If you are a beginner in the medical field, having a list of the easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well is a great convenience for you. First, we need to congratulate you on the choice you have made. Healthcare industry is among the biggest industries in the US and it offers numerous opportunities for a career for both beginners and professionals.
In the US, there are currently more than 5,000 hospitals with 18 million workers who are mostly women, which is not so common in the medical field. Women are simply traditionally believed to be prone to do these types of jobs since they are helpful, they like taking care of people and helping them when they are in need and they show a great interest in the human body and health problems. However, men are also good at this job and they can do various jobs within this field very successfully. These jobs go from simply giving treatment to performing serious surgeries.
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With the predicted growth of 19% by 2024, healthcare jobs offer many opportunities for starting a career even if you do not have a bachelor or master degree or you decide to attend college and work at the same time. Good salaries in this field make the employed relaxed, and those who work and study gain a lot of practice at the hospital during this period. So, it is not surprising that a great majority of the employed in this field got their degrees while doing a well-paid job.
However, many people who have started their careers by doing well- paid healthcare jobs without having high education have also used the experience gained in this way as a starting point for doing this job in any other type of offices in the future. Medical secretaries can learn a lot about software, computer program,s and programming while doing this job. On the other hand, some of these people make amazing careers by doing top paid jobs in this field.
Whatever reason you might have to choose a job in healthcare, you must know that these jobs require standing for many hours, talking to other people calmly, a lot of patience and a constant smile and politeness. If you are willing to change the city or the country of your employment often, check our list of the 7 Best Paying Healthcare Jobs that Allow You to Travel. If, however, this is not tempting for you, our list of 12 easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well is enough.
To list the easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well, we started from those jobs which are perfect for beginners, taking suggestions from Rammusen Colege, and those that don’t require experience (listed on Monster), and we used more recommendations we found on related blogs and sites. Then, we listed the annual salaries for these jobs using Bureau of Labor Statistics and ranked the jobs according to these sums. It was easy to list the first 12 of them once we had found the information about salaries. The list is here, so choose the job which is perfect for you and then you might also consider calling your potential employer.
12. Pharmacy technician
Annual salary – $30,410
The job of pharmacy technicians includes assisting to pharmacists in counting pills, packing and measuring drug components. If they work in a pharmacy, their job might also include working with customers, taking prescription over the phone and contacting suppliers. In this case, pharmacy technicians are similar to shop assistants. If they work in a hospital, they also take care of medicine labels and make sure that prescriptions are read properly. If you decide to do this job, a high school diploma is necessary and you have to take some exams in order to get the proper license. The license can usually be obtained while you work.
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11. Medical assistant
Annual salary – $30,590
Although this job is similar to that of an office administrative assistant, it offers numerous options as duties and obligations increase once you start gaining experience and making progress. The working place is a hospital, but medical assistants usually work behind the glass or a wall, so they have no contact with patients. Some of their tasks include reading prescriptions and diagnoses, keeping and taking care of medical records and other administrative jobs. A degree is not needed for this job, just a high school diploma. The job also offers many other opportunities in the future.
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10. Phlebotomist
Annual salary – $31,630
We all know that patients’ blood needs to be examined in laboratories in order to define the cause of an illness or the current health problem. A phlebotomist draws blood from a patient’s vein. It is necessary that a person in this position is well trained and with a proper education for this job. Even though phlebotomists do not work at laboratories but just collect blood samples, they still have to work with chemicals and substances which prevent blood clotting or protect blood samples from being destroyed. Phlebotomists also take care of their equipment and they clean the rooms where blood is drawn.
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9. Critical care nurse
Annual salary – $31,980
Up next in our list of easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well is this job, that is one of the best-paid jobs in healthcare. Even though the name of the position seems to imply it, these nurses are not expected to work and be involved in emergency situations. Their tasks are related to taking care of patients, giving them the appropriate treatment, providing the necessary equipment and medications. You can often see them push air into a patient’s lungs or apply an infusion. The job requires some level of medical knowledge, but still not much more than other jobs on this list.
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8. Medical biller and coder
Annual salary – $34,890
Although healthcare jobs usually imply that you have to work directly with patients, there are people who are employed in hospitals but who neither work directly with patients nor are ever seen by them. These people work with the money paid to hospitals by those patients who do not have a proper medical insurance. They deal with insurance lists and contracts, they code patients’ illness history, prescriptions and they keep medical records. If you decide to do this job, it is very important to be familiar with financial legislations, working on a computer and programming. Some level of knowledge related to administrative jobs is advisable and a special talent for details is a great advantage.
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7. Health informational assistant
Annual salary – $37,110
This is another job on our list of easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well related to administration but also to helping patients with their needs and problems. It is very important that every patient is well informed about the steps in the process of making a diagnosis and giving the appropriate treatment, as well as the steps of paying a hospital for its services and your stay in it. Health informational assistants also keep medical records, provide supplies and medications and cooperate with other employees at the hospital. People who want to do this job need a high school diploma and basic knowledge about computer programs.
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6. Certified nursing assistant
Annual salary – $43,710
Even though this job requires some level of medical knowledge as well as a nursing license, it can easily be done by beginners under condition that nurses with long experience work with them. Basically, certified nursing assistants assist to licensed and registered nurses in taking care of patients, giving them proper medications, but they must have a certificate which proves that they have basic medical knowledge. They do not give prescriptions, but they control how these are applied, they control patients’ treatment, their vital functions and finally make notes about these. They are also responsible for patients’ personal hygiene and bed sheets.
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5. Surgical technologist
Annual salary – $44,330
If the word “surgical” confuses you, do not worry, they are not surgeon assistants. However, they work in surgical rooms, assisting other medical employees, nurses and other medical staff in very serious tasks. Surgical technologists prepare surgical rooms, clean them and make the necessary equipment available and visible. During surgeries, they add heavy equipment, and then after surgeries, they clean everything and prepare the equipment for sterilization. Being an easy job which does not require a medical degree, it is perfect for the middle of the list of the easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well.
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4. Medical laboratory technician
Annual salary – $50,550
Technicians who work in medical laboratories that rank 4th in our list of easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well are actually very important in the medical laboratory hierarchy even though people usually do not know that they even exist. These technicians prepare blood, tissues, and chemicals for laboratory tests, they clean laboratories and equipment, make notes during the testing and keep records about that. Although they do not assist in testing, they are necessary in laboratories all the time, so their position and knowledge depend on their experience and the amount of time spent on doing this job.
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3. Occupational therapy assistant
Annual salary – $54,520
We are continuing our list of easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well with occupational therapy assistants that are responsible for the fulfillment of the occupational therapy plan, they observe the progress of the healing process and strive to solve and overcome possible problems and obstacles during this process. This job does not require a medical degree and many of the employed in this field are not medically educated. However, they need to show a considerable level of empathy, to care for patients and their disorders and health problems, and be highly responsible. Their job might also include keeping medical records or transporting patients to the appropriate therapy rooms.
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2. Radiologist and ultrasound technician
Annual salary – $58,120
We have combined these two occupations since these are basically the same jobs the only difference being the machine used. Both types of technicians that rank second in our list of easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well assist to doctors and nurses in making diagnoses, so people employed in these positions need to be highly responsible although a medical degree is not necessary. While assisting, these technicians prepare the required equipment, the proper office where examinations are to be performed and they take care of patients during this process, making sure that they feel relaxed and comfortable. Sometimes, these technicians are asked to write medical records and organize medical archives.
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1. Registered nurse
Annual salary – $67,490
This is the most serious job of all others listed here because it requires medical education and high level of responsibility. People who want to be employed in this position need to take special exams after some time at practice, but their job is much better paid than other jobs on this list. The job is perfect for those who have already worked at a hospital for some time, but in some other position (the job of a certified nurse assistant is perfect to prepare for this position). Although the job is very serious, you do not need a medical degree or a long experience or practice. These nurses are very close to patients, they are involved in preparing patients for medical treatments, they make sure that treatments are applied appropriately and they observe the healing process completely. All the above-mentioned reasons qualify this job for the top position on our list of the easiest healthcare jobs to get into that also pay well.
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