Top Paying Jobs in the Health Care Field
Career possibilities in the health-care field are virtually limitless. There are opportunities for physicians, nurses, x-ray technicians, respiratory therapists, researchers, managers, pharmacists, emergency paramedics, EMT's, medical social workers and counselors, just to name a few. Below are the top five paying jobs in the leading health-care sub-fields. The listed salaries are from a Bureau of Labor and Statistics survey from May 2008. Each listed salary is the mean salary for each profession-some salaries will fall below the mean and some will exceed the mean.
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Top Paying Physician and Dental Jobs
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Not only do doctors get a medical degree, they also get extensive post-graduate training in a medical specialty. The top paying specialties for doctors in the U.S as of May 2008 were surgeons at $206,770, anesthesiologist at $197,570, orthodontist at $194,930, obstetrician and gynecologists at $192,780 followed by general internists at $176,740.
Top Paying Nursing and Physician's Assistant Jobs
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If getting through medical school and years of strenuous post-graduate training is too intimidating, try an equally rewarding and challenging career as a nurse practitioner, physician's assistant or nurse. A compensation survey conducted by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners reports that the average salary of a nurse practitioner in 2007 was $87,400. The 2008 survey by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that nurse practitioners are followed closely in earnings by physician's assistants at $81,610, then registered nurses at $65,130 and finally, licensed practical nurses (also known as licensed vocational nurses, depending on locale) at $40,110.
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Top Paying Allied Health Careers
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Historically, the traditional path to a career in health-care involved going to medical school or nursing school. However, with the advent of new technologies, medical advancements and the growth of medical specialties came the need to augment the traditional path by creating other complementary positions. These are classified as allied health careers. The five top paying allied health careers are radiation therapist at $75,000, physical therapist at $74,410, occupational therapists at $67,920, nuclear medicine technologists at $67,480 and dental hygienists at $66,950.
Top Paying Healthcare Support Jobs
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This sub grouping of health-care jobs continues with providing hands-on treatment and focuses on assisting those in the other health care sub groupings. The top five support jobs are occupational therapist assistant at $48,440, physical therapist assistant at $46,300, massage therapist at $39,850, dental assistant at $33,170 and medical transcriptionist at $32,960.
Top Paying Mental Health Jobs
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These jobs focus on the psychological aspects of healthcare. The top five paying mental health jobs are medical and public health social workers at $47,000, mental health counselor at $40,270, substance abuse and behavior disorder counselors at $39,670 and mental health and substance abuse counselors at $39,630.
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