Summary: Opportunities in the medical field are continuing to grow and interest in healthcare fields are ever-so increasing. According to Brookings Institution, a policy research company located in Washington, around 7.4 million of the 12.1 million employees of the healthcare field have less than a four-year degree. This is an astounding 61% of all healthcare workers.
Requiring only a two-year degree, certifications, and some training, many career options in healthcare are helping boost interest and meeting the demands for many careers.
Among these career options is the profession of a surgical technician. Currently the mean salary of a surgical technician is between $50,000 and $70,000 annually. Even jobs with lower and higher pay are still in high demand, continually growing, and are obtainable without a four-year degree. Take control of your future and look into many healthcare career options today.
Original Article: Opportunities arise in health care field
Some ‘rewarding’ jobs can pay up to $70,000 annually and do not require a 4-year degree.
BY GUY BOULTON MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
Jim Padovano was immediately drawn to the operating room when he got a chance as a young man to watch open-heart surgery.
“I was just knocked out by the atmosphere and the camaraderie,” he said.
The experience spurred him to become a surgical technician and, after a few years of experience and some additional training, a surgical assistant. He doesn’t regret the decision.
“You come to work every day and strap on your gloves and try to take care of patients,” said Padovano, 61, who works at an outpatient facility in suburban Milwaukee. “It’s fairly rewarding work.”
It’s also an example of a health care job that doesn’t require a four-year degree but pays a good wage: Surgical assistants can make $50,000 to $70,000 annually.
An estimated 7.4 million of the 12.1 million people who work in health care don’t have four-year degrees — and many of them work in jobs that pay a middle-class wage, according to a recent report from the Brookings Institution, a policy research organization in Washington.
They include radiology technicians, lab technicians, physical therapy assistants and more than one-third of nurses.
As in the broader economy, wages still are tied to education and skills, even when a job doesn’t require a four-year degree. The best-paying jobs among those without four-year degrees require a two-year degree and other training. And many of the jobs, such as home health aides and certified nursing assistants, pay low wages.
For example, the median income in the Milwaukee metro area for a home health aide is $25,000, according to the Brookings report, and $21,900 for a personal care aide.
The lowest-paying jobs — as in the overall economy — also are growing the fastest and employ the most part-time workers.
But more than in most fields, health care often offers a clear pathway to a higher-paying career for people who get additional training and education, said Martha Ross, a fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and a co-author of the report.
A much-cited example is the licensed practical nurse or medical assistant who earns first a two-year and then a four-year degree in nursing — and then goes on to earn a master’s degree.
Examples, though, can be found throughout health care.
Anita Jefferson, 34, started at a front desk at a hospital and now works as a physical therapy assistant, focusing on transplant patients, helping them regain their mobility and strength.
The job required her to earn a two-year degree at Milwaukee Area Technical College. That took some patience — she waited two and a half years to get into the program. And though tuition reimbursement helped with some of the cost, Jefferson acknowledged that going to school while working wasn’t easy.
“But it was something I wanted to do,” she said.
Jefferson, who graduated in 2009, said many people don’t know about the good jobs in health care that don’t require a four-year degree.
“I love it — it’s rewarding,” she said. “I’m able to help patients regain something they could do before.”
Source: http://www.thonline.com/news/business/article_a7ef20bc-feef-596e-a4bb-bca0dab1dba0.html
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