Nursing is one of the most lucrative fields to work in. The excellent pay and the flexibility work schedule makes nursing one of the most popular careers for many people.
Once a person has a nursing degree, they are able to find work fast. Unlike professional careers interviews, job hunting, and networking with recruiters on LinkedIn is a long and arduous process.
The ease with which a nurse can find work is one of the primary reasons people go into nursing. There is absolutely never a time when a nurse will be out of work unless they decide to stop working. Couple that with the high pay that nurses make (in most large cities nurses make 100k and above plus full benefits) it is clear why nursing is so popular a career choice.
Now, when most people think of nursing they think of hospitals, nursing homes, private clinics, and even home nurses that visit your home and are paid by insurance companies.
But what about nursing in the Military. The military requires a huge amount of nursing staff. The military includes: Army, Navy, Air Force. These all needs tens of thousands of medical personal all across the globe.
Obviously there will be many questions surrounding military nursing, and we will review them all below. This way, if you’re interested in becoming a nurse in the military you’ll have the answer to your most pressing question: how much money will you make!
The base pay for a nurse in the military will often be less than private sector. However, they will have added compenstion (housing, medical) that can bump it up to near equal.
For instance a nurse working in Florida might make 90k a year working in a nursing faclity or hospital. A military nurse might only have a base pay of 65k. However, when you add in their housing/medical/ and other extra pay they can sometimes be above 100k depending on how long they have been in the military and what their rank is.
Does The Branch Matter: Army vs Navy vs Air Force Nurse Salary
The pay rate for military is the same across all branches. The pay is based on your rank. So, a nurse of a certain rank will make the same amount of money if he or she is working as a first lieutenant in the Army or Navy or Air Force.
It’s a good idea to have an idea as to how rank works in the military. The entire process can seem complex to someone who is not familiar with how the military works. For those people, the best advice would be to research how exactly the different military rank works.
There are ideas that sound complex to the normal person such as non-commissioned, enlisted, rank, and other military specific terms. Here’s a good overview that can help you review what exactly the concepts involved in a career in the military.
Will The Military Pay For You To Become a Nurse?
No, there is no special program for people who want to be a nurse. However, the military does assist with paying for school. The program is known as the GI Bill.
Many people who graduate high school with poor grades, or who do not have the funds available to go to college decide to enter the military for just that reason.
First off, the military is a guaranteed job. People who join the military are paid to work and paid to live. There is no expense. That is why is attracts so many people who have very few options when it comes to employment or education.
So, what some people who would like to be a nurse often do is join the military and serve and then use the GI bill to go to nursing school. There is a misconception that people who join the army or other branch of the military can only use the GI bill to go to college.
That is not true. The GI bill can be used to go to trade schools and also nursing schools.
You can read more about the GI bill here. This is definitely worth reading up on if you are interested in becoming a nurse, yet do not have the ability to pay for nursing school.
Many people can enter the military and find jobs as orderlies or medics and then go straight into nursing school. It’s a great way for them to both save money as well as create a resume.
For the person who did not have a great high school record, and might otherwise end up working in a low paying low skill job, the military offers a great alternative.
There are things to be aware of, however, if you are just joining the military for schooling. You will have to sign up for a long time, and there are issues of social isolation. You can read up on others experiences online before you make this decision.
Do Military Nurses Have to Go Through Bootcamp?
If you are already a nurse and want to join the military and work as a nurse in the military, then no you do not go through bootcamp.
If you want to become a nurse through the military—then yes you would go through bootcamp. But remember, the military won’t train you to be a nurse. You will have to wait until you get out of the military to use your GI bill to become a nurse through nursing school.
People who are already nurses will enter the army as officers. They are not entering the military as enlisted people. This is a big difference as officers do not go through bootcamp. Joining the military as a commissioned officer who works as a nurse means that you’re not going though the enlisted route.
Many nurses join the military after getting their nursing degree because of the amazing government benefits and pay. These nurses do not have to go to bootcamp because they are commissioned officers.
People who want to become nurses and have no training can enlist in the military, serve their time, and then upon finishing their time in the military service use the GI bill to go to school. These people will have gone to boot camp.
If you are a nurse who wants to work in the military, you need to contact a military recrutier. A regular nurse recruiter will not be able to assist you. Nurse recerutiers work with private sector facilities or governmetn funded hospitals that are open to the public. Nurse recrutiers do not work with the military. Nurse recrutiers make money by finding nurses to work in skilled nursing facilities, the milirary does not need to hire outside recrutiers.
Pros Of Working as a Nurse in the Military
The obvious pros for working in the military are:
- Salary
- Stability
- Security
Once you get a job in the government, you have that job for life. And the military is one of the best types of government jobs. You receive free medical care, free housing, and a host of other benefits.
Many nurses who work for the military join right after they graduate nursing school and can retire with full benefits, including a huge government pension around the age of 40. This is something that no one else in the country aside from Police and Public School Teachers can do.
Cons of Working as a Nurse in the Military
The cons of working in the military as a nurse are also quite obvious.
- Movement
You will have to move when told. While many nurses are stationed in a large city and work at a VA or other government hospital, there are other nurses who work in the military that must be sent around the world. This can cause feelings of isolation for some nurses.
- Safety
Also, while rare, there is the safety issue to be aware of. Just because you will be working in a medical facility and not operating on the front lines like a military medic would, it does not mean
- Very Little Autonomy
In the private sector, nurses can call out whenever they want. There are always float nurses, per diem nurses, and travel nurses on hand. Unless the nurse becomes a constant problem then the hospitals ignore it. In the military, however, this is not allowed. Nurses are allowed to be more lax than other comissioned service people, but they still must act with much more
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