helpful exercises to do at home, and using specific equipment to aid in increased patient mobility.

As a physical therapist, you might work in various settings. Examples include physical therapy clinics, schools, clients’ homes, hospitals, and outpatient centers.

4. Medical writer

Average annual US salary: $87,700 [4]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in a field related to science or health care; advanced degrees preferred by many employers; optional certification with national medical writing professional organizations such as the American Medical Writers Association 

As a medical writer, you’ll work as a technical writer who writes about health, medicine, and science topics. Medical writers must have deep knowledge and understanding of the medical field. Expect to spend much of your time researching and interviewing sources. The type of medical writing you pursue determines your writing purpose, intended audience, and the publication or organization you work for. The types of medical writing include: 

• Medical education: This type of writing aims to educate physicians or groups of patients on specific topics. It includes textbooks, patient education materials, and e-learning content.

• Regulatory writing: Regulatory writing includes composing clinical study reports, patient information leaflets, and safety and efficacy reports or summaries. This writing usually presents findings or analyzes studies conducted by regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

• Promotional medical writing: To educate the public on and promote a medical device, drug, or intervention, promotional medical writing tends to be less clinical and more focused on selling and marketing a product or idea. You may create promotional materials, web content, or sales training modules. 

• Scientific publication: As a scientific publication medical writer, you’ll create content for academic and scientific journals and publications. You’ll likely work with academics and researchers to develop manuscripts and abstracts. 

5. Social worker

Average annual US salary: $57,991 [5]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree for non-clinical positions or a Master’s degree, supervised clinical experience, and state licensure for clinical roles. 

Social workers help individuals or groups requiring support or services, including financial or emotional-based needs. A social worker advocates for people and acts as a voice, a resource, and a support system for those in need. As a social worker, you may identify in-need individuals, set rehabilitation goals, maintain client case files by monitoring and documenting progress, provide access to or refer clients to helpful resources, and respond to emergencies or crises.  

Social workers can work outside clinical settings, educational facilities, public health facilities, and government-owned organizations and agencies. You can also be self-employed and work as a private practice licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). You may work with a particular demographic or population if you're self-employed. Some states refer to an LCSW as a clinical social worker (CSW). 

Read more: What Does a Social Worker Do (and How Do I Become One)?

6. Health educator

Average annual US salary: $55,859 [6]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in health education or a similar area of study; advanced degrees preferred; suggested certification through a national health education specialist organization. 

As a health educator, you will develop and implement health-based educational programs, events, and services based on the needs of a specific population to promote health and well-being. Common topics you may focus on include diabetes prevention, the importance of immunizations, drug addiction, and general disease prevention techniques.

In this role, you may oversee other health educators, using your medical knowledge and expertise to evaluate the efficacy of educational programs and make improvements where needed. You may also help individuals gain access to health services and advocate for individuals or a community of individuals. 

Government agencies employ many health educators. Many health educators work in an office setting but spend much time in the community attending events, holding programs, and meeting with individuals. 

7. Clinical manager 

Average annual US salary: $83,087 [7]

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in health care or business and professional experience; advanced degrees preferred by some employers; licensure as a registered nurse or social worker required in some states.

Clinical managers maintain the administrative needs of a medical facility to keep the facility running smoothly. As a clinical manager, you’ll train and support employees, communicate with hospital executives and other decision-makers, establish and set budgets for departments within a medical facility, ensure patient satisfaction, and assess a facility's adherence to health care standards and legal regulations. 

The actual scope of a clinical manager’s responsibilities varies by the size and type of clinical facility. Sometimes, clinical managers specialize in one area of health care and oversee a specific department within a larger facility. 

8. Legal nurse consultant

Average annual US salary: $100,367 [8]

Requirements: Licensure as a registered nurse, extensive clinical nursing background, and experience in medical-surgical nursing and a specialty area. Some employers prefer master’s or doctoral degrees.

As a legal nurse consultant (LNC), you’ll use your knowledge and clinical nursing skills to provide consultative services about medical issues within legal settings. LNCs evaluate the information presented in legal cases. Depending on the employer and legal matter, you may review and analyze medical records, provide testimony, consult attorneys, assess patient care in a case, review and inventory evidence, and observe medical examinations.

LNCs may work for private practices, legal firms, health care facilities, insurance companies, government agencies, or other organizations. LNCs typically specialize in a particular type of law, such as personal injury, worker’s compensation, medical malpractice, or forensics. 

9. Health information technician

Average annual US salary: $43,046 [9]

Requirements: Associate degree at minimum; may need bachelor’s or master’s degree; some employers require certification with a national organization.

Health information technicians perform various tasks, including maintaining and managing patient data for clinical databases and registries. As a health information technician, you will need astute attention to detail to gather information from patient treatment plans and other clinical documents and check these documents for accuracy and legal compliance. Health information technicians also take action on requests noted in patients' electronic health records (EHRs), such as medical records requests, legal requirements, and necessary authorizations. Depending on where you work, you may analyze patient data for research and other purposes beyond health care data maintenance and storage. 

10. Medical researcher 

Average annual US salary: $49,572 [10]

Requirements: PhD or medical degree required; medical license only needed to conduct clinical trials and treat patients 

Medical researchers, also known as medical scientists, study diseases, illnesses, health disorders, and conditions of the human body, which may involve testing and researching medical devices and drug therapies. In this role, you may conduct research, analyze findings, interpret data, and publish results to share with the medical community. 

Many medical researchers work with a physician to conduct clinical trials as part of a team of other medical researchers. It’s common for a medical researcher to specialize in a particular area, such as pharmaceuticals and drug therapy, toxicology, or pathology. Depending on your specialty, you may develop and complete proposals for research grants to aid employers in gaining funding. 

Next steps

Nurses can choose from a variety of post-nursing career options that put them on a new professional path. With a solid academic background and clinical skills, you can transition out of the clinical role into another rewarding position in health care and beyond. 

You can find valuable online courses on Coursera to help you transition into your new career.  For example, learn about effective nutritional practices by enrolling in Stanford University’s Introduction to Food and Healthcourse. Earning this certificate can be a helpful step toward becoming a nutritionist. Alternatively, if medical research interests you, consider taking the course Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics, offered by the University of Cape Town. Learn essential information and skills you’ll need to enter the field of medical research and testing.