When people start looking for a career, they either choose to look for one based on their vocational wants and needs, or they think about the salary and the benefits that the job will come with. When you choose nursing as your career it’s often about the former rather than the latter.

Nurses aren’t nurses for the salary; if they were, we wouldn’t have nurses. The ability to care for a total stranger, to see them back from the brink of death and to manage their pain is one that doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people. For nurses, though, it’s their life’s work. They live and breathe the suffering of others, taking the losses to heart just as hard as the successes. While nurses don’t tend to look straight down the list of perks, they do consider them, and nursing does come with benefits that hit the spot both financially and emotionally, and with the seven perks listed below, you can see very easily why some people are drawn to the job.

1. Saving A Life. A benefit and perk like no other, nurses get the privilege of knowledge that can save a person’s life. Unlocking a critical diagnosis, being able to use CPR and generally knowing what to do in the time of crisis is a perk that brings a rush of adrenaline.
2. Flexible Schedules. Shift work is not the easiest to cope with, but it is easy to manage around things like childcare and appointments compared to the standard 9-5. It’s very rare for nurses to work in this manner, so shift work provides a flexible time scale to work within.
3. Awesome Extras. Some nurses get given watch fobs to wear by their employer, others get their scrubs paid for them by their employer from websites like UniformsAndScrubs.com. These little perks may not feel like massive benefits, but when you’re not having to reach into your own pocket to pay for them, they are!
4. Travel. As a nurse, you have the ability to do what you do anywhere in the world. Whether you want to head to another country permanently, your career is a key that unlocks doors worldwide.
5. Job Security. Everyone will need nurses, so you’re not at risk of being made redundant from your job unless the facility you are working for shuts down. Either way, there are always more jobs out there for you to pick up and work within.
6. Physical Labour. This sounds like a hardship, but it’s one of the most important perks there is. You are being up on your feet all day long means that you are going to get fit and quickly. You get to keep moving, which keeps your heart healthy!
7. Fluidity. Your job is fluid, which means you can work on a range of specialties and climb the career ladder to a multitude of levels. You have a scope for improvement no matter which way you look.

Nursing is a vocation that can change your life as well as others. Give it a whirl and see.