Being a neonatal nurse or in any specialized nursing career, you are already guaranteed of a very bright future ahead because nursing is often categorized as a recession proof career. Aside from the fact that it is a very noble profession, a neonatal nurse salary is also very competitive. Whether a hospital or a clinic can really afford to hire a neonatal nurse, it is still with no doubt that the nursing skills is very in demand so most likely, a hospital or an institution will really get one.
The term neonatal refers to the first 28 days of a new born, and thus, the job description of a neonatal nurse. Neonatal nurses are the ones who are responsible in taking good care of a new born most especially to those who are born premature, with critical illness or those that needs an advanced medical attention.
Neonatal nursing is actually a new specialty compared to midwifery and adult health fields. Being a new field, a neonatal nurse will have a lot of time and opportunities to be able to enhance more their skills. You also have two options on where you would want to practice your nursing skills. You can either choose to take care of the babies who are acutely ill and or premature or you can choose to work in the new born nurseries and take good care of the healthy babies.
As I have mentioned, a neonatal nurse salary is very competitive to other fields. But even so, there are still some factors that you would have to look at as these factors have a great chance to affect the salary range of a neonatal nurse. One factor that can affect the neonatal nurse salary is the cost of living in the area that they are practicing their neonatal nursing career. It is already relative that if the area is considered as a depressed area, then the neonatal nurse salary is more likely to be low compared to some areas or parts of the world.
In the Midwest, inexperienced nurses have an annual salary that ranges from upper 30s to mid-40s. But on other coasts, the neonatal nurse salary is usually higher like in the Southern areas where a fresh nursing graduate can earn from $30,000 to $48,000. It is also understood that an experienced nurse will more likely to earn higher than the amount mentioned above.
The best way for a neonatal nurse to have a better chance of earning a little higher is to get certification. Not only that this will increase the neonatal nurse salary but it will also be helpful in improving the qualifications of the neonatal nurse. Most of the employers would actually prefer nurses with certifications since they are more skilled and more experienced in handling their job.