Health Care Careers: A Lifestyle-Friendly Career Option

Health care careers continue to be a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish job market.  I was reminded of this fact recently when I received a press release from JIST Publishing about the new edition of Expert Resumes for Health Care Careers, a recommended resource for anyone job-hunting in the health care field. 

Here are some very interesting facts about the anticipated growth in health care positions (extracted from the JIST press release):

• Approximately 28 percent of all new jobs created between 2008 and 2018 will be in the health industry. This translates to 3.2 million new health-care positions. 
• The single largest segment of growth in the industry is in home health care. Employment is projected to increase more than 50 percent by 2018, largely as a result of the increasing longevity of the U.S. population. Other health-care occupations projected to grow by 20 percent or more include registered nurses, personal and home health aides, medical assistants, licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, physicians and surgeons. 
• Although in years past, hospitals employed more workers than any other sector within the health-care industry, that is changing at a remarkable rate. By 2018, it is projected that 46.1 percent of health-care workers will work in home health care and 41.3 percent will work in the offices of health practitioners. Hospitals, public and private, are anticipated to account for only 10 percent of total employment versus 40 percent in 2008. 
• The largest percentage of jobs in health care require less than a four-year college education.

I have long touted health care careers as an option for people looking for meaningful work outside the corporate box.  Many of the jobs offer flexible scheduling, and as the release highlights, the venues for practicing health care are quickly expanding beyond traditional hospital settings.  Health care careers are particularly attractive for mid-life career changers since there are numerous health care jobs that you can train for via a certificate program, as opposed to a more intensive traditional degree program.

If you are interested in learning more about career options in the health care field, take a look at ExploreHealthCareers.org, an excellent website that profiles dozens of opportunities in this growing industry.

Comments

[Marlene Harris]

Thank you for this information. I am one of the "mid-life career changers" you mentioned in your article. My brother and I have been taking care of my mother for the past three months, so I have not been able to work a full-time job as a daycare assistant. The opportunity to be a home health aide came up one day last week in a conversation I had with an administrator with the agency that refers healthcare workers to my mother. I need the job, but I'm not sure if I have what it takes to be in the medical field.

[Nancy Collamer]

You are so welcome. Take the time to do so me research into the home health aide field -- you might find it a good fit for your interests and lifestyle needs.