Once you earn your BSN, you’ll notice that your salary instantly rises. BSN holders can make significantly more than registered nurses with an associate’s degree do. Many of the RN to BSN degree programs let you complete your degree while you continue with your nursing career, too. If you want to earn more money with your BSN degree, look at some simple ways you can increase your hourly or annual salary.

Resources:
Top 10 Cheapest Online RN to BSN Degree Programs
30 Best Affordable RN-BSN Degree Programs
Cheapest Accredited Online RN to BSN Programs to Most Expensive

Work on Nights and Weekends

Hospitals typically offer different shifts for nurses. First shift works early in the morning until the late afternoon, and second shift runs from later in the day to around midnight. If you do your best work at night, ask if you can switch to third shift. Third shift nurses often work from seven pm to seven am. The hospital will pay you a special rate based on those overnight shifts that will help you earn more money. You can make even more working on weekends instead of weekdays.

Volunteer for Holiday Work

To make more money with your BSN, volunteer to work on holidays. Many of those in the medical field have families and loved ones they want to be around during the holidays. Though hospitals rotate schedules to ensure that no one person works every major holiday, you can volunteer to work both major and minor holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving to put more money in your pocket. Many holiday shifts pay time and a half, and you can easily get overtime for simply working the shifts that no one else wants to work.

Work from Home

Did you know that you can actually use your BSN degree while working from home? A relatively new nursing job involves an element of telecommuting. You’ll use your own computer and telephone to answer phone calls from those who need medical assistance. You can give basic medical advice, let those patients know when they need to contact a doctor, inform patients of when they should visit an emergency room or urgent care center and even refer callers to doctors in their own areas. Some companies base your pay on the number of calls you take, but other companies pay you a set hourly salary. You can even do this type of work on days off from your regular job in order to earn more money with your degree.

Sign Up with a Staffing Agency

Staffing agencies hire nurses willing to work in different facilities. Hospitals and other facilities may face a lack of qualified nurses because of budget cuts, strikes and other problems. Some facilities use these staffing agencies to hire fill-in or temporary workers when nurses take a leave of absence. Staffing agencies pay a per diem salary, which means that you’ll earn a set rate for each day that you work. Other agencies will pay you an hourly salary based on your level of experience.

Become a Travel Nurse

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, registered nurses make a median salary of more than $67,000 a year or around $32 an hour. Working as a traveling nurse is one way you can earn as much as $75 an hour or even more with your BSN degree, and many companies will reimburse your traveling expenses, too. Traveling nurses may move to a new city or region for weeks or months at a time, but others will accept temporary jobs working for local facilities in their home states.

You will increase the amount of money you make just by earning your BSN degree but there are ways you can make even more. After finishing your degree, volunteer to work different shifts at your current job or look for a new job as a traveling nurse or a temporary nurse.