What is the difference between an AA in nursing and a BS in nursing, besides the longer education for a BS?

I am interested in becoming a RN. Is the pay better if one has a BS in nursing? Is there a better chance of getting a RN position with a BS in nursing? I understand the state exam for nursing is the same at the end of the courses. Please help. Thanks.

The most significant difference between the education of an associate degree in nursing and a BS in nursing is that the BS prepared nurse takes courses that cover community health nursing, nutrition, additional science courses, and more management related courses than associate degree nurses have to take.

In many cases the starting pay offered to graduates of both programs may be the same, but the BSN prepared nurse has far more career opportunities and options available than the ADN and thus has far more potential to gain salary increases more quickly than the ADN and will earn more over the course of a career than an ADN.

Further - in some places the BSN prepared graduate is considered the entry level for practicing nursing and they won't hire ADN nurses at all any more. The Dept. of Veteran's Affairs for one... the state of California recently set a deadline for all nurses working in the state to have a BS in Nursing by a certainb date in order to continue working, and the state of New York was talking about doing the same. North Dakota has required ALL new nurse hires to have a BSN degree since 1987.... you see where this is going right?

Here's an outstanding article that describes in greater detail why the BSN is the degree to get if you want a future in nursing:
To BSN or Not to BSN:
http://medi-smart.com/rntobsn.htm

Good luck with your plans & I hope you go into nursing :)

If you get a BS, then you can be shift leader and more money. An AS will only get you the job of picking up bedpans.

even with AS you can do much more then bedpans
but payment is better when you have BS - that's for sure
and you can get more responsible job