Is nursing blue collar? (2024)

Some nursing jobs are blue-collar, while others are not. For example, Registered Nurses (RNs) have to complete at least a bachelor's degree, and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) have to complete a master's degree to earn their credentials, which usually puts them in the white-collar category.

However, some argue that because nurses do a form of manual labor, they're considered blue-collar workers.

Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), on the other hand, typically only need an associate's degree at the most. This, combined with the fact that they perform many manual tasks, usually puts them in the blue-collar category.

Nursing jobs are often considered pink-collar, referring to occupations traditionally only held by women. Although women are no longer only relegated to certain jobs and men often hold these pink-collar jobs, there is still a history of women accounting for most of these roles.