Top Ten Careers in the Medical Field
The health-care industry is thriving, and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. The top-10 health-care careers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' "Occupational Outlook Handbook," are as follows:
1. Personal care aides
2. Home health care aides
3. Medical assistant
4. Pharmacy technician
5. Dental assistant
6. Dental hygienist
7. Physical therapist
8. Physical therapy aides and assistants
9. Physician assistant
10.Receptionists and information clerks
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks growth in various job categories and publishes statistics for each career category, including projected growth, the required training and average earnings. All of the growth figures quoted are for the period 2006 to 2016.
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Home Health Care
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1. Personal care aides
2. Home health care aidesMore jobs will be available for aides who provide personal care or health care in patients' homes than for any other health-care occupation during the period projected in the "Occupational Outlook Handbook." Home health-care aide jobs will increase by almost 47 percent and home health-care jobs by 53 percent. However, these jobs are among the lowest-paid in the field and offer few or no benefits, as there are few training requirements, and the jobs are often filled by unskilled or inexperienced workers. Starting pay is usually minimum wage.
Medical Assistant
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3. Medical Assistant
This field is expected to increase by 35.1 percent through 2016. Medical assistants work in physicians' offices, where they might perform only office tasks, such as filing, answering phones and scheduling patients' tests, or a combination of office duties and clinical work, such as assisting the doctor during exams. The job requires specialized training. Courses are offered by community colleges, which award an associate's degree, and vocational schools, where students earn diplomas or certificates. The average salary for this job is about $26,000 per year.
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Pharmacy Technicians
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4.. Pharmacy Technicians
Jobs for pharmacy techs are expected to grow by 31.6 percent from 2006 to 2016. People who work in this job assist a pharmacist with routine duties such as counting pills, weighing and measuring medications, labeling bottles, answering phones and taking customer information. There is no federally mandated training, and few states regulate the profession. Voluntary certification is available through several professional organizations. The average hourly wage for this job is $12.32.
Dental Care
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5. Dental Hygienist
6. Dental AssistantJob growth of about 30 percent is expected for both of these occupations in the ten-year period from 2006 to 2016. Both jobs require training. A dental hygienist must earn a degree and pass a licensing exam, while an assistant might be trained on the job or complete a course at a community college or technical school. The average hourly pay for a dental assistant is $14.50 and for a dental hygienist it is $30.00.
Physical Therapy
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7 Physical Therapist
8. Physical Therapy Aides and assistantsPhysical therapy jobs will grow by about 30 percent through 2016. Physical therapists help the injured or disabled by providing treatments that improve their mobility and general health. They treat people who've been injured in accidents, as well as people who suffer from chronic pain and crippling diseases. Physical therapists usually earn master's degrees and must be licensed by the state in which they practice. Their average salary is about $66,000.
Physical therapy aides and assistants are supervised by physical therapists and perform tasks such as helping patients with their exercises and teaching them to use mobility aids. Most states require assistants to have an associate's degree, while aides are usually trained on the job. Aides earn an average salary of about $22,000 and assistants earn about $41,000.
Physician Assistants
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9. Physician Assistants
This career field is expected to grow by almost 30 percent through 2016. Physician assistants are licensed by the state in which they practice. To be licensed, they must complete a two-year training course and pass an exam. In order to be admitted to the physician assistant training, most states require that they have completed at least two years of college and have some experience in the health care field. Physician assistants provide medical care to patients under the supervision of doctors. They take medical histories, read x-rays and charts, perform medical exams, treat minor wounds and, in some states, can prescribe medications. Their average salary is about $75,000.
Clerical Workers
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10. Receptionists and information clerks
Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not separate the statistics for clerical workers in the health-care field, jobs in categories relating primarily to health care are expected to increase through 2016. Jobs for billing clerks will grow by about 10 percent, and for medical secretaries by about 17 percent. All categories of office-support jobs will increase, including 22 percent growth for receptionists and information clerks, who may work in doctors' offices and hospitals. Training for these jobs varies according to function, with some jobs providing on-the-job training and others requiring some specialized post-secondary training. The average hourly wage for receptionists and information clerks varies, with a low of about $9 and a high of about $13.50.
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