Exploring Health Care Careers

Options for Jobs in HealthCare
Health Care Jobs You Might Enjoy...

Exploring health care careers options is your first step towards jobs in healthcare. Find out what kinds of health care jobs are available.

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When people think about exploring health care careers, they generally think first of nursing jobs or medical careers of some type. And those are both a great place to start. Both careers also offer many different opportunities to specialize. But nursing and medicine are not your only options when it comes to a health care career, which is wonderful.

Statistics Don't Lie...

But first, let's start exploring health care careers by looking at some recent US Department of Labor statistics for some of the best paying and "hottest" jobs in the US labor market today and into the near future...

It probably doesn't come as too much of a surprise that physicians and surgeons are the highest paid career at the moment. But did you know that podiatrists (foot doctors), optometrists (eye doctors) and chiropractors are also in the top 10?

Other "up and coming" best paid healthcare careers include:

Health services managers
Physical therapists
Physician assistants
Dental hygienists

But, let me caution you against choosing your next career based only on how much money you stand to make. Sure, we all like having money. It makes paying the bills and getting the things we want a lot easier. But the old adage that "money can't buy happiness" is sound. Think about it. For most of us, when we choose a career, we'll be spending at least half of our waking hours doing that job.

So, I ask you... Shouldn't you be doing something you love?

If you can find a health care career path that promises to be one of the best paid careers AND it's something you think you'd enjoy doing, great!

But if not, take lots of time for exploring health care careers and carefully weigh your choices before you make a final decision about which of the jobs in healthcare is right for you. When it comes right down to it, the best paid careers are those that pay off not only in dollars, but also in satisfaction and happiness.

Another way to look at health care jobs is to look at the hottest careers. Why? Because, the so-called hottest careers in the future may give you some ideas on what might be the best careers for you.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has ranked the best careers from 2002 to 2012 both by speed of growth and by amount of growth.

In their fastest growing careers group are the health care jobs of medical assistants (#1), physician assistants (#3), home health aides (#5), medical records and health information technicians (#6), physical therapy aides (#7), and physical therapy assistants (#10).

As you can see, healthcare careers dominate that list...

There are also many jobs in health care in the next 20 fastest growing careers as well. For example, veterinary technologists and technicians (#13)—animal health care, dental hygienists (#15), occupational therapy aides (#16), dental assistants (#17), personal and home care aides (#18), occupational therapy assistants (#21), physical therapists (#28), occupational therapists (#29), and respiratory therapists (#30).

Another way to look at the hottest careers is by how many new jobs they'll produce in the next 10 years or so. Registered nursing leads the list!

Also on the list in the health care jobs area are:

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants (#10)
Home health aides (#17)
Personal and home care aides (#18)
Medical assistants (#22)

Nursing Career Descriptions and Jobs

For more detailed information on nursing career descriptions and jobs, click on the link below, but here is some general information to get you started in exploring health care careers in nursing.

First off, let me just say, that I loved being a nurse! But... it is extremely hard work, and often thankless. I'm happy to report that some of the conditions that existed when I first got into nursing 3 decades ago have thankfully been improved greatly... namely, salaries and respect from other healthcare professionals, such as physicians. However, some working conditions have gotten worse, as the US tries to come to grips with spiraling out of control health care costs.

So, if, while exploring health care careers, you decide that nursing is the right health care job for you, go for it! Just be sure you go into it with both eyes open...

OK, click the link to learn more about ... Nursing Career Descriptions and Jobs

Medical Career Descriptions and Jobs

If you aspire to be a physician, you can rest assured that you'll be paid well... once you pay off medical school and get through at least 8 years of schooling, your internship period, and being a resident, which could all take many more years.

The bottom line is, don't expect instant gratification from a medical career. To become a doctor takes tons of hard work, thousands of dollars, and years to become established. But the rewards can be generous.

To learn more, click here.

Other Healthcare Career Descriptions and Jobs

As you can see by the lists above, there are many options when it comes to health care careers, especially if you include allied health careers and health-related careers. Here's a fairly comprehensive list:

Physical therapist and PT aides
Occupational therapist and OT aides
Speech therapist
Respiratory therapist
Nutritionist or dietitian
Radiology technician (x-ray tech)
Phlebotomist (lab tech)
Physician assistant
Mental health tech
Medical social worker
Medical office workers, medical assistants
Home health aides, nursing aides, and personal care assistants
Health care administrators
Dental hygienists & assistants
Dentists
Chiropractors
Optometrists and Opticians
Veterinary technicians
Medical coders and medical billers

Over time, I'll be adding actual career descriptions and jobs to this list, so keep checking back. Meanwhile, if you want more information, why not do a search on Google?

Hopefully, this list of jobs in healthcare has given you a jumping off point for exploring health care careers. At the very least, it's opened your eyes to all the health care jobs before you!