If your career hopes include helping people to live better lives then healthcare is an obvious option to explore. The problem is that so many people think of healthcare and then look at the extensive education needed to become a doctor. Fortunately, there are many more career paths available for those with an interest in caring for and looking after others. Many of these careers will require a variety of different skill sets, and there is often scope for an overlap of those skills. That means finding the perfect career for you in the health and care industry might mean you have a lot more options than you think.
1. Occupational Therapist
When a patient has health issues that prevent them from doing certain activities, it is the occupational therapist who will be helping them. For some patients, this will mean help getting dressed, while others will need assistance with their shopping. As well as a degree and an accredited occupational therapy course, those with an interest in this branch of healthcare should also have an abundance of:
- Patience
- Enthusiasm
- Positive communication skills
- Collaboration skills
Often, an occupational therapist will also have to be good at finding solutions to specific problems. This is a challenging career, but for those looking to make a lot of impact on patients’ lives, this is certainly an option worth considering.
2. Care Worker
This is one of those careers that offers a lot of scope for helping people, and it can often seem very similar to occupational therapy. However, the patients who you will be helping if you follow the career path of a care worker can be very different. What you’ll be doing is helping people to live a more independent life, and your patients can include those with learning difficulties, addiction issues, the elderly, the disabled, and those with mental health issues. It’s going to require a flexible skill set too, including:
- High levels of empathy
- Good communication
- Time management skills
- Teamwork
- Positivity
- Stress management
To become a care worker, you don’t need to have an extensive education. While a degree will always be useful, many people go into care work with nothing more than their high school diploma. This can depend on your state, so do some research on the specific requirements of your location.
3. Rehabilitation Worker
This is one of those careers that most people overlook or fail to consider when looking at healthcare careers. Like occupational therapy, you will be helping people to overcome challenges after they have been ill or have been in an accident. You will often have a wide range of different clients as well, with depression, sight and hearing loss, learning disabilities, and drug addiction problems all being part of your broad healthcare remit. This is a career option for those with excellent communication skills, but you’ll also need to have:
- Compassion
- Critical thinking skills
- Listening skills
- A lot of patience
It is possible to become a rehab worker without any specific education requirements, but a degree in rehabilitation counseling will be required by some facilities. In some cases, you may need to complete facility-specific certification. However, this is a career that is growing in demand, so it could be worth taking a closer look.
4. Facility Manager
Not all careers in healthcare will require you to work directly with patients. Managing a residential care facility for the elderly is a business, and that means that you’re going to be spending the majority of your working day carrying out business management tasks rather than getting one on one with patients. However, this is one of those careers that’s the ideal solution for those with business goals but who also want to help others. Many of the skills that will be valuable in this career are the same that you see in a business environment, including:
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
- Organization
- Time management
- Communication skills
- Commercial awareness
- Interpersonal skills
In terms of your education, you will need to fill out a license application for RCFE, but with an elderly population that is growing every year, this is a career that is seeing ongoing demand. That means there is a lot of potential for career growth.
5. Counselor
When people are going through a challenging period in their lives, it is a counselor who they will often turn to. Lots of people with a wide range of different issues will seek out counseling, and that means that choosing this career will see you interacting and benefitting an extremely wide range of patients. Your main task will be talking through issues and helping people come to terms with some of the biggest events in their life, such as losing a loved one or coming to terms with a life-changing injury. You’ll need a lot of empathy to do well in this career, and you’ll also need:
- Self-awareness
- Relationship skills (including rapport-building)
- Problem-solving skills
This can be an emotionally draining career, so you will need to have coping mechanisms in place if you hope to be a counselor in the long term. You’ll also need a variety of different qualifications depending on your state. In most cases, you will need a related degree and the relevant state licensure.
6. Social Worker
This is a very popular career option for those who want to help the maximum number of people. It’s often overlooked by many who are looking at careers in the health and care sectors, but becoming a social worker can be extremely rewarding. You could be working with babies, the very elderly, or anyone in between to live healthier, happier lives while protecting them from potential threats. You will make sure that people have access to the resources they need, and that means your main skill is going to be problem-solving. You’re also going to need:
- Excellent critical-thinking skills
- Organization skills
- Empathy and emotional intelligence
- Boundary-setting skills
- Active listening skills
For an entry-level position as a social worker, you will need to have a bachelor’s degree, although there is a lot of crossover in the type of degree that you have (a psychology degree can be just as useful as a targeted social care degree). If you want to be a social worker in a more clinical setting then you may also need to have an MA and the necessary state licensure.
7. Dietician (Nutritionist)
Another health career that’s often overlooked, becoming a dietician can be very rewarding in more ways than one. Not only will you help people by educating them on their specific dietary needs, but you can also earn an increasingly high salary. Dieticians are in huge demand, and the average starting salary can be as high as $50k. It’s not an easy career path to follow, and as well as a bachelor’s degree in either public health nutrition, dietetics, or clinical nutrition you will also need to:
- Be friendly and approachable
- Have good computer skills
- Have good organizational skills
- Have strong research skills
A good dietician will be helping people in a lot of different ways. You could be helping someone learn more about how their bodies are changing as they get older, helping others to manage long-term illnesses, or even simply helping people live a healthier and more active lifestyle. And with such an attractive salary, it’s no surprise to see that this is becoming one of the health careers that’s growing in popularity.
8. Paramedic/EMT
An emergency medical technician (EMT) is the person who will be responding to emergencies. This can be a very high-pressure career, and you’re going to be present at a variety of potentially traumatizing incidents. This is a challenging career, so you’re going to need to be mentally resilient. You’re also going to need to be:
- Compassionate
- Good at listening
- A fast problem-solver
- Situationally aware
You will be working alongside patients, other EMTs, and doctors, so your communication skills are going to need to be flexible too. In terms of education, most states do not require you to have a degree, but you will need to either have your high school diploma or be willing to take a GED. There will be a period of training required, although this will vary from state to state.
9. Dental Hygienist
In most cases, a dental hygienist will be working alongside dentists, although there are hygienists who work independently. It’s a good career, with a starting salary that can be as high as $56k, but you will need some extensive education. In most cases, an associate’s degree in dental hygiene is your first step, although there are both bachelor’s degrees and MAs in the subject that can be very helpful if you’re planning to go more into research or teaching. As well as your education, a dental hygienist also needs to have:
- Empathy
- Attention to detail
- Good communication skills
- Confidence
- Problem-solving skills
- Interpersonal skills
With such a high starting salary, it’s no wonder that this is a health career that more people are entering every year.
Looking for new career options often means thinking out of the box. There are thousands of possible careers in the health and care industries alone, and that means you have plenty of options to choose from. Make sure that you do your research so that you know the best personal skills to have for each career option, and that you know exactly what your education path needs to be. Do your research right and you could be taking your first steps into an emotionally and financially rewarding new career.