You almost certainly can’t choose a field with more promising prospects for employment than nursing, given the explosive and sustained growth of the healthcare industries. It’s clear that you would always be in demand, in any geographical region or economic climate, because people’s health is always an issue and they need to be taken care of. Here are five reasons to pursue online nursing degrees:

1. Online nursing degrees guarantee competitive salaries to start, which grow drastically with experience. Most other fields are not only experiencing unavailability, but also cuts in wages for those that do retain employment.

2. You will have many different options available as far as career placement is concerned. Your degree will swing the doors wide open for employment in pediatrics, acute care, a behind-the-desk administrative post after some experience, surgical nursing and much more. Online nursing degrees even give you the option of functioning as a travel nurse, where your expenses are paid as you get to see the world while caring for patients in the different locales.

3. If you are a generally compassionate and engaging person, then nursing might be for you. The chance to truly save lives, working in tandem with some of the best doctors in the world, can be a life changing and exhilarating experience.

4. Because nursing is such an in-demand field, you are often available for an attractive suite of scholarship options, financial aid, and even full tuition reimbursement, which eliminates one of the biggest excuses to pursuing online nursing degrees: the money involved. National statistics show that the demand for healthcare nursing is growing so fast that there may not be enough nurses to fill it a decade or so from now. Hospitals are eager to encourage people just like you to start thinking seriously about a career in this growing field now, to apprehend now what could be a huge problem of shortages later.

5. You would be hard-pressed to find a field of employment with greater job security than nursing. Globally, there aren’t enough nurses as it currently stands, and this is expected to get worse. No matter what the economic climate, online nursing degrees can almost guarantee that you will not be laid off. Furthermore, because of this national and global shortage, you will have your pick of posts upon graduation. When combined with the attractive package of benefits available to nurses, such as vacation time, sick leave, flexible shifts, insurance coverage, and full support for continued educational pursuits (think nursing doctorate), choosing to investigate the opportunity further can be an easy decision.