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Kraena Pre-Health
Career Library

Nursing Paths

Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)

Administers anesthesia and monitors patients through surgery — among the highest-paid nursing roles.

Years after high school

8–10

Degree

DNP or DNAP (doctorate is now the entry requirement)

Entrance exam

GRE for some programs; ICU experience matters more

Median pay

$236,590 national median for nurse anesthetists (BLS, May 2025). This is the CRNA-specific median, not the lower combined APRN median.

What the job is actually like

You meet the patient before surgery, plan and deliver their anesthesia, and manage their airway, breathing, and vital signs minute by minute through the procedure. Long stretches of vigilance punctuated by moments where seconds matter.

The path

  1. 014 years for a BSN
  2. 02Pass the NCLEX-RN
  3. 031–3 years of critical care (ICU) experience — required, and competitive
  4. 043-year doctoral program (DNP or DNAP)
  5. 05National certification exam

Good fit if

  • You are drawn to physiology, pharmacology, and precision
  • You are calm under acute pressure
  • You want top-tier compensation without medical school

Think twice if

  • You want lots of long-term relationships with patients
  • You are not committed to spending years in an ICU first

Similar paths worth comparing

Nurse Practitioner (NP)

An advanced practice nurse who diagnoses, treats, and prescribes — with full independent practice in many states.

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Registered Nurse (RN)

The professional who spends the most time with patients and catches problems first.

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Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM)

An advanced practice nurse who manages pregnancy, birth, and women's health care — often with prescribing authority and independent practice.

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All salary figures here are median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 — the most recent full national dataset. 'Median' means half of workers earn more and half earn less. Three things to keep in mind: (1) pay varies enormously by state, city, setting, and experience — a nurse in California and a nurse in rural Alabama earn very different salaries; (2) training lengths are typical, not guaranteed, and programs differ; (3) these numbers change every year. Always verify current figures at bls.gov/ooh before making a decision. For context, the BLS median wage for all U.S. occupations was $50,980, while healthcare practitioner and technical occupations had a median of $86,530 — one of the reasons health care is such a stable field.