Biotechnology Research & Development
Careers in the Biotechnology Research and Development pathway involve bioscience research and development as it applies to human health. These scientists may study diseases to discover new treatments or invent medical devices used to directly assist patients or to improve the accuracy of diagnostic tests. Sample occupations include:
- Certified Registered Central Service Technician
- Medical, Clinical Laboratory Technician
Why Is The Health Science Career Cluster So Important
Health science education is important because many of the roles within this field are, quite literally, a matter of life and death. It is critical to have properly trained healthcare workers who can care for patients, conduct impactful research, and train the next generation of medical professionals.
Some of the professionals to emerge from health science related studies include doctors and nurse practitioners, but they only make up a small percentage of this career cluster. Health science also encompasses unique career paths within environmental health, public health, medical research, nutrition, and other critical fields.
What else can be done with a health science degree? Read on, as we explore some of the prospective health science careers that you may be interested in pursuing.
Results: Stronger Education & Brighter Futures
The health science career cluster benefits everyone involved teachers, students, administrators, and even the general public.
Weve mentioned some of this information in previous points, but they bear repeating. After all, they point to the same end result.
The health science career cluster is the foundation for students futures.
In 2012, the US Department of Education conducted a study of 2004 graduates and their post-secondary experiences.
Health science had the second-highest number of post-secondary pursuers with 90% of all students moving into post-secondary education at some point between 2004 and 2012.
Post-secondary in this case doesnt just mean a four-year university either. It also means two-year programs, community colleges, career and technical centers, and other institutions.
But that number speaks volumes by itself.
With such a high rate of success, its clear that health science students are dedicated to their educations.
For the 10% that didnt pursue post-secondary education, thats okay too there are plenty of certifications and training opportunities for health science students to start their careers without higher education.
Today, theres actually a growing need for certificate-earners in health care, particularly among home health aides.
Those careers pay well, and they engage a demographic of educated individuals who otherwise may not get a chance at a fulfilling career just because they didnt go to college.
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Would A Career In Science Technology Engineering And Math Be A Good Fit For Me
The STEM career cluster is about expanding our concept of the universe and inventing the future. It centers on applying scientific methods, new technologies, and creative problem-solving skills to improve both natural and human-built worlds.
Careers in this cluster offer opportunities for inventive, science- and data-loving minds to solve complex problems for a wide variety of products and industries.
- Wages in this career cluster are typically much higher than the national average for all occupations. Engineering fields offer some of the highest starting salaries of all occupations for new college graduates.
- Curiosity and creativity are important traits in STEM careers, as workers are on the front lines of scientific discoveries and developing cutting-edge technologies.
- Workers in math-related careers report particularly high rates of job satisfaction. Mathematicians, statisticians, and actuaries are among the fastest-growing of all STEM jobs.
- Engineers work in a wide variety of industries all over the world, contributing to high levels of job security.
- The technology sector employs the largest number of STEM workers, in many fast-growing fields.
- Math, design, reasoning, and communication are essential skills in this cluster.
What Career Cluster Does A Doctor Fall Under
What Career Cluster Does Radiologist Fall Under?. Learning the Specialty A radiologist is a medical professional who uses technology, such as X-rays, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries. Radiology falls under the career cluster of medical specialties, and radiologists are specialty physicians. Although theyre often assisted by other professionals, such as radiologic technologists, a radiologist has the same training and licensing requirements as other physicians plus additional training in radiology. Earning Your Degrees Physicians must complete undergraduate prerequisites before beginning medical school, including classes in chemistry, math, biology and English. You can choose any major, but most students finish a bachelors degree before beginning medical training. Professional school lasts an additional four years and grants a Doctor of Medicine or a Doctor of Osteopathy degree, depending on your choice of program. The training is largely parallel in either case, including two years of class and lab work followed by two years of supervised practice in hospitals and clinics.
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Featured Job: Health Information Management Technician
Health Information Management technicians, also known as medical records technicians or health information coders, organize and manage health information data. This data includes a patients medical record, procedure results, notes from providers and more.They make sure this information is stored securely on both paper and digital systems, is accurate, and updated as needed. Most work in hospitals or doctors offices. Health Information Management technicians also code and categorize the patients information for insurance reimbursement.
Education: Post secondary certification, possible associates degree Pay: $37,111 Job outlook: growing faster than average
Defining The Health Science Career Cluster
Before you pursue this field of study, you will want to have a basic understanding of health science. Unlike general science courses you studied in high schoollike chemistry, biology, or physicshealth science is directly related to health and medicine. Essentially, health science is an area of study that focuses on natural and behavioral sciences, as they relate to medicine and our greater healthcare system.
What is the health science career cluster, then? The health science career cluster is used to describe a group of occupations that require similar skills within the health science field. It also refers to an educational area focused on teaching students how to be healthcare professionals. The health science career cluster was once known as vocational education, which is still used in some educational programs.
Over the past several years, however, the term vocational has been replaced with career and technical education , as technology became a larger part of our lives and of skill-dependent careers. While health science careers can still be considered vocations, the career cluster is part of CTE.
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Therapeutic Services Career Path
This pathway is the one most commonly associated with health science. People who work in therapeutic services provide direct care, including emergency care, rehabilitation therapy, surgery, and counseling services. Examples of careers in therapeutic services include athletic trainers, dentists, massage therapists, medical assistants, physicians, psychologists, registered nurses, and speech-language pathologists.
What Are Some Careers In Medical Science
Careers in medical science and biomedical science vary significantly with the area of specialisation chosen during study, research and work experience. Some examples include: medical scientists, research and development medical industry hospitals or private research institutes such as pharmaceutical industry,
What jobs can you get with a bachelors degree in health science?
Graduates who majored in health sciences have many career options from which to choose. Potential areas of employment for graduates include marketing, management, and education. Some of the career options may include medical laboratory technician, physical therapist, and diagnostic medical technologist.
What are career cluster jobs?
Examples of jobs in this career cluster include manager, accountant, administrative assistant, public relations director, account executive, or human resources manager. A degree in Business Administration is helpful for most jobs in this career cluster, though not always required.
What is the job outlook for Health Science?
Career Outlook. A person with an overall interest in health and fitness and who enjoys working with a variety of people should consider a career in the field of exercise science. The career outlook for the exercise scientist will continue to be good as the nation directs its efforts to protect and improve the health and well-being of its society.
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Health Science Career Cluster Definition
By definition, the health science career cluster is an educational area dedicated to teaching students how to be health care professionals. Its one of the 16 career clusters included in career and technical education , formerly known as vocational education.
In fact, some health science programs still carry the vocational name, like nursing vocational program or something similar.
The name career and technical education started to get used over the past few decades as technology became a greater factor in everyday life, including skills-based careers.
So while health science careers can still be considered vocations , the career cluster is part of CTE.
This is especially important to note since medical technology and research accelerate at a blinding pace these days. If students dont learn the technology behind careers like nursing and patient care, they wont be prepared to succeed in their careers.
And in health science, that could cost lives.
That brings us to the next big question why is the health science career cluster so important?
About Career Cluster Match
The National Career Clusters Framework identifies 16 career clusters and related career pathways that are designed to grow career awareness and exploration. Career Clusters are groups of occupations in the same field of work that require similar skills. Each cluster contains several smaller groups called career Pathways that connect to educational programs, industries, and jobs. While a Career Cluster paints a broad picture of a group of occupations, a Pathway helps you focus on and develop a clear, more informed, educational plan over time.
The Career Cluster Match was adapted and produced with permission from the Career Academic Connections Division of the Oklahoma Department of Career Tech. This survey does not make any claims of statistical reliability and has not been normed. It is intended for use as a guidance tool to generate discussion regarding careers and is valid for that purpose.
Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
Manufacturing
Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
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What Are Some Careers In Health Science
Many employment opportunities are currently available in health science. Most are in the private sector including hospitals and clinics, but public health organizations also hire for a variety of positions. A number of health care occupations are projected to grow 25 percent or more during the next decademuch higher than the 5 percent average for all occupations.
One unique aspect of the health care industry is that most jobs require very specific levels and types of education more than in other industries. Credentials may be stacked to build a career ladder in the industry, including certificate programs that take a few months, two-and four-year college degrees, professional certifications, or occupational licenses. An example of a health care career ladder:
- With a high school education, someone can start out as a personal care aide.
- With brief formal training, they can move to a home health aide position which adds further medical knowledge and care tasks.
- With a 4-12 week training program and passing state certification, they can become a certified nurse assistant, with increasing wages and responsibility at each step.
- With further education they can move to licensed practical nurse , and registered nurse .
High school education
Diagnostic Services Career Path
Careers in diagnostic services deal with the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, injuries, and other physical ailments. People who work in this pathway spend much of their time collecting samples from, performing tests on, and analyzing data about patients. They then either pass this information on to other health care professionals or speak with the patient about the results. Examples of careers in this pathway include cardiovascular technologists, cytotechnologists, and X-ray technologists.
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Scope: 300+ Specialty Careers
Just like how health science education preps students for their careers and future education, it also preps students for a huge number of careers.
Some of these careers require specialty courses. Others may require on-the-job experience.
But they all start with CTE health science courses.
In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the health care field will add 1.6 million jobs to the US economy between 2016 and 2026 and thats just for the top 10 health care careers!
There are more than 300 specialized careers in health care that are inaccessible without a health science education.
Some of these include careers you hear about every day, such as:
Depending on your area and legal requirements, individuals may be able to pursue these careers without a background in health science.
Sometimes, they just need to pass a certification.
But even those certifications are more attainable and manageable when someone has a health science education.
How they pursue those dreams is ultimately up to them.
But an entire career cluster cant make decisions for every single one of its students. They have to figure out what they want on their own.
As they do, theyll always have the solid background and education from their CTE health science program.
Overall, the last four points illustrate why health science is so important to students. But theres one more big factor to consider.
Job Outlook And Salaries For Health Science Jobs
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the employment outlook for all health care occupations is expected to increase 16% by 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. Health care occupations are projected to add about 2.6 million new jobs, mainly due to an aging population.
The median annual wage for health care practitioners and technical occupations such as registered nurses, dental hygienists and surgeons, was $75,040 in May 2021, higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $45,760. The median annual wage of health care support jobs such as home health aids and medical transcriptionists was $29,880 in May 2021.
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Jobs You Can Get With A Health Science Degree
Jamie Birt is a career coach with 4+ years of experience helping job seekers navigate the job search through one-to-one coaching, webinars and events. Shes motivated by the mission to help people find fulfillment and belonging in their careers.
Related: Top 10 Jobs in Health Care
Are you interested in a career in the healthcare industry, but are not sure which job is best for you, or how to start preparing for it? We have you covered!
With a degree in health sciences, you have a wide range of exciting clinical and nonclinical careers and work settings to choose from. By taking the time to research health science and its job positions, you can determine the best career path.
In this article, we define health science and provide a list of 20 careers within health science, their national average salaries and job responsibilities.
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Is Health Sciences A Fit For You
Core skills that are necessary for success in these occupations:
- Science Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems
- Service Orientation Looking for ways to help people
- Social Perceptiveness Understanding peoples reactions
- Instructing Teaching people how to do something
- Learning Strategies Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things
- Reading Comprehension Reading work-related information
- Active Learning Figuring out how to use new ideas or things
- Active Listening Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- Writing Writing things for co-workers or customers
- Judgment & Decision Making Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
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What Is Health Science
Health science is a sector of the health care industry that encompasses multiple areas of disciplines. It uses fields such as science, technology, engineering and communication to aid in the health and well-being of human beings and animals. Due to its diverse makeup, health science jobs can span public, administrative and clinical settings.
Health science jobs generally require degrees that include laboratory science classes and coursework in health-related social science fields such as epidemiology, sociology and psychology. Students also can take classes in health policy or the business of health care.
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What Is The Health Science Career Cluster And Where Might You Fit In
It is no secret that healthcare is the largest and fastest-growing industry. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, we need health science more than ever before. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates employment in health-related professions to grow 15 percent by 2029, about 2.4 million new jobs total. For this reason, many students today are exploring the health science career cluster.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, you may be considering your different options. One unique path to take is within the health science career cluster. This career and education pathway provides students with the ability to learn about disease, injury, medicine, nutrition, technology, wellness, and many other subjects that fall within the health science field. The opportunities are expansive, with jobs in a variety of workplace settings and specialties. Through a health science major, you could choose to become a laboratory technician, medical coder, environmental health scientist, health educator, and more.
What is the health science career cluster? Why does it matter? Where might you fit in? Read on, as we break down what you need to know about entering this rewarding cluster of careers.
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Applications: College & Career Readiness
College and career readiness is another area of education thats gaining momentum in schools across the country. It also works hand-in-hand with health science education.
As a CTE career cluster, health science is entirely based on the idea of giving students the career-based skills they need to succeed in the workforce.
But health science is also based on medical theory and traditional learning, two concepts that form the basis of post-secondary education.
So even though students study a hyper-specialized area, they graduate high school with two very different life options.
Theres no right answer. The best decision is the one that works for that students skillset and personal ambitions.
These two choices will take students down very different paths in life. But the fact that both opportunities are available is an enormous advantage.
Students who choose to pursue post-secondary education can most likely apply credits to their graduation progress at a university. That means less time wrapped up in schooling to get a typical four-year degree.
Students who opt to pursue a career right away will enter a much more specific workforce than other graduates their age. Instead of having to choose among unskilled, low-wage occupations, health science graduates can use their education to start a career that will financially support them and personally fulfill them.
