Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.
What it pays
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses earn a median of $30.96/hr — about $64,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.91/hr; the top 10% earn $40.12/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses earn a median of $30.96/hr — about $64,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $23.91/hr; the top 10% earn $40.12/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
- Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0.3% of licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are people-focused, hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
Work a simulated shift in this job — freeMake the real decisions this job involves, then see what your choices say about you.Related careers
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Quick questions
- How much does a licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse make?
- The median pay is $30.96 per hour — roughly $64,500 a year, with the real range running from about $23.91/hr (10th percentile) to $40.12/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse?
- The typical entry-level education is: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
- What does a licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse actually do all day?
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action. Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration. Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.