How to Become a Nurse Without a High School Diploma

If you want to become a nurse but don’t have a high school diploma, the good news is you can! The path to becoming a Registered Nurse (RN) may take some extra work, but with the right steps and guidance, you can work toward achieving your goal.

It all starts with signing up for GED classes. Once you sign up, you can earn your GED in as little as six weeks. Think of your GED as the first step toward a brighter future. From there, the possibilities are yours to explore.

What Does a Nurse Do?

There are all kinds of nurses. As you move up, your responsibilities increase, as does your pay. At the first level is a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). A CNA is the nurse who provides daily care for patients. You will give hands-on assistance in helping patients move around, bathe, and eat, while monitoring their vital signs under the supervision of a more qualified nurse.

A Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), can administer medications, care for wounds, and monitor the patient, all under an RN. In Texas and California, an LPN is called a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN).

A Registered Nurse (RN) works alongside doctors to manage patient care. An RN often has a team to tend to the patients’ needs. If you want to move up to becoming an RN, there are “bridge” programs that allow you to move up through the levels without having to start from the beginning each time.

Becoming a nurse is a great career. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual wage was $64,400 for licensed practical and vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs) and about $97,550 for registered nurses (RNs) in May 2025. This figure can go even higher depending on your location, shift, and speciality.

The BLS is predicting that registered nursing could grow by 6% over the decade, with more than 180,000 job openings each year. (See the BLS Registered Nurses summary.)

Requirements at a Glance

As you scale the levels, the requirements increase. The very first one is the most important for you right now, because it's the key that unlocks everything above CNA.

From No Diploma to Registered Nurse

If you are serious about becoming a registered nurse, you absolutely can do it! By following these 4 steps, you can go from having no diploma to being an RN in as little as 3 to 5 years. The timeframes are realistic and achievable.

Each of these steps takes time, but if you're willing to stick with it, you’ll have a career as an RN sooner than you think! It all starts with getting your GED.

Step 1 — Get Your GED

Time — 6 weeks or less

Getting your GED really is your launchpad to a new career in nursing.

With a GED or HiSET, you will have an official equivalent of a high school diploma that is recognized by nursing programs throughout the United States and many countries abroad. You can achieve this all-important first step in as little as two months if you put in the work.

Step 2 — Work and Learn as a CNA

Time — 4–8 weeks

Your GED is the key to this step. With it, you can sign up for and take a short CNA program. Once you pass your state competency exam, you will be able to grab some real clinical experience and start earning. For this step, you will also need to have a criminal background check and make sure your vaccinations are up to date, but as a Certified Nursing Assistant you’re on your way!

Step 3 — Level Up to Licensed Practical Nurse

Time — 12–16 months

Here is where you dig in. The next step is to get into an accredited LPN program, leading to the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses, or the NCLEX-PN. Once you pass this licensing exam, you are ready to be a licensed nurse – and your CNA experience is often taken into consideration to get you a higher starting salary.

Important: GED REQUIRED FOR LPN. Your actual CNA training doesn’t require a diploma, but every accredited LPN program does. Your GED is the key move up from assistant to licensed nurse.

Step 4 — Become a Registered Nurse

Time — 2–4 years, or faster via bridge

The final step, advancing from LPN to Registered Nurse (RN), is the longest but the most rewarding step of all. In this step, you must enroll in either an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). The ADN is generally a 2-year program, while the BSN is 4 years. At the end, you are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN. As an LPN, LPN-to-RN bridge programs can give you credit for work you have already done and shorten the degree programs significantly.
 
As an RN, your career journey is just beginning. An RN typically earns an average of about $97,550 a year, with top earners well past $100k depending on shift and specialty (2025).

Timeframe Estimate:
 • GED: about 6 weeks
 • CNA: 4-8 weeks
 • LPN: about a year
 • RN: 2-4 more years
 
From no diploma to Registered Nurse in about three to five years. And while you move through the steps, you are earning a paycheck too.
 
Still interested?

You’re on Your Way Toward Your Nursing Career

The plan is simple. Sometimes it might not be easy, but if you want to achieve your goal of a career as an RN, this is the most direct path to getting there. And the good news is that you don’t have to go back to high school to get there. How you did in high school doesn’t matter anymore, and being a star student was never part of the equation.

The first move can be made today by getting into classes and passing the GED. Once you have that in hand, you can start the steps from CNA to LPN/LVN to RN, learning, working, and getting paid along the way. With a GED in hand, you qualify for many other good-paying careers, too.

Enroll in GED/HiSET Classes Now

Take the first step toward becoming a nurse.

Useful Resources for More Info

• BLS: Registered Nurses — official salary data and job outlook

• NCSBN — NCLEX — the body behind the NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN exams

• r/nursing — a large community of nurses sharing advice

• State Boards of Nursing — find your state's specific requirements