Depends on where you work, a hospice nurse, school nurse, and research nurse all have the same degree but their pros and cons are all worlds apart.

Which brings me to my first pro - The field is incredibly wide. There is a specialty for most any type of work someone would like. Here is a basic list of specialties in nursing and the type of degree you need for that job. If you get a BSN, you can go anywhere and do whatever you want related to nursing.

The next pro is the schedule. Do you want to be full time with benefits and work 3 days a week? Pick up a job with 12 hour shifts, make good money, and do tons of fun stuff on your 4 days off. Cant handle 12s and like the 9-5? Plenty of places still work on 8 hour shifts. Night owl? Perfect, they pay you more to work overnights.

The work can be incredibly stressful and incredibly gratifying at the same time. I work ER/ICU so i'm not entirely sure how the stress relates in other parts of the field. Id imagine i'm in one of the higher stress areas. Ive been part of a team that has saved countless people, but have lost many others.

This is where the negatives start in most fields. Being a nurse isnt sunshine and rainbows and making people feel good. You will clean up poop. You will get covered in bodily fluids. You will make mistakes. You will have people die. You will second guess yourself to the point of insanity. You will second guess ever becoming a nurse. There will be people who make your job hell. There is a very real reason why substance abuse is so high in nursing. The job isnt easy or relaxing, the decisions you make in real time have very real positive and negative outcomes on living breathing people... which can burn people out and isnt for everyone.