Nursing instructors teach the next generation of nurses in colleges and universities. You shape clinical skills, critical thinking, and patient care practices. The work demands a master's degree and deep nursing expertise, but it offers intellectual challenge and the chance to influence healthcare.
Pathly builds you a free, personalized roadmap and helps your counselor champion you along the way.
Nursing instructors develop and deliver coursework in nursing theory, clinical practice, and healthcare sciences. You teach in classrooms and clinical settings, designing lessons that build both knowledge and hands-on competency. Your work includes staying current with medical advances, evaluating student progress, and mentoring future nurses. You also establish relationships with students, answer their questions, and help them navigate complex material. Much of the role involves using computers for course management, research, and communication with colleagues and students.
Core work activities
Career video courtesy of CareerOneStop.
Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary earn a median of $80,250 a year, based on 2025 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and location.
The outlook is strong. Employment is projected to grow 17 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than average for all occupations, with about 8,600 openings a year.
Top skills
Knowledge areas
You will need a master's degree in nursing or a related field. Before pursuing this path, most instructors work as registered nurses in clinical settings to build expertise and experience. This foundation is essential because you teach from real-world knowledge. The master's program typically covers nursing education, curriculum design, and advanced clinical topics. Your nursing background combined with graduate study prepares you to teach at the postsecondary level and contribute to the profession's development.
Most nursing instructors come from clinical nursing roles, so the typical path involves working as a nurse first, then pursuing graduate education. If you are considering this transition, Pathly can map the nursing instructor and teacher, postsecondary path that fits you to map out the timing and steps, and work with your counselor to align your clinical experience with your teaching goals.
You do not need a license to work as a nursing instructor and teacher, postsecondary, but professional certifications can strengthen your resume.
Common certifications
You are drawn to helping others learn and grow. You enjoy one-on-one relationships, explaining complex ideas, and supporting people through challenging material. This career suits people who find meaning in education and mentorship.
Reading about a career is the easy part. Turning it into a plan is where most students get stuck. Pathly takes you from curious to a clear next step, and gives your counselor the insight to champion you along the way.
Start with a quick quiz and assessments that surface your personality, your EQ, and what really motivates you, so your next steps are built around who you actually are.
Your free AI guide weighs this career against your strengths and goals, and surfaces the colleges, trades, and scholarships that match, so you know if it truly fits before you commit.
Get a personalized, step-by-step plan to reach this career, with the training, coursework, and credentials tracked in one place. Link your school or IEC and your counselor in the loop.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
Data sources. Career details from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Salary and outlook figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 wages; 2024–2034 projections), delivered via the CareerOneStop API. Certification, licensing, wage, and outlook data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).