How To Become An Occupational Nurse: What It Is and Career Path

What is an occupational nurse and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Kara Sump MSN, CNE

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an occupational nurse. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.27 an hour? That's $71,288 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 195,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an Occupational Nurse?

Kara Sump MSN, CNE

Assistant Professor of Nursing, George Fox University

Some of this is driven already by practice location, specialty, and unions (if entering a unionized position). I would do your research about what to expect and come with an expectation that you should be able to negotiate a pay rate if you have some background such as previous practice as a CNA, Medication aide, LPN, or another medically related field that is translatable to the nursing practice role. You might consider what relevant job shadows or volunteer work you could do should you not have any of the above. Or perhaps, what previous experience do you have that speaks to teamwork, delegation, managing others, communications, or other essential functions of nursing and being able to articulate how this should afford you a higher wage. Other helpful things- being flexible with shift- nights/weekends, speaking another language and being able to get certified as an interpreter.

ScoreOccupational NurseUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $71,288

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 8.91%

Black or African American 11.36%

Hispanic or Latino 9.34%

Unknown 4.29%

White 65.67%

Gender

female 89.79%

male 10.21%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.1

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an occupational nurse

Explore occupational nurse education requirements

Most common occupational nurse degrees

Associate

39.8 %

Bachelor's

36.5 %

Diploma

11.2 %

Start to develop specific occupational nurse skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	15.00%
CPR	10.53%
Occupational Medicine	7.57%
Occupational Health	6.80%
Medication Administration	6.49%

Complete relevant occupational nurse training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New occupational nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an occupational nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real occupational nurse resumes.

Research occupational nurse duties and responsibilities

Manage surveillance testing, vaccinations, CPR classes, and clinic facility.
Manage all immunization and vaccination programs and ensure compliance to establish program guidelines.
Spearhead education of patients pertaining to disease disorders and occupational injuries.
Provide emergency treatment for injure patients.

Prepare your occupational nurse resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your occupational nurse resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an occupational nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Occupational Nurse Resume templates

Build a professional Occupational Nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Occupational Nurse resume.

Apply for occupational nurse jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an occupational nurse job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do occupational nurses rate their job?