Every healthcare career, with the real numbers.
Pay by state and city from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, licensing rules from every state board, training programs near you, and the path from your first certificate to your last promotion.
Texas RN pay $95,970BLS OES May 202540 of 51 boards in the compactNurse Licensure Compact6,858 CNA programsState-approved lists, 40 states180,800 RN openings a yearBLS projections 2025–3551 license lookupsEvery state board, linked10,428 school listingsNCES IPEDS 2024BLS OES May 2025 · 51 boards of nursing · NCES IPEDS 2024
One page for each profession.
Every hub opens with the numbers that matter and links to the pages beneath it.
Registered Nurse
Assesses patients, gives treatments and medications, and coordinates care in hospitals, clinics, and homes.
- Typical pay
- $97,550
- Job growth 2025–35
- +5.6%
- Openings a year
- 180,800
- Time to train
- 2 to 4 years
Salary
$97,550 typical · 51 states, 515 metrosHow to become
2 to 4 years, then the NCLEX-RNPrograms and schools
2,125 colleges, 256,911 graduates in 2024Licensing
51 boards, 40 in the compactCompact states
40 of 51 boards in the NLCCareer path
CNA → LPN → RN → NP, $42,260 to $132,300Jobs
180,800 openings a yearInterview
Questions and answersResume
Guide and sample layoutOverview
What the job isHow to become one, in four steps.
Program length, the state's training rule, the exam, and the registry or license, with the facts from each board.
Choose the program length.
CNA training runs 75 to 175 hours depending on the state; a practical nursing (LPN) program about 12 months; an RN degree 2 to 4 years.
How long CNA training takesChoose the program length.
CNA training runs 75 to 175 hours depending on the state; a practical nursing (LPN) program about 12 months; an RN degree 2 to 4 years.
How long CNA training takesMeet your state's training rule.
Every state sets its own required hours. Missouri requires the most, 175; the federal minimum is 75, and 22 states require no more than that.
Training hours by statePass the exam.
The NCLEX-RN for registered nurses, the NCLEX-PN for practical nurses, and a state competency exam, written plus skills, for nursing assistants.
Try a CNA practice testGet on the registry or license roll.
Every state's lookup, renewal cycle, and fee, read from the board's own pages.
License lookups for all 51 boardsSalary by state and city.
The same profession pays very differently across the country. Pick a profession and hover a state.
United States
$97,550typical RN pay · BLS OES May 2025BLS OES May 2025 · 51 states, 515 metro areas
Programs and schools, listed from the official sources.
Every college that reported graduates for a program to the federal IPEDS survey, plus the state-approved lists where a state publishes one.
Registered Nurse
2,125colleges256,911 graduates in 2024Programs by stateLPN
1,050colleges50,931 graduates in 2024Programs by stateCNA
6,858state-approved programs40 state lists · 594 colleges in IPEDSPrograms by stateNurse Practitioner
532colleges24,053 graduates in 2024Programs by stateNCES IPEDS 2024 completions · state-approved CNA program lists read 2026-08 to 2026-09
State boards of nursing and nurse aide registries · read 2026-09
Career paths and what each step pays.
Many healthcare careers are ladders. Each rung has a bridge program and a pay figure.
CNA
75 to 175 hours of state-approved training and the state exam. The entry point for many nursing careers.
CNA to LPN
Practical nursing programs commonly run about 12 months, followed by the NCLEX-PN.
LPN to RN
LPN-to-RN bridge programs commonly run 12 to 18 months to an associate degree, followed by the NCLEX-RN.
RN to nurse practitioner
A master's or doctoral degree and national certification in a population focus.
BLS OES May 2025 · typical (median) annual pay, United States
Practice tests for the certification exams.
Questions shaped like the real exam, with the reasoning behind each answer.
A resident's call light is on and you are helping another resident. What should you do first?
CNA competency exam
A written or oral test plus a skills demonstration, set by each state.
Start the CNA practice testPhlebotomy certification
National certification exams for phlebotomy technicians.
Start phlebotomy practiceState nurse aide testing frameworks and national certification exam outlines, 2025–2026
Jobs by state and by setting.
Where the work is, who hires, and how much each setting pays. Registered nurses shown.
Projected yearly openings from growth and replacement, 2025–35.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
BLS employment projections.
BLS OES May 2025 · projections 2025–35 · employment by industry
Resume and interview preparation.
Written for the role: what to put on the page and how to answer the questions employers ask.
Summary
State-tested Certified Nursing Assistant with post-acute bedside experience. Focused on resident dignity, accurate vital signs, and infection prevention.
Certifications
CNA, state nurse aide registry, active · BLS CPR/AED
Clinical experience
Skilled nursing unit: daily direct resident care, ambulation support, and emergency response for geriatric rehabilitation patients.
Skills
Vitals, ADLs, infection control, electronic charting, mechanical lift transfers, palliative support.
“Tell me about a time a resident refused care.”
A resident with mild cognitive impairment became agitated and refused an evening bed bath, saying they were cold and tired.
I paused, acknowledged how they felt without arguing, warmed fresh blankets, and came back 20 minutes later.
The resident agreed, felt respected, and finished hygiene safely without escalation.
Interview and resume guides, updated 2026
How this site is built.
Every page carries its source and date. Every number is checked against the source table before it is published.
Sources
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35; 51 state boards of nursing, read September 2026; NCES IPEDS 2024; state-approved program lists.
Read the data methodology →Checks
Numbers are checked against the source table before publishing, and every page shows the data vintage it uses.
Read the editorial policy →Sponsored listings
None today. Any sponsored listing will be labeled and kept apart from the official lists.
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