What are the most lucrative healthcare jobs?
December 8, 2014 8:55 AM Subscribe
I am thinking of changing careers completely from finance to healthcare. I’m trying to get an understanding of where the jobs are, and which ones pay well.
My requirements are:
- good pay (+$100K per year)
- in demand
- education can be completed in 3 years or less
- ideally would not require direct patient care, or if it did, would not involve blood
Due to my last two requirements, med school and nursing are right out. I’m thinking about jobs like imaging, medical lab technician etc. (I can handle blood in a clinical setting, just can’t handle drawing it/watching it being drawn).
I’m sure there are many more “hidden” jobs in this field of which I’m unaware – please help me round out my knowledge.
My background in finance might also lend itself to admin-type jobs; I’m open to hearing about those as well.
I’m in Toronto, Canada.
My requirements are:
- good pay (+$100K per year)
- in demand
- education can be completed in 3 years or less
- ideally would not require direct patient care, or if it did, would not involve blood
Due to my last two requirements, med school and nursing are right out. I’m thinking about jobs like imaging, medical lab technician etc. (I can handle blood in a clinical setting, just can’t handle drawing it/watching it being drawn).
I’m sure there are many more “hidden” jobs in this field of which I’m unaware – please help me round out my knowledge.
My background in finance might also lend itself to admin-type jobs; I’m open to hearing about those as well.
I’m in Toronto, Canada.
Do you have programming or IT skills, or have the interest in acquiring those skills? Medical informatics, working with EMRs... that sort of thing... could possibly meet your requirements.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 9:28 AM on December 8, 2014
posted by gemutlichkeit at 9:28 AM on December 8, 2014
Given the question, I agree with using your current skill set to stay on the financial side of healthcare or maybe move to sales/project management/IT. I can't immediately think of anything on the patient-facing side that fulfills all your goals -esp the +100K (is that USD or Canadian?) a year for starting salary with no more than 3 more yrs of school for someone whose undergrad is business, not science. Genetic counseling and physical therapy for instance are incredibly hot right now but require an incredibly strong scientific background and still do not routinely offer that kind of money to new grads.
Also consider your other goals/strengths - desired stress levels, desired level of people skills, desired work load. Client facing health care tends to be highly demanding of all those regardless of salary level. Billing/finance/insurance filing and IT/project managers still need those skills but to different values depending on who the "client" is: patients, MDs, insurance companies, lab colleagues, etc. Sales does all that plus requires tons of travel-I've seen some as high as 80% travel, and even 20% for those that are billed as "non-travel" positions but need you to to go conferences, etc.
posted by beaning at 11:11 AM on December 8, 2014
Also consider your other goals/strengths - desired stress levels, desired level of people skills, desired work load. Client facing health care tends to be highly demanding of all those regardless of salary level. Billing/finance/insurance filing and IT/project managers still need those skills but to different values depending on who the "client" is: patients, MDs, insurance companies, lab colleagues, etc. Sales does all that plus requires tons of travel-I've seen some as high as 80% travel, and even 20% for those that are billed as "non-travel" positions but need you to to go conferences, etc.
posted by beaning at 11:11 AM on December 8, 2014
I'm more familiar with the US, but I can't think offhand of any technician-level jobs that pay over 100K. Physical therapists, respiratory therapists, radiation technologists, etc. mostly make in the 50s-70s here in the US. I think you'd need an MD or PhD to clear 100K working in a lab or in radiology/radiation oncology.
I think your best bet is in hospital/medical administration or in IT. I know the administrative head of the clinical site where I spend most of my time makes more than 100K. He has an MBA; the person who had the job before him had an MPA. I'm not sure about Canada, but in the US there is a huge network of jobs around revenue management--billing, insurance reimbursement, grant management at academic centers, physician reimbursement (my department has someone whose entire job is to make sure the physicians get paid correctly because there are so many different sources of income). I think most of those folks have MBAs. Then there are things like visiting nurse services, home health companies, and various health-related nonprofit organizations (Red Cross, Planned Parenthood for example) that also need people to work in finance/administration.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 11:56 AM on December 8, 2014
I think your best bet is in hospital/medical administration or in IT. I know the administrative head of the clinical site where I spend most of my time makes more than 100K. He has an MBA; the person who had the job before him had an MPA. I'm not sure about Canada, but in the US there is a huge network of jobs around revenue management--billing, insurance reimbursement, grant management at academic centers, physician reimbursement (my department has someone whose entire job is to make sure the physicians get paid correctly because there are so many different sources of income). I think most of those folks have MBAs. Then there are things like visiting nurse services, home health companies, and various health-related nonprofit organizations (Red Cross, Planned Parenthood for example) that also need people to work in finance/administration.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 11:56 AM on December 8, 2014
I have worked on a business intelligence team at an academic hospital, and it fits all of your requirements. If your background in finance includes experience with data analysis and some form of statistical coding, you could probably find a similar position in healthcare without any extra formal schooling.
Feel free to PM me if you want more details.
posted by tinymegalo at 12:13 PM on December 8, 2014
Feel free to PM me if you want more details.
posted by tinymegalo at 12:13 PM on December 8, 2014
Many (most) healthcare jobs in Canada are not that lucrative as the Provincial Govt is usually the one footing the bill. Most positions are going to have payscales and salary caps. I would think if you want more than 100k and not be a doctor you will need to work for a private company.
posted by saradarlin at 12:13 AM on December 10, 2014
posted by saradarlin at 12:13 AM on December 10, 2014
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:57 AM on December 8, 2014