As a counter point, my DH is an acute care nurse in a metro area and has decided NOT to pursue NP programs bc of the opportunity costs of time off for school and tuition vs. FIRE plans. In his words, "Why would I want to stop working for 3 years - or lower my income substantially - to eventually make ~$110,000/yr working 50 hours a week when I currently make $98,000/yr working 55 - 60 hours a week [via overtime], and only plan to work for 10 years max?" And for what its worth, many metro areas are swimming with NPs... no hospitals in our area pay for their RNs to get NP degrees because there are so many on the market. That said, all of healthcare is growing, so maybe that's just our experience.
NPs make more per hour than RNs, certainly, and fit more into the "Dr/PA/Rounds" level, if that's important to you. But hospital nurses in acute care settings can make almost as much just by choosing to work overtime or holidays. YMMV depending on location, state, etc.
Likewise, DH says that he isn't impressed with the role NPs play in his hospital network - no glory, no "fun" acute cases (his words), less patient and family interaction than he gets as an RN. If he was interested in working in his own family-type practice setting, being an NP would be more fun, but that comes with its own sets of costs and headaches and lacks the acuity he is interested in.
I would ask yourself what your RN/NP goals are in terms of work environment, specialty, area, etc. and consider that against the alternatives. Especially considering tuition costs.
