What Kind of Jobs
Exist?
About 3 out
of 4 healthcare
jobs are in
professional and
service
occupations,
according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook
by the U.S.
Department of
Labor's Bureau
for Labor
Statistics (BLS).
Professional
occupations
include
physicians
and surgeons,
dentists,
registered
nurses,
social workers,
and physical
therapists,
and usually
require at least
a bachelor’s
degree in a
specialized
field or higher
education in a
specific health
field.
Registered
nurses also
enter the field
through
associate degree
or diploma
programs.
Professional
workers often
have high levels
of
responsibility
and complex
duties. In
addition to
providing
services, these
workers may
supervise other
workers or
conduct
research.
Other health
professionals
and technicians
work in many
fast growing
occupations,
such as
medical records
and
health
information
technicians
and dental
hygienists.
These workers
may operate
technical
equipment and
assist health
diagnosing and
treating
practitioners.
Graduates of
1-year or 2-year
training
programs often
fill such
positions; the
jobs usually
require specific
formal training
beyond high
school, but less
than 4 years of
college.
Service
occupations
attract many
workers with
little or no
specialized
education or
training. For
instance, some
of these workers
are nursing
aides,
home health
aides,
building
cleaning workers,
dental
assistants,
medical
assistants,
and personal
and home care
aides.
Nursing or
home health
aides
provide
health-related
services for
ill, injured,
disabled,
elderly, or
infirm
individuals
either in
institutions or
in their homes.
By providing
routine personal
care services,
personal and
home care aides
help elderly,
disabled, and
ill persons live
in their own
homes instead of
in an
institution.
Although some of
these workers
are employed by
public or
private
agencies, many
are
self-employed.
With experience
and, in some
cases, further
education and
training,
service workers
may advance to
higher level
positions or
transfer to new
occupations.
In addition
to those jobs
directly related
to clinical
care, numerous
management and
administrative
support jobs
keep healthcare
organizations
running
smoothly.
Although many
medical and
health services
managers
have a
background in a
clinical
specialty or
training in
health care
administration,
some enter these
jobs with a
general business
education.
Which Jobs
Represent the
Fastest Growing
Sector?
Healthcare
is among the fastest-growing
industries in
the U.S. economy. According to
BLS
projections, 8 of the top 20 fastest-growing occupations are in healthcare,
and the industry is also expected to lead in new wage and
salary job creation -- generating some 3.6 million between 2004 and 2014.
Several
factors are
spurring this
rapid growth.
The number of
people in older
age groups, with
much greater
than average
health care
needs, will grow
faster than the
total population
between 2004 and
2014; as a
result, the
demand for
health care will
increase.
Employment in
home health care
and nursing and
residential care
should increase
rapidly as life
expectancies
rise, and as
aging children
are less able to
care for their
parents and rely
more on
long-term care
facilities.
Advances in
medical
technology will
continue to
improve the
survival rate of
severely ill and
injured
patients, who
will then need
extensive
therapy and
care. New
technologies
will make it
possible to
identify and
treat conditions
that were
previously not
treatable.
Medical group
practices and
integrated
health systems
will become
larger and more
complex,
increasing the
need for office
and
administrative
support workers.
Industry growth
also will occur
as a result of
the shift from
inpatient to
less expensive
outpatient and
home health care
because of
improvements in
diagnostic tests
and surgical
procedures,
along with
patients’
desires to be
treated at home.
Many job
openings will
result from a
need to replace
workers due to
retirements and
high job
turnover.
Occupations with
the most
replacement
openings are
usually large,
with high
turnover
stemming from
low pay and
status, poor
benefits, low
training
requirements,
and a high
proportion of
young and
part-time
workers.
Nursing aides,
orderlies
and
attendants,
and home
health aides
are among the
occupations
adding the most
new jobs between
2004 and 2014,
about 675,000
combined. By
contrast,
occupations with
relatively few
replacement
openings—such as
physicians and
surgeons—are
characterized by
high pay and
status, lengthy
training
requirements,
and a high
proportion of
full-time
workers.
As the median
age of
registered
nurses
increases, too
few younger
workers are
replacing them.
As a result,
employers in
some parts of
the country are
reporting
difficulties in
attracting and
retaining
nurses.
Imbalances
between the
supply of and
the demand for
qualified
workers should
spur efforts to
attract and
retain qualified
registered
nurses. For
example,
employers may
restructure
workloads and
job
responsibilities,
improve
compensation and
working
conditions, and
subsidize
training or
continuing
education.
Fast growth
is expected for
workers in
occupations
concentrated
outside the
inpatient
hospital sector,
such as
medical
assistants
and home
health aides.
Because of cost
pressures, many
health care
facilities will
adjust their
staffing
patterns to
reduce labor
costs. Where
patient care
demands and
regulations
allow, health
care facilities
will substitute
lower paid
providers and
will cross-train
their
workforces. Many
facilities have
cut the number
of middle
managers, while
simultaneously
creating new
managerial
positions as the
facilities
diversify.
Traditional
inpatient
hospital
positions are no
longer the only
option for many
future health
care workers;
persons seeking
a career in the
field must be
willing to work
in various
employment
settings.
Employment
growth in
hospitals will
be the slowest
within the
health care
industry because
of efforts to
control hospital
costs and the
increasing use
of outpatient
clinics and
other
alternative care
sites.
Demand for
dental care will
rise due to
population
growth, greater
retention of
natural teeth by
middle-aged and
older persons,
greater
awareness of the
importance of
dental care, and
an increased
ability to pay
for services.
Dentists will
use support
personnel such
as dental
hygienists
and
assistants
to help meet
their increased
workloads.
In some
management,
business, and
financial
operations
occupations,
rapid growth
will be tempered
by restructuring
to reduce
administrative
costs and
streamline
operations.
Office
automation and
other
technological
changes will
slow employment
growth in office
and
administrative
support
occupations; but
because the
employment base
is large,
replacement
needs will
continue to
create
substantial
numbers of job
openings. Slower
growing service
occupations also
will provide job
openings due to
replacement
needs.
Health
care workers at
all levels of
education and
training will
continue to be
in demand.
In many cases,
it may be easier
for jobseekers
with
health-specific
training to
obtain jobs and
advance in their
careers.
Specialized
clinical
training is a
requirement for
many jobs in
health care and
is an asset even
for many
administrative
jobs that do not
specifically
require it.
Earnings
As in most
industries,
professionals
and managers
working in
health care
typically earn
more than other
workers in the
industry.
However,
earnings in
individual
health care
occupations vary
as widely as the
duties, level of
education and
training, and
amount of
responsibility
required by the
occupation.
Average
earnings of
non-supervisory
workers in most
health care
segments are
higher than the
average for all
private
industry, with
hospital workers
earning
considerably
more than the
average and
those employed
in nursing and
residential care
facilities and
home health care
services earning
less. Average
earnings often
are higher in
hospitals
because the
percentage of
jobs requiring
higher levels of
education and
training is
greater than in
other segments.
Those segments
of the industry
with lower
earnings employ
large numbers of
part-time
service workers.
Although some
hospitals have
unions, the
health care
industry is not
heavily
unionized. In
2004, only 11
percent of
workers in the
industry were
members of
unions or
covered by union
contracts,
compared with
about 14 percent
for all
industries.
The BLS
publishes an
analysis of
differences in
earnings for
different
occupations
depending on
their employment
in a hospital,
nursing/residential
care, or
ambulatory
healthcare
service setting.
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Jobs and Job Growth