Since the pandemic, nurses with skills and experience are more in demand than ever — and especially for certain specialties. If you’re looking for a career change in the year ahead, here are our picks for the best nursing specialties for 2025.
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What Are the Best Nursing Specialties for RNs?
Whether you’re still earning your diploma or already have years of experience under your belt, there are lots of good reasons for understanding today's best nursing specialties for RNs in terms of factors like salary, demand, and stability.
For instance, you may be looking at safeguarding your future by working in a specialty with better job security. Or maybe you’re looking to earn more without having to go back to school for an advanced degree — a situation that’s more and more common in today’s economy.
Whatever the reason, it’s good to know what nursing specialties aren't just in demand today, but also likely to stay that way in the years to come. With that in mind, here are our picks for the 5 best nursing specialties for 2025 and beyond.
#1: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
- What is it? NICU nurses provide care for babies in need of critical or specialized care, whether due to premature birth, acute illness, defects, or other conditions.
- What to know: NICU nurses are definitely in demand at the HealthTrust jobsite, for a few reasons. For instance, premature birth rates are rising, while new procedures and tech are allowing for more types of care. As a result, many providers are expanding NICU services, and hiring nurses to help deliver them.
- What you’ll earn: Experienced NICU nurses can expect to earn higher-than-average pay. NurseJournal includes it in its list of top jobs by salary — a list that’s mostly reserved for advanced degrees.
- How to qualify: To work in the NICU, you’ll need to be a registered nurse — most assignments we’ve seen require a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), too. You’ll also need Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) and Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
- How to excel: Because a lot of NICU work is built around new equipment and tech, having a strong comfort with technology can be a big boost to your CV. You may also consider getting related certifications like Low-Risk Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Core Certification.
- Crossover potential: Experience in other ICU settings could help you qualify for a NICU jobs. You can read more about working in new nurse specialties here.
- Search now: Check out our list of open NICU nursing jobs here.
#2: Intermediate / Progressive Care (PCU)
- What is it? Also called intermediate care, progressive care is the stage between critical care (ICU) and acute care (med/surg). So, working in the progressive care unit (PCU) means treating patients who are acutely ill or seriously injured and transitioning from intensive to more stabilized care.
- What to know: A relatively new unit, PCUs were added by many hospitals and health centers over the past few decades to provide better care for patients in every stage of recovery. The increase in chronic conditions means demand is always high for nurses who can provide fast, effective care to fill these units.
- What you’ll earn: Intermediate care is one of the highest-paying job specialties at the HealthTrust jobsite. Click here to see current pay rates across the U.S.A.
- How to qualify: You’ll need to be licensed and registered, with an Associate or Bachelor degree. Many of the jobs at the HealthTrust jobsite also require Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and BLS certifications, as well as a fitness test.
- How to excel: PCU nurses are in high demand, but the best jobs can also be competitive. Getting a certification in progressive care, like the PCCN certification, can help your chances. It’ll also prepare you for jobs in telemetry, stepdown, the ER, and other settings.
- Crossover potential: Telemetry and stepdown care are both closely related to progressive and intermediate care. Learn more about working in new nurse specialties here.
- Search now: Browse all of our progressive care nursing jobs here.
#3: Cath Lab
- What is it? Cath lab nurses assist in the catheterization laboratory, a setting within cardiac care that’s dedicated to treating conditions relating to the heart’s arteries and chambers.
- What to know: As with oncology, cath lab is a specialty that’s growing from increased detection, better screening, and more effective treatment. While the total number of available jobs may be fewer than in oncology or ER, the demand for these jobs remains high, and is likely to grow in 2025 and beyond.
- What you’ll earn: Cath lab nurses tend to earn more than other specialties — in fact, they’ve been among the highest-paid jobs here at HealthTrust for much of 2024. And the more experience you accumulate in the cath lab, the higher your salary will likely climb in the years ahead.
- How to qualify: You’ll need to be a registered nurse with an active license and a degree (a BSN is required for many of the cath lab nursing jobs we’ve seen). Most employers will also want you to have ACLS and BLS certifications.
- How to excel: This may be one of the best nursing specialties for travelers — in other words, if you’re willing to adapt to the traveling lifestyle, you’ll have no shortage of cath lab opportunities. Learn more about traveling here.
- Crossover potential: Experience in other cardiac care settings may help you land a cath lab job. Learn more about changing nurse specialties here.
- Search now: See all of our available cath lab nursing jobs here.
#4: Emergency Room (ER) / Emergency Medicine (EM)
- What is it? Nurses working in emergency settings treat people in urgent need of care, whether from illness or injury. Working under the supervision of a doctor or NP, emergency room RNs usually provide direct, hands-on treatment.
- What to know: There will always be medical emergencies, and ER nurses are always in demand in most parts of the country — but especially in cities and suburbs. As the population in many metro areas grows, and new hospitals open ER facilities, the need for skilled and motivated nurses will only increase.
- What you’ll earn: Pay for ER nurses is slightly higher than the average for all RNs, with some high-demand settings (like big-city hospitals) offering more pay to attract skilled workers to their teams and keep them happy.
- How to qualify: You’ll need to be a registered nurse in good standing with an Associate or Bachelor degree. You should also have Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) certification, as well as ACLS and BLS.
- How to excel: As with some of the other picks in our rundown of best nursing specialties for 2025, the more direct experience you have, the better. You should also focus on developing other “soft skills” like adaptability, fast thinking and problem solving, and the ability to thrive during long, intense shifts.
- Crossover potential: If you have experience in med/surg settings, you may be well positioned to transition to emergency room jobs. Read more about how to work in new nurse specialties here.
- Search now: Search our list of available ER nursing jobs here.
#5: Critical Care / ICU
- What is it? Critical care nurses manage and treat patients with life-threatening conditions like severe illness or traumatic injury. A big part of the job is using life-support equipment and tech to help perform advanced procedures.
- What to know: As the average American gets older and older, the number of patients with one or more chronic conditions is also rising. In addition, new technology is allowing facilities to treat more of these conditions, and in new ways, and they're hiring more critical care nurses to help deliver those services.
- What you’ll earn: Nurse.org lists critical care and ICU nursing among their 5 best nursing specialties for pay as well as job satisfaction, with top earners bringing home six-figure salaries.
- How to qualify: You’ll need an active RN license and an Associate or Bachelor degree, with higher-paying jobs usually requiring a BSN. You should also have basic life-support certifications like the ACLS and BLS, and consider getting American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Board Certification, too.
- How to excel: Specialty certifications like the NIHSS can help you land more competitive jobs. And since you’ll be working in teams that focus on fewer patients, communications and teamwork are also valuable skills to have.
- Crossover potential: Acute care experience could carry over into critical care opportunities. Read more about how to work in new nurse specialties here.
- Search now: Check out all our available critical care nursing jobs here.
Find the Best Job Opportunities for the Best Nursing Specialties with HealthTrust
Whether or not you work in one of our choices for 2025's best nursing specialties, you’ll find the career opportunities you’re looking for at the HealthTrust jobsite. Apply with us directly for priority access to top jobs and special pay rates!
