Your Suitable Healthcare Role
What is your dream job? How passionate are you? For example, if oncology moves you, then you could be an oncologist or an oncology technologist. You could also choose to be an oncology nurse, or even an emotional support worker. In each medical specialty, various jobs are open for any education or experience level.
Does A Higher Degree Make A Difference In Salary
Jobs in medical field practice and healthcare industries will vary considerably from the work to the compensation packages, and the path to working in these various roles will vary greatly as well. While some jobs in the medical field will only require a bachelors degree, others will require an advanced degree.
In most cases, the level of degree will determine the level and type of healthcare vocation, from nursing and therapy positions to jobs as physicians assistants and dentists. In addition to the level of the degree corresponding with the types of jobs in medical work, they also greatly influence salary packages.
Other factors that can influence the level and salary range of jobs in the medical field are considerations such as the socioeconomic status of the job location, the type of area , and even the type of employer. Most doctors make more money if they see more patients, by default, this makes metropolitan and urban areas potentially more lucrative than medical professionals who work in more rural or less densely populated areas.
The highest paying jobs in the medical field will most often require earning the highest level degrees, but these other factors will have a say in just what those wages look like. In addition to a higher degree, more populated cities, and more affluent areas having an impact on jobs in medical field and healthcare industries, the type of employer is another sizeable factor in determining salaries.
Medical And Health Services Managers
Also called healthcare executives and administrators, medical and health services managers are in charge of planning, directing, and coordinating the wide range of medical and health services. Their workplaces are just as varied, from hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes to non-profit organizations to public health agencies. Their normal workday includes performing the following tasks:
- Develop goals and objectives for the department and the facility
- Recommend processes and procedures for the increase of effectiveness, efficiency, and safety in the delivery of healthcare services
- Ensure compliance with the laws, rules, and regulations among the employees and the facility in general
- Aid in the recruitment, training, and development, and supervision of employees
- Create work schedules for the department and teams
- Prepare the budget as well as monitor spending and evaluate compliance with the budget guidelines
- Maintain organized records of services
- Represent the department or facility during meetings, as needed
Healthcare administrators also work with other healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and medical technicians, in their duties and third parties like patients, investors, and insurance agents.
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Find The Best Careers In The Medical Field On Joblist
If you are ready to find your new medical field position, you can get started right now on Joblist. Whether you want to work with patients in an acute healthcare setting or help people with disabilities long-term, we will help you find a position that is tailored to who you are.
Joblist will help you find your next position with customized job searches. We can then deliver personalized results based on the jobs that fit you best. Thanks to our quiz, we work to learn more about you before you make a job search. Get started finding your perfect medical position right now.
A Comprehensive List Of Medical Field Majors

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
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Are you interested in a career in health care, but are not sure how to start preparing for it? We have you covered!
Many medical students know that they want to help people, but they may need guidance in choosing a career path that best matches their interests and goals. If you are interested in the medical field, you can work in patient care, research or administrative roles. Researching different educational possibilities and the requirements and opportunities they present can help you narrow your search. In this article, we list popular medical field majors, some of the main jobs you can do with each degree and the average salaries for each major.
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Job Options For Medical Transcriptionists
Medical transcriptionists are sometimes known as healthcare documentation specialists. Since technology has changed the function of the job, you will want to make sure you have the new skills needed.
Electronic health records experience is especially important in the current medical landscape. You may need to help create EHR templates or policies for documentation, according to the BLS.
Overview Of The Healthcare Careers Across The World
The spread of COVID-19 has caused many changes. For instance, patients and their families are now involved in making healthcare decisions. Medical professionals are using virtual health and digital platforms. Public and private sectors are working together to create vaccines and drugs. To help recover from this pandemic, stakeholders work closely to find effective ways on how to respond to healthcare issues. Thus, all of us can survive and adapt to the new normal.
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Oral And Maxillofacial Surgeons
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons have specialized knowledge and skills in dental implant surgery, facial injury treatment and cosmetic surgery, and wisdom tooth management and extraction. Their training also allows them to offer advanced services, including removing cancerous tumors in the head, neck, and throat correction of airway issues in obstructive sleep apnea and surgery to correct lip and tongue defects .
Their typical responsibilities include:
- Diagnosis of health issues through interviews, physical examinations, and diagnostic tests
- Formulation of treatment options and discussions of their pros and cons with patients and their families
- Perform surgical procedures for the correction of head, neck, and ear issues, such as congenital craniofacial malformations, chronic infections, and catastrophic injuries
- Prescribe pre-operative and post-operative care
- Work with other medical professionals to improve patient outcomes
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons usually earn a bachelors degree and a dental degree followed by 4-6 years of residency training. They can also choose to pursue fellowships resulting in their specializations, such as pediatric maxillofacial surgery or craniomaxillofacial trauma. The industrys certifying body is The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
What Is A Typical Salary For A Career In The Medical Field
The typical median salary in the medical or healthcare field can vary considerably. Although all healthcare professionals are essential in the proper operation of a medical care facility, salaries will reflect the different levels of expertise. A surgeon, for example, has vastly different training and specialized knowledge compared to someone who works in the administrative portions of the healthcare field or as a health aide in a nursing home.
If you look at only healthcare practitioners and those who work on the technical side of medical operations, then the median annual wage is $75,040. Those who work on the support side of healthcare, such as home health aides, have a median annual salary of $29,430.
Here are some more specific examples to give you an idea of some of the different median salaries people might see within the medical field.
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Audiologists – $81,030
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The Many Benefits Of Having A Career In The Medical Field
Medicine is one of the most respected fields of work, and with good reason: Doctors, nurses, medical assistants, and other professionals work tirelessly to support individuals health and wellness on a daily basis.
Even if youre not comfortable with the sight of blood or are not interested in working directly with patients, there are a number of career options you can pursue, each with their own unique benefits. Below are just a few of the many benefits of having a career in the medical field.
What Are The Top Skills Needed To Start A Career In The Medical Field
While the responsibilities and education needed to succeed in medical professions vary considerably depending on your career, a few skills overlap across the different disciplines.
Some critical skills that you will want to cultivate to excel in the medical field include:
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An attention to detail
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Technical skills needed for the position
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Skills Needed For Respiratory Therapists
Respiratory therapists should have skills like:
- Should enjoy helping people and working closely with them
- Ability to be compassionate and empathetic
- Stamina and physical strength, plus being comfortable using their hands
- Ability to be organized, keep accurate records, and follow written and verbal instructions carefully
Is Healthcare For You

Start your career path by asking yourself a few questions. Do you want a career that allows you to help others? Are you looking to work in a field with higher than average projected career growth in the coming years? Would you like to choose between a wide variety of career options?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then healthcare could be a good career fit for you.
It can be difficult to know where to start since there are so many types of healthcare careers to choose from. A simple first step is to look at the broad career paths and see which ones fit best with your needs and goals.
Another option is take ahealthcare career quiz to help you explore healthcare positions based on your personality.
Here are a few overviews of the different fields in healthcare:
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Components Of A Successful Medical And Health Career: Skills Credentials Tools And Technology
The specific field of practice, specialty, and setting often determines the skills required within the medical and health industries. Health careers rely on strong knowledge of science and the specific area of practice, such as nursing, public health, medicine, or pharmacy, to name a few. However, there is a common set of core skills that all health care professionals should possess.
- Empathy and Support Skills: The ability to effectively to support others during stressful situations
- Reading Comprehension: The ability to understand reading materials and apply what was read
- Writing Skills: The ability to write clearly, including translating complicated information into general terms
- Oral Communication Skills: The ability to communicate clearly and accurately with others through face-to-face, telephone, written or other formats
- Organizational Skills: The ability to remain focused during times of stress or distraction
- Problem Solving Skills: The ability to review a situation or issues and devise an appropriate solution
- Clinical Skills: Specialized knowledge and skills in the medical field, such as taking a blood sample or performing an X-ray
- First-Aid Skills: Knowledge of first-aid treatment and life-support care to injured individuals
Benefits Of Healthcare Careers
A career in healthcare offers many advantages. An ageing society means the outlook for jobs in this field is very good. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that job opportunities in health care will grow 16% from 2020 to 2030, which is much faster than average and translates to about 2.6 million new jobs. This also means that salaries in the field are often higher than average, and come with good benefits.
A healthcare career is not limited to being a physician or nurse. There is a huge variety of jobs in healthcare, from athletic trainer to pharmacist to veterinary technician, not to mention supporting roles in areas such as finance, maintenance, research, or communications.
In healthcare, you have the opportunity to specialize in a field that is meaningful to you. But all involve helping people, which makes the work fulfilling. And the environment tends to be fast-paced, which is a plus for many people.
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Career Outlook For Occupational Therapy Assistants
Since the aging population has increased medical needs, occupational therapy assistants are expected to have a 34% increase in employment from 2020 to 2030,according to the BLS.
The massive hiring growth in this field means that job prospects in this field are very favorable and likely will be for years to come.
The 25 Highest Paying Jobs In The Medical Field In 2022
Some jobs have higher risks of life-threatening injuries and illnesses than others loggers, steelworkers, and truck drivers, for example. Theres no list of the most dangerous jobs globally that include medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists! But we live in abnormal times because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the medical profession has become one of the most dangerous professions.
Medical professionals, particularly doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians, have a significantly higher risk of infection due to their increased exposure to sick patients. In the United States, one in every seven COVID-19 infections is a health worker, a troubling trend considering the extreme strain the nations healthcare system is under.
Nonetheless, healthcare workers and other medical professionals have continued to perform their roles and responsibilities despite the risks! We consider them our unsung heroes, and we cant thank them enough for their hard work, thoughtfulness, and commitment.
COVID-19 and Healthcare
Why do they do it despite these risks? First, theirs is a profession and a vocation that demands 100% commitment to their sworn duty. Theirs isnt just a job but a personal conviction that strengthens their resolve to serve despite the risks. Second, theirs is a job that pays well and, in many instances, their salaries and benefits outweigh the possible risks.
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Top 50 Health Care Jobs
Health care jobs are in high demand across the board. Whether you want to spend 10+ years in college or less than a year, you can find work in the medical field. All you need is a good education and a passion for helping others to start a profitable and rewarding career. The list below highlights the top 50 health care jobs, ranked according to the number of jobs available in 2018. Employment levels and pay rates courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.
Note: The salaries and wages listed here are from the May 2018 data, which may not match the 2017 data available in most career BLS profiles. The career profiles are linked at the end of each job description.
Medical And Health Career Salaries
The medical and health industry not only has some of the fastest-growing occupational fields in the country, but some of the best paying as well. The specialized nature of providing medical services, coupled with the increasing need for medical care has led to booming salary levels across almost every occupation. Of the medical and health careers categorized by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 72 percent pay an average salary of more than $50,000 per year, with more than half of those occupations paying at least $80,000 per year.
The best paying salaries are reserved for individuals with advanced or professional degrees who provide advanced levels of medical care â such as surgeons, psychiatrists, dentists, and optometrists. However, opportunities for a well paying career exist at all degree levels. Below is a list of some of the best earning medical and health careers, regardless of educational attainment.
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Family And General Practitioners
Family and general practitioners have licensed physicians who diagnose and treat and aid in preventing illnesses and injuries that commonly occur in families and the general population. Due to their works general nature, many of them refer patients to specialists for further diagnosis and treatment. Their typical duties include:
- Consult with patients about their medical history, signs and symptoms, and other health concerns
- Order diagnostic and laboratory tests, interpret their results and make adjustments to initial diagnosis
- Design a treatment plan, which can include medications, exercises, and other therapeutic interventions, based on the test results
- Address concerns about patient well-being and health
- Provide counseling and information regarding the maintenance of overall health and hygiene
- Refer patients for specialized care when necessary
Due to their focus on family health, many family and general practitioners have regular, long-term patients. Many of their patients come from the same families in 2-3 generations.
The 10 Happiest Jobs In The Medical Field

Before we get into the list, lets define what we mean with the medical field. For the purposes of this article, we will consider any job that requires a medical degree so that means doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and so on. We will also be looking at both traditional and non-traditional jobs. You dont need to be working at an hospital or to have a white coat to be considered part of the medical field.
Now that we have that out of the way, lets get into the list.
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Career Training School Pros And Cons
Pros of getting a healthcare degree from a career training school college include:
- Often offer options for associate degrees and certificate programs
- Classes can be more affordable than traditional colleges
- Career training schools colleges often offer flexible class options that are well-suited for students who work full-time and have family obligations
Cons of getting a healthcare degree from a vocational/technical include:
- Career training schools dont offer on-campus communities, but may provide access to an active online community
- There may not be as many class options, but may instead focus on specialized classes within a specific discipline