Guide to Starting a Career in Health

While some value money, prestige, or scientific/technical advances in their careers, others find it more appealing to make a career of helping others.

Doing this sort of work can be rewarding on a number of levels. You might be able to help others accomplish something they may not have otherwise been able to without your help.

Seeing the progress of someone you’re assisting — whether in terms of physical health, mental health, weight loss goals, whatever it is — can help you grow as a person. You’ll also literally be making the world a better place.  You can help make life better for hundreds or even thousands of people.

Naturally, a lot of people who want to spend their life helping others gravitate toward the traditional healthcare industry.  However, that’s not the only field out there if you want to make helping others your life’s work.

Some people may think that working in the field of health inevitably involves gaining advanced degrees and working in a hospital or other typical health care industry setting, like a doctor or dentist’s office. While that’s certainly an option, it’s not the only path you can take.

There are a number of different career paths you can take that can be both financially and spiritually rewarding. In several cases, if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you can start your own business and make your career your own!

Here are the seven ways you can start your own business and make your career your own

Physical Therapist

Physical therapists help people overcome injuries, heal from the damage done to their bodies, and get back to their “old selves.” As a physical therapist, you could work in a rehabilitation center, hospital, athletic facility, or even out of your own business. Becoming a licensed physical therapist (PT) requires education and certification from The American Physical Therapy Association. If you want to take your career even further, you could choose to pursue your DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy).

Dental Hygienist

In terms of education, a dental hygienist is one of the less demanding career paths you could take. A dental hygienist cleans teeth, monitors patient treatment plans, takes X-rays, and identifies issues with patients’ oral health. An associate’s degree is typical for dental hygienists who are first starting out.

Dietician / Nutritionist

If you’re serious about eating healthy, you could put that expertise to work by becoming a dietician or nutritionist. Your work would involve helping people develop good eating habits, plan (and stick to) special diets, and help people manage or help prevent illness by eating the right foods and getting proper nutrition. Becoming a nutritionist entails getting a degree in Clinical Nutrition and some certifications.

Nurse Practitioner

While nurse practitioner is not a physician, they are licensed to do many of the things physicians do. These include assessing and diagnosing patients whilst taking care notes, prescribing therapies and medications, and making referrals to other health practitioners. With the demand for healthcare services increasing, becoming a nurse practitioner is one of the more lucrative careers in healthcare ($115,000 median salary). If you would want to develop your career even further, you could continue your education to specialize in adult care, gerontology, neonatal, pediatric, or related fields.

Occupational Therapist

The demand for occupational therapists is growing faster than many other careers in the field of health. Occupational therapists help people maintain their participation in the things that are important to them, whether it’s their job, social activities, recreation, getting around, or simply caring for themselves. An occupational therapist might help a stroke victim recover, aid people who are enduring an unavoidable change in their physical or mental abilities, and much more.

Home Health Aide

Not everyone who wants to work in health wants to work in a hospital environment. Becoming a home health aide is one of the least demanding careers in terms of education (you only need a high school diploma) and can be very rewarding — helping assist patients with their needs in the comfort of their own homes, rather than in the potentially stressful and isolating environment of a hospital. That’s not to say that you won’t ever have to get to grips with equipment like some of the various defibrillators for sale, which patients may have in their homes as a precaution but, generally, things may be a little calmer on a day to day basis than were you to work in a hospital.

You might help with house cleaning, bathing, medication, and other basic tasks they may need help with. Because this is a one-on-one profession, for the most part, it provides a chance to build relationships and perform a meaningful role in people’s lives.

Community Health Worker

Working in health isn’t just about medicine and treatment. A community health worker helps deliver important medical services to members of the community who might have trouble accessing the things they need. This may include screening for communicable diseases, providing medical referrals, helping with family planning services, and assisting pregnant women and children. The typical entry-level education for a community health worker is an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of career paths in the health field — you could also choose to take up helping others by advising on herbal medicine or holistic solutions — take a more traditional route pursuing a career such as RN, pharmacist, surgeon, or physician.