Explore the pay, the preparation and the choices that can open your next step.
Three existing course pathways · Nine selected occupations · U.S. wage benchmarks, May 2025 · Checked September 13, 2026
What if I keep building my skills?
Compare staying in nursing assistant with studying toward another occupation. Change the assumptions to see the trade-offs.
Illustrative scenario, not a salary forecast. Starting pay defaults to a lower-wage benchmark, not a verified entry offer. New-role pay defaults to today’s national median, not a new-graduate salary. All inputs are editable.
Your choices change the comparison
$33,940Year 10 · stay in first role
$97,550Year 10 · study / new role
Annual gross earnings · 15-year what-if
━ Stay in first role┄ Study / new role
$313,780 difference in cumulative gross earnings after training cost through year 10.
Stay: $339,400. Study / new role, less $0 training cost: $653,180. Negative values mean the study route has not caught up under these assumptions.
Read all annual values
Illustrative annual gross earnings, USD
Year
Stay
Study / new role
1
$33,940
$16,970
2
$33,940
$16,970
3
$33,940
$16,970
4
$33,940
$16,970
5
$33,940
$97,550
6
$33,940
$97,550
7
$33,940
$97,550
8
$33,940
$97,550
9
$33,940
$97,550
10
$33,940
$97,550
11
$33,940
$97,550
12
$33,940
$97,550
13
$33,940
$97,550
14
$33,940
$97,550
15
$33,940
$97,550
What must happen for this route to work?
Complete an approved nursing education route and obtain RN licensure. Associate, diploma and bachelor’s routes exist; employer requirements vary.
Explore one possible nursing route. You may enter an approved RN program directly; CNA and LPN are not universal prerequisites.
The model assumes you complete training and enter the role without a job-search delay. It excludes taxes, living expenses, inflation adjustments, loan interest and benefits. Actual results may be lower or higher.