Regarding the pay levels of nurses…
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html indicates that nursing pay is relatively low Gini compared to that of college graduates in other majors. The 10th percentile mid-career pay is relatively high, but the 90th percentile mid-career pay is relatively low. The starting median pay is relatively high, but does not increase as much as for other college graduates.