Overview
The human body is an amazing work of art. Over the centuries man has studied the body and continue to learn more about how our body functions. When you study the body, you learn how to diagnose and repair components that don’t work from broken bones to pulled muscles to cancerous cells. Each function or part of our body has become a specialty practice and if you add up all of these specialized fields you get the Health Science Industry. To be part of this incredible industry, many start out with a Health Science degree and then move into a specialty field such as a Dentist or Doctor.
A career in the Health Sciences is a career that is the fastest growing and paying above average wages. There are dozens of Healthcare occupations both clinical (takes care of patients) and non-clinical (health care support roles). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for all these healthcare practitioners and technical occupations combined is $66,440 compared to the median salary of all other occupations in the U.S. which is $38,640.
Majors in Health Sciences
Studying one of the many health sciences majors will be your pathway to health science careers.
There are many levels of education you can obtain to start your career in the Health Sciences field depending on what level you want to enter the industry. You can obtain an Associates (2-year), a Bachelor (4-year), a Masters, or get your Doctorates. Some technical schools even have on-line programs.
If you choose an Associates and decide to further specialize in a field, you can apply your credits earned towards a Bachelors degree. If you are ambitious and want to specialize in an area than a Doctorate could be your goal with average wages well above $100k.
Careers in Health Science could be jobs in clinics with patient contact or working in offices with private company’s. This dynamic profession offers many opportunities after your receive your education.
Below is a sample illustration of the different degree programs and their associated careers:
| Degree | Select Majors offered | Potential Career |
Associates 2 year 60 credits | Associate of Science Emphasis in: Health Care Administration, Pharmacy Tech, EMT, Dental Assisting, Medical Assisting, Health Information, Sonography, Licensed Vocation Nursing (LVN), Nuclear Medicine Tech, Respiratory Therapy | $50K Avg Salary Dental Hygiene, Diagnostic Medical Imaging, Emergency Medical Services, Health Information Systems, Medical Laboratory, Nursing, Phlebotomy, Pre-Med, Sonography, Surgical Tech, Vocational Nursing |
Bachelor Non-Clinical Degree 4-year 120 credits | Bachelor of Science in Health Science; emphasis in: Healthcare Management, Human Services, Health Information, Environmental Health | $53k – $96k Avg salary Medical and Health Services Manager, Claims Reviewer, Health Education specialist, Corporate Wellness, Rehabilitation Counselor Medical Equipment Sales |
Bachelor Clinical Degree 4-year 120 credits | Bachelor of Science in Health Science Emphasis in: Pre-Medical/Dental, Pre-Physician, Pre-Physical Therapy, Pre-Athletic Training, Health Professions, Science Education | $62k Avg salary Cardiovascular Technician, Anesthesia Tech, Dental Hygienist, Occupational therapy assistant, Physical therapy assistant, Respiratory therapist, Surgical Tech, Registered health information Tech, Biomedical equipment tech, Medical lab Tech, Cancer registrar, EKG Tech, Audiology Tech, Pharmacy Tech, Paramedic, Medical assistant |
Masters (+Bachelor) 2-year | Masters of Public Health with an emphasis in: Speech Language Pathology, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Prosthetics-Orthotics, Health Informatics, Health Education, Occupational Therapy, Audiology | $66k – $160k Avg Salary Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Prosthetics orthotics specialist, Speech language pathologist, Pharmacist, Dentist, Audiologist, Chiropractor |
Doctorate (+Masters) 2-year | Doctorate in Health Sciences | Healthcare research, Psychology, Pharmaceutics, Kinesiology, Hospital Administration, Pharmacology |
Health Science Wages
Health Science is a very broad Career designation with dozens of different types of careers. If we combined all those careers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says the average median salary for a Healthcare practitioner (Athletic trainer, Dentists, Dietitians, EMT’s, Chiropractor) is $66,440 per year. Healthcare support occupations (such as health aides, therapy assistants, medical transcriptionists) median annual wage was $29,740.
The salary information listed is based on a national average from BLS. Several factors determine the final salary or wage such as areas with a higher cost of living tend to pay above average.
For a Health Science you can expect on average:
| Quick Facts: Health Sciences Occupations | |
| 2018 Median Pay | $66,440 per year |
| Typical Entry-Level Education | Postsecondary |
| Work Experience in a Related Occupation | None |
| On-the-job Training | None |
| Number of Jobs, 2018 | 15,600,000 |
| Job Outlook, 2018-28 | 18% (Much faster than average) |
| Employment Change, 2018-28 | 1,900,000 |
Source: Salary Average calculated from multiple health science’s occupation’s data provided by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Health Science Job Growth
The future is very bright for Health Science job growth. According to the BLS, they predict employment is expected to grow 18 percent from now through 2028. This is the fastest growing classification in the U.S. economy in terms of jobs. In other words, the BLS predicts 1,900,000 Healthcare jobs will be added between 2018 and 2028.
Job growth for Health Sciences is growing for several reasons. Favorable changes for patients by the Federal government in the health care insurance system have led to an increased number of patients seeing their Doctors. The life expectancy of a person is expected to rise from 73 year to 74.1 by 2021 driving a growing elderly population who are demanding more health care services and innovation.
The need for Health Sciences is in every state but some have a dire need today and are willing to pay more to start.
If you have decided that a career in healthcare is the challenge you want in life, click the blue “Find Schools” button to get started with researching a school near you.
