Should I pursue a MSN in leadership or education if I'm not sure I want to be in management?

Take it from me, I focused on education for my MSN and now I am in leadership and regret not learning more about leadership. Education is great if you plan to pursue education. Ask yourself - do you want to be a leader or a teacher. Leaders inevitably teach, but not all teachers what it takes to lead. There are far more jobs available in leadership than in education.

If you are that unsure after speaking with peers who hold jobs in both areas, investigate masters level programs that have dual degrees. You could be prepared for both roles when you finish. There are many learning opportunities to be found in each that will help you in any role.

You actually can obtain both. It doesn’t have to be one or the other get the MSN with education and later get certification in leadership or attend a leadership bootcamp

MSN with a public health specialization gives you leadership and education. Then you are extremely versatile and can practice anywhere including public health, community health, environmental health and infection control and emergency management. Or you can stay at the bedside.

Get an APRN for greater flexibility and job choice options + Psych APRNs are in huge demand with starting rates surpassing some CRNA salaries in Northern CA!

I’ve personally seen Psych APRN positions starting at 185,000.00/year in the San Francisco/ Bay Area markets; but, in that area you can easily reach >200k with OT as a BSN/RN now! No BS.

My MSN is in leadership, but quickly realized I didn’t like it so I became and educator. I think either way you go you can work in either setting. But I’d advice you to go for what your heart wants, you will gain either way!

My husband and I both did RN to MSN from WGU (Western Governors University). He chose to do Leadership/Management. When he was working on his Capstone (Graduate project), he suggested that I look into enrolling for my advanced degree. The other options were Education and Informatics. The Education path was focused on teaching you how to write curriculum and do presentations. The Informatics path was focused on analytics and data / project management. I chose Informatics even though that field was starting to get bogged down with too many applicants and not enough positions. I love data analysis / project management. As someone else previously stated, all nursing is educating. I just felt that I learned a lot about Leadership/Management by proofreading my hubby's papers / projects. I didn't want to be pigeon-holed into writing curriculum with an MNEd. You have to look at your goals, the curriculum of program of study, and your current job prospects. You have to do YOU.....not what everyone else says you HAVE to do. Do what makes YOU HAPPY.

I earned my MSN in critical care, CNS concentration. I believe it was the best choice for me because I too was unsure of what I ultimately wanted to do. CNS degrees encompass advanced clinical practice, leadership and education, so there are elements of all three paths in the masters program. I ultimately worked as a surgical ICU/trauma staff RN, clinical educator, and spent the majority of my career as part of a leadership team in a Surgical ICU/trauma unit. My MSN served me well in all three roles.

Do Leadership, and it will help you with both if you choose to teach or to do management

Hi, I currently am in a masters program at NNU for leadership and education and the curriculum has been pretty thorough in both areas.

You do not need a MSN for leadership, education or Management. You just need experience as a Nurse

Understand Leadership is management. Education gives you the best of all worlds, You are not floor or staff nursing but not management.

I would suggest education. That will open doors to teach and other opportunities. I have an MSN in Leadership and Management and not currently using it.

You can alway do a duel degree...

There will be Leadership and Educational skills needed and used regardless of your choice in an employment position. An Administrative role would require Operational skills, including employee evaluation/coaching/improvement and interactions with Executive members of the Hospital or College. A Faculty position requires communications skills as well, including conflict. I would strongly urge you to think about an ideal role and work towards it whether in a clinical or academic setting. Good luck!!

I would suggest pursuing whichever one you’re most passionate about. You do not NEED a MSN to enter management, but it will definitely help advance your career. I have been in various management/leadership roles since my 5th year in nursing (now in my 28th) with a BSN, which is why I suggest going with your passion.

Hi, it never hurts to get more education. While you may not be ready for a leadership position now you may in the future

I just finished my MSN in education, I don’t feel like it is worth it. I wish I would of done informatics. There is no money in education.

You can always return for a Specialty Certificate after an MSN if you change your focus.

Leadership and management are not the same, although one is more successful in management if also a leader. I believe the MSN in leadership would be more helpful as leadership is required in many of the nursing roles.

There is always doing MNT Nurse Educator

I received my Master’s of Nursing as a Nurse Educator/CNS but ended up in leadership and my certification is through AONL so worked out well. I went to big 10 schools and got a great education too.

To me Leadership is on the job type training. Any MSN is entry level now. BSN is basic. I added MBA to my education profile in order to have credibility in the business world.

It’s difficult to decide! Do an assessment test to see if you are a true leader or a “teacher”.
I know I am a leader and we are all teaching to some degree. But, you may want that curriculum development course too!

I agree with others that an education focus will be more limiting unless your sure that’s where you’re heading. My MSN is a generalist, with courses that bridged both management and education. Even during the application process this gave me a greater variety of opportunities.

Hi! Great question. Start from where you want to go. What is your ultimate goal? This really matters. If you want to be a nurse educator, this choice can go 1,000 directions: clinical educator, CNS(which is an advanced practice cert), clinical instructor(usually adjunct) SON School Affiliated. Professor positions for RN to BSN, Post Bacc Programs BSN or BSN traditional May accept MSN educators. MSN to DNP,NP programs will ask for PhD, DNP(NP) credentials and scholarship are a must.
For Leadership, there are many opportunities under this area, you will need to be actively involved in a professional organization and scholarship is highly sought.

Find the position you would want no matter where it is at, look at the job descriptions, print those that peak your interest along with the qualifications. Highlight what you have and take a really close look at what you will need. That should answer your question.

Also look at ROI, the pay. Is this what you expected? Or does it not matter you just want a job you love?
Good Luck

MSN with a focus on education may be more limiting. As nurse educator, you may have less autonomy particularly if you are working under a clinical nurse specialist. As an educator, you typically do not deal with discipline and fiscal responsibility as those are taken on more by administrative leadership. However, if you think that there is a possibility that you may change your mind about being in executive management, I suggest looking into administrative. This allows greater flexibility as you can still go into either education or administration. Educator track may not afford you the same choice.