There are many options for persons who are thinking of going into the nursing profession, it is up to you what level you want to reach, the amount of time that you are willing to invest and also the money. The fact is that becoming a nurse is never a bad career move because their is always a shortage of nurses in the field and you will never have problems getting a job, no matter what level you are at. The amount of money that you get paid will probably is the deciding factor on how far you strive to go.

To start at the top, you can opt for a BSN; this is a Bachelors of Science in nursing degree and is considered the top tier for nurses in terms of academic education. This course will take about four years to complete and is offered in many colleges and universities. It is said that more students tend to enroll in the BSN degree program than any other nursing programs in the top universities.

The Basic program is made up in such a way that even students who have never had any nursing preparations can take the course. The first year will cover prerequisite courses to get everyone on the same level academically and the remaining three years are geared towards nursing courses which incorporates the facilities of neighboring hospitals and health agencies, so that the students can get clinical leaning experiences under the supervision of faculty members and medical personnel. After the students graduate and have been awarded their degree, they will then be eligible to take the NCLEX exam to become licensed.

For those who want to start working a little quicker and spend less time in the classroom for the moment, they can opt for an associate degree course. This course takes roughly half the time of a BSN and tends to focus more on the technical aspects rather than theory. Most graduates of the ASN course continue to the BSN at a later time, but for the time being they can graduate and become a Registered nurse in as little as two years and it also allows them to be eligible to take the NCLEX exam and be licensed also.

Another nursing course is that of the Diploma in nursing, which surprisingly does not draw the attention of many students as the two aforementioned courses. The Diploma course also takes two years, but most students who query the advancement opportunities that come with the diploma often tend to decide on doing the BSN instead. The reason for this can be due to the fact that many health care facilities and organizations do not see the diploma as being credible, therefore the students that enter into this course tend to have to complete and additional course afterwards to get the recognition that they need to move up in their career, as such, many student deter from it from the beginning.

There are other courses for persons who want to be in the medical field but would also like to get there very quickly. These "quick" courses are the most popular among young students because the courses rarely ever last for longer than 6 months tend to be specialized in a particular area, so as to provide enough information on a particular field. They will teach a student specific skills to be able to be employed in a specialize environment.