Optional · 1 of 3

Specialty certifications that raise your pay

Earned after a year or two on the floor, not in school.

• CCRN (Critical Care Registered Nurse)

  For intensive care work. Widely recognized and often worth a raise on its own.

• CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse)

  Emergency departments. Fast, unpredictable and never boring.

• Operating room training

  Scrubbing in on surgery. Hospitals usually train you into it rather than hiring for it.

• OCN (Oncology Certified Nurse)

  Cancer care. Long relationships with patients and heavy emotional weight.