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Jobs for Former Nursing Instructors and Teachers

Also called: Nursing Instructors, Postsecondary

Nursing Instructors and Teachers build instructing, judgment and decision making and coordination skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Clinical Nurse Specialists (92%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 92%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationNone
  2. 91%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationNone
  3. 85%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    +22%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 84%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationNone
  5. 84%
    Median pay
    $100,330
    Pay change
    +25%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 82%
    Median pay
    $105,850
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Computer Systems Analysts”
    Extra educationNone
  7. 82%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationNone
  8. 82%
    Median pay
    $97,870
    Pay change
    +22%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 81%
    Median pay
    $64,070
    Pay change
    −20%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 81%
    Median pay
    $76,400
    Pay change
    −5%
    Extra educationNone

Compared with Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary, median $80,250. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as nursing instructors and teachers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Instructing4.25
Judgment and Decision Making3.88
Coordination3.75
Social Perceptiveness3.75
Complex Problem Solving3.62
Service Orientation3.25

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Service Orientation
  • Operations Analysis
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.

Clinical Nurse Specialists

92% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)

First step

  • Most common education: Master's Degree (86% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.

Skills to add

Operations Monitoring · Service Orientation · Operations Analysis

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences
  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job

Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses

91% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)

First step

  • Most common education: Master's Degree (87% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 6 months, up to and including 1 year.

Skills to add

Time Management · Negotiation · Service Orientation

Is this right for you?

  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences

Registered Nurses

85% skill match · $97,550 · +22% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (56% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Operations Monitoring · Quality Control Analysis · Operation and Control

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Questions former nursing instructors and teachers ask

What jobs can former nursing instructors and teachers do?

The closest matches are Clinical Nurse Specialists (92% skill match, median $97,550), Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (91% skill match, median $97,550) and Registered Nurses (85% skill match, median $97,550), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which nursing instructors and teacher career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 7 pay more than nursing instructors and teachers at the median. The biggest increases: Physical Therapists (+28%, $102,760), Occupational Therapists (+25%, $100,330) and Genetic Counselors (+25%, $100,040).

Do former nursing instructors and teachers need another degree?

25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses