The medical field is one of the most sought after career paths in the world. If you think about the job most associated with helping other people, a physician will likely be the first thing that comes to mind. Becoming a doctor is one of the noblest things a person can do with their lives.
It is also one of the better-paying jobs you can do regardless of where in the world you happen to live. While it is true that some lineman whose name you don’t know, on a losing NFL team, with a mediocre career likely makes more than the average doctor, that player’s career will be short and brutish. And at the end of it, he will need to spend what money he has saved on seeing a good doctor.
Not only is being a doctor a noble job and one of the highest paying jobs, it is also one of the most respected jobs. There is much esteem associated with saving lives. That said, there are many people who would love to contribute to that cause, but who have an aversion to close contact with, well, people. The good news is that there are many ways to contribute to the healing arts without becoming a doctor. Here are 5.
1. Pharmacist
You probably felt like a pharmacist the first time you used one of those online pill identifier tools to help a loved one figure out what those pills were. You know, the ones in the bottle with the worn out label. It is the feeling you get when you help someone sort out a medical issue without the 12 years of school.
That feeling might lead you to pursue formal pharmacy career training. The average annual salary for a pharmacist is over $112,000.
2. Lab Technician
A lab technician can expect to make $37,000 on average. But that can go up to $60,000 annually depending on a number of factors. The medical industry runs on labs. A doctor cannot make an informed decision about anything before taking a swab and sending it to the lab for analysis. If you happen to be the one providing that analysis, you will have a huge impact on every aspect of a person’s healthcare.
3. Hospital Administration
A well-run hospital saves more lives than a poorly run hospital. We tend to see hospitals as utilities. But hospitals are also businesses. They have to be profitable, well-staffed, well-equipped, and extremely well-financed. Hospital administrator is one of the many jobs you can do that does not require direct patient contact.
A hospital administrator can expect to make around $237,000. Other hospital executives tend to earn much more than top-paid surgeons. Hospitals can’t save lives if they go bankrupt and close their doors. So if you are thinking of going into business, why not the business of saving lives?
4. Medical Transcriptionist
You know all those recordings doctors make full of incomprehensible terms, someone has to comprehend them, and write them down in a usable form. That is primarily the job of a medical transcriptionist. Depending on the program it should take no longer than two years, and could take as little as 6 months to complete training. A High-school diploma or GED is the only other prerequisite. Expect to make about $37,000
5. Medical Records and Health Information Technicians
Health records are meaningless if not properly ordered and maintained. That is primarily the job of a health records technician. Billing and coding is a subset of that work. Some employers will require an associate’s degree. That generally takes two years. Some programs only require a certificate that can be obtained in less than one year. One can expect about $38,000 on average.
You don’t have to spend your days scrubbing for surgery in order to help people. You can be a pharmacists, a lab tech, a hospital administrator, a transcriptionist, or a records tech. Either way, you are still doing something quite noble. You are still making money. And you are doing highly respectable work.
Discussion