The medical industry is one of the biggest in the world with all sorts of job opportunities on offer, but a lot of people never consider them. If you want to break into the industry as a doctor, that means spending years in education followed by a residency before you’re eventually fully qualified. But most other jobs in the medical industry don’t require anywhere near as much training. Another common misconception is that the doctors and the surgeons are the ones that get paid the most, but in reality, there are all sorts of well-paid positions in the field. These are the best paying jobs in the medical field that don’t require training as a doctor.
Healthcare Administrator
A hospital is a big place with thousands of patients and staff to deal with. People are often being treated by multiple departments and there is a lot of paperwork involved at every stage of a patient’s treatment. Without somebody to organize everything, the whole place would come grinding to a halt. That’s where healthcare administrators come in. They’re the people responsible for running departments, organizing schedules for doctors and patients, and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. If you get yourself a bs healthcare administration degree, you can start applying for positions as a healthcare administrator. There is a lot of variation depending on what department or which hospital you’re working for so you’ve got plenty of choice. Your starting salary as a healthcare administrator will be around $63,000.
Physician’s Assistant
The pressure on general physicians is growing as the population ages. They are struggling to see all of their patients in a timely manner which is why there is more demand for physicians assistants than there has ever been. Their role is to take on some of the more basic tasks that the physician would normally do, opening up their time to deal with the more complicated cases. That includes doing things like conducting a full physical exam, providing basic treatment and writing prescriptions for patients. You’ll need some education but it isn’t anywhere near as intensive as training to be a doctor. Once you’ve got a bachelor’s degree and a bit of experience working in a medical job, you should be eligible to apply for the 2 year accreditation program which will qualify you to work as a physician’s assistant. You usually have to get re-certified once every 6 years to make sure you’re up to date with new practices. The average starting salary for a physician’s assistant is around $85,000.
Pharmacist
You probably don’t think that much about what your pharmacist does, they just dispense medications that doctors write the prescriptions for. But a pharmacist has to know about the composition of those drugs and how to take them safely. They can also offer a lot of basic medical advice and treatments to patients that only have minor conditions. You need to complete 2 years of college, studying sciences, before moving onto a 4 year pharmacy program but once you’re qualified, you can earn an average salary of over $100,000. You also have the opportunity to own your own business.
Being a doctor isn’t the only way to make good money working in the medical profession, try some of these alternative careers instead.