Building a Rewarding Career in Healthcare: Where to Start and How to Advance

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of types of healthcare jobs—but if you are just entering the field, how do you know which job is right for you?

Healthcare is a thriving industry sector. The median pay across all medical careers is $68,190, compared to $39,810 for all jobs. Additionally, occupations in this area are expected to grow by 15% between 2019 and 2029 versus the growth rate for all occupations for this time period, which is only 4%. Many of America’s fastest-growing jobs are healthcare occupations.

People who are qualified to work in healthcare jobs may also be in demand. Out of the 808 occupations monitored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many healthcare careers are in the top 200 for employment rates. Six are even in the top 50.

This guide will introduce you to 15 common jobs within the field for both patient care and non-patient-care roles at the entry level and beyond. We also list common requirements that need to be met before gaining employment, salary and growth information, and career advancement or pivot opportunities that often come after each role.

Jump to Top Healthcare Jobs

Medical Secretary

When you call up your doctor or visit their office, you’re often greeted by a medical secretary. They’re the ones responsible for billing, entering records information, communicating with patients, specialists, and hospitals, and scheduling appointments.

To be a medical secretary, you need to grasp medical terminology and be good with technology, comfortable on the phone, and detail-oriented.

Advancing Your Career as a Medical Secretary

As this job requires a high school diploma and often maxes out at 40 hours of work per week, you may be able to study for additional certifications or degrees while working. Since you’ll have a grasp on patient communication and medical terminology, some reasonable next steps in your career path include:

• Medical assistant
• Medical records and health information technician
• Certified nursing assistant (CNA)

Medical Records or Health Information Technician

If you’re a night owl, you’ve probably seen those late-night commercials advertising short certification programs in your area—and medical records technician and health information technician programs are probably on that list. And those commercials aren’t wrong—you can be trained and certified in this field very quickly. Many also learn on the job, so long as they can prove they’re detail-oriented and tech-savvy before being hired.

Medical records and health information technicians are largely responsible for digitizing patient records. They need to enter this information quickly and accurately, with attention paid to specific codes as different medical facilities use different systems. They also need to ensure information is kept private. The two jobs aren’t quite identical—health information technicians (HITs) may also troubleshoot the technology being used.

Advancing Your Career as a Medical Records or Health Information Technician

After gaining experience in this field, there are a few next steps you can take in your career:

• Health information manager
• Certified nursing assistant (CNA)
• Medical assistant

Home Health and Personal Care Aide

If you know an older adult or disabled person who gets some help around their home, from housekeeping to help with bathing and eating, their helper likely is a home health aide (HHA) or personal care aide. These aides may also work at non-residential care facilities, like adult daycares.

To succeed in these positions, you must be comfortable working with the elderly or disabled and have a great deal of physical stamina to continually help others with dressing, bathing, or using the bathroom.

Advancing Your Career as a Home Health and Personal Care Aide

Since these positions solely a high school diploma or GED and on-the-job training and rarely go over 40 hours per week, they’re great if you want to study to work in one of the following jobs:

• Certified nursing assistant
• Medical assistant
• EMT/paramedic
• Medical and health services manager

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

If you have a loved one in a long-term care facility or hospital, chances are you’ve met nursing assistants. Their positions involve a variety of tasks that assist medical and nursing staff. They help patients bathe and eat, move them to and from beds and wheelchairs, and take vital signs, among other everyday responsibilities.

To succeed as a nursing assistant or certified nursing assistant (CNA), you need to be patient and detail-oriented. As with home health aides, CNA duties are physically strenuous. You’ll likely be dealing with patients who are older, have disabilities, or require care during an inpatient stay at a medical facility, as well as their concerned family members. Certification and experience requirements vary by state and type of facility. There are free CNA training programs for these certifications offered through places like Premier Nursing Academy or through employer reimbursement.

Advancing Your Career as a CNA

With CNA experience under your belt, you are well on your way to beginning the following careers if you get additional education:

• Medical assistant
• EMT/paramedic
• Physical therapy assistant
• Occupational therapy assistant
• RN (CNA-to-RN bridge programs available) or more advanced nursing

Medical Assistant

Before you see your doctor at an appointment, you’ll often have a person who takes your vital signs, verifies your medical history, prepares you for the appointment, and, perhaps, draws blood or gives you medications after the doctor is through. If they don’t identify themselves as a nurse or CNA, they may be a medical assistant. Medical assistants may perform all the tasks a medical secretary does, but they can often do basic hands-on medical tasks.

There are both certified and non-certified medical assistants. Certified ones are called certified medical assistants (CMAs), and certification is highly recommended.

In addition to the skills needed by medical secretaries, medical assistants must be calm in high-stress situations and comfortable dealing with medical issues head-on.

Advancing Your Career as a Medical Assistant

Since you’d be comfortable with things like drawing blood, taking vitals, and dealing with patients during medical appointments, there are several next steps you can take in your career, including:

• RN (CMA-to-RN bridge programs available) or more advanced nursing
• MD

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic

If you’ve ever had to call 911 for a medical emergency, that ambulance that came screaming in was carrying EMTs or paramedics. These professionals provide emergency care to those with injuries or illnesses that can’t wait for a doctor, stabilizing patients enough to get them to a hospital or advising about at-home treatments if the situation doesn’t require further immediate attention.

Specific tasks those in this field can perform vary by state. Generally, EMTs can assess a situation and handle emergencies not requiring invasive assistance, while paramedics can provide more intensive care like giving medications or intravenous fluids. It’s not uncommon to begin as an emergency medical responder (EMR), providing the most basic care, and move up through the ranks as an EMT, advanced EMT, and finally paramedic.

Successful EMTs can handle situations that may not be just dangerous for the patient, but for themselves. They must be able to take command of those around them while remaining kind and working as a team member. Physical strength is also important, as they may find themselves lifting heavy patients or supplies, performing manual CPR, or restraining people. They must also be comfortable with bodily fluids, exposed bones or organs, and handling death. It’s not an easy job, to be sure—but it’s a vital one.

Advancing Your Career as an EMT or Paramedic

If you’ve spent some time as an EMT and want to be able to spend more time working with patients—and learning about their outcomes—there are a few next steps you could take:

• LPN/LVN, RN, or more advanced nursing (depending on level of education you want to pursue)
• MD

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN)

LPNs and LVNs are similar to CNAs, except they can do even more. In addition to assisting nurses and patients with everyday tasks, they can use feeding tubes and catheters, administer medications, take blood and urine samples, treat wounds, and more. Many LPNs/LVNs enlist as medics for the military, though they also work in any place other types of nurses are employed.

There isn’t a difference between LPNs and LVNs, except the name—LVN is used in Texas and California, while LPN is typically used in the rest of the country.

Successful LPNs/LVNs need to be comfortable taking direction from RNs, dealing with bodily fluids, and handling stressful and possibly embarrassing moments for patients and families.

Advancing Your Career as a LPN or LVN

After spending time in the trenches as an LPN/LVN, you may be ready to take the next step into a new career, like:

• RN (LPN/LVN-to-RN bridge programs available) or more advanced nursing
• Health informatics technician
• Physician assistant

Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA)

If you’ve ever had an injury requiring physical therapy, there’s a good chance your physical therapist (PT) made your treatment plan, but a physical therapy assistant helped you carry out your program. However, PTAs don’t just work with those who’ve been injured—anyone who has struggles with mobility may seek physical therapy, as do many who want to improve their overall health or prevent potential issues. In fact, some people being PT during infancy.

PTAs work under PTs’ guidance to implement treatment plans, report on improvements or struggles, and provide support to their patients as they work through their challenges.

A great way to dip your toe in the water is to begin as a physical therapy aide rather than an assistant. They are similar to medical secretaries in their day to day tasks, plus they keep the space clean. While they generally don’t get any PT training, this can let you know if this field is right for you as a paid observer. The median salary for this job is $27,000; it’s higher for PTAs, as you’ll see below.

To succeed as a PTA, you need to be comfortable with physical contact, maintain a positive attitude even when clients become frustrated, and write up thorough progress reports.

Advancing Your Career as a PTA

Since working as a PTA should you a solid understanding of patient needs, there are a few careers that may interest you if you choose to move forward:

• Physical therapist
• RN or more advanced nursing

Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA)

Occupational therapy is the art and science of helping people learn to perform everyday tasks they may struggle with due to disabilities or injuries. Occupational therapists and their OTAs work in homes, schools, care facilities, hospitals, and even clients’ workplaces, assisting people with gaining more independence. They may train people in using adaptive equipment, help them learn (or relearn) to use fine and gross motor skills, or provide other customized interventions.

As with physical therapy, there is an aide option for this field. They serve in administrative roles, not unlike medical secretaries, and help set up the necessary equipment. Their 2019 median salary was $29,230, and this is a great way to help you decide if you want to move forward with your OTA education.

To be an OTA, you must be able to handle an ever-changing work environment, as each client needs different types of help. You also need to be calm under pressure—struggling to perform tasks others find easy can be frustrating to the people you work with.

Advancing Your Career as a OTA

With your associate degree, OTA license, and some experience, you may be well-suited to continue your path to the following jobs:

• Occupational therapist
• RN or more advanced nursing

Registered Nurse (RN)

The question isn’t what does a registered nurse (RN) do—it’s what doesn’t an RN do? RNs work in various healthcare settings, from hospitals to family practice to schools as school nurses. They can specialize in nearly any area and often concentrate on patient care.

Specializations within RN that don’t necessarily require advanced degrees beyond BSNs—though some mandate certifications—include: clinical, critical care, dialysis, geriatrics, neonatal, nurse midwife, pediatrics, and trauma. Some RNs also opt to become travel nurses, who go to the facilities that need them most.

No matter what area of focus, RNs are adept in giving and monitoring medications, explaining treatments to patients and families, providing emotional support, and working under physicians and nursing managers.

Advancing Your Career as a RN

Once you have a few years of RN experience under your belt, there are dozens of specialties you can choose from. However, a few common next steps are:

• Nurse practitioner
• Physician assistant
• Nurse anesthetist
• Nursing instructor
• Medical and health services manager

Nurse Practitioner

Have you ever gone to your yearly appointment to realize your practitioner didn’t introduce themselves as “doctor?” Chances are, you were seeing a nurse practitioner (NP). According to Sylvia Estrada, NP at Cedars-Sinai, NPs “…can do pretty much anything that a doctor can do with the exception of performing surgical procedures independently.”

In fact, the primary differences between the two are the amount of time spent in school (an average of seven years for NPs vs. 11 years for MDs), time waiting to get appointments (NPs are usually more available to patients), and pay. However, NPs must work in practices with doctors on staff from whom they take instruction and to whose expertise they defer.

NPs generally begin their careers as RNs and work toward their master’s degrees while employed. To be a successful NP, you need to be willing to take intensive coursework, have excellent patient interaction skills, and be comfortable giving diagnoses—even scary ones—to patients.

Advancing Your Career as a Nurse Practitioner

For many, this is their “terminal” career, meaning NPs don’t choose to move “up” to positions like doctors. Instead, they often choose to specialize in a field they’re particularly passionate about. However, if you want to switch careers but stay within the same field, some options are:

• Physician assistant
• Nurse anesthetist
• Nurse practitioner instructor
• Medical and health services manager

Physician Assistant

Physician assistants (PAs) are extremely similar to nurse practitioners. The primary differences are:

1. They don’t need to defer to or take instruction from a doctor.
2. While NPs focus more on the state of the patient as a whole, PAs focus more on medical issues.
3. NPs usually specialize in a field, while PAs are generally expected to be adept across the board.

If you’re interested in being a PA, you need to be willing to spend more time in clinical hours than NPs, learn about all different types of medicine, and be comfortable taking a clinical approach rather than a holistic one.

Advancing Your Career as a PA

This is usually the terminal career for PAs. However, good next career moves could include:

• Physician assistant instructor
• Medical and health services manager

Nurse Anesthetist

While we generally think as anesthesiologists as the ones administering anesthesia to patients, it’s common for nurse anesthetists to do this. Like how nurse practitioners are extremely similar to doctors, so are nurse anesthetists to anesthesiologists—the only real differences are time spent in school and pay (though rules vary by state). Nurse anesthetists can generally administer all sorts of anesthesia, perform epidurals and spinal blocks, talk about the anesthesiology process and side effects with patients, and monitor vital signs.

Successful nurse anesthetists are calm under pressure, can soothe people who are worried about “going under,” and are excellent at teamwork.

Advancing Your Career as a Nurse Anesthetist

For many nurse anesthetists, this is their lifelong career. But, if you want to change direction, some options are:

• Nursing instructor
• Medical and health services manager

Nursing Instructor

Nursing instructors teach CNAs, RNs, and all other types of nurses the skills they need to perform their jobs. Some will teach general nursing subjects, while others may focus on their own specialties. It’s generally expected an instructor will have worked as a nurse for several years before becoming an educator.

If you want to be a nursing instructor, you not only need to have worked as a nurse, but you also need to be able to handle the joys and challenges of teaching. Students will come from all backgrounds and abilities, and you must communicate ideas to them and provide feedback effectively. You may also choose to work in academia beyond teaching, doing research and writing about your findings.

Advancing Your Career as a Nursing Instructor

Many nursing instructors choose to have education to be their lifelong careers. However, you can always return to being a nurse or move into medical and health services management.

Medical and Health Services Manager

Medical and health services management is a broad field, including basically anything that’s a management position — usually with less hands-on patient interaction. These managers usually lead a team of people in the area they’re trained in, whether it’s nursing, health informatics, or program management. Patient interaction usually occurs when handling questions or concerns about operations.

As “medical and health services manager” is an umbrella term and not a specific career, this section gives information about the field in general, with a few specific management positions mentioned. No matter what field you’re managing, you need to be comfortable being in charge of people, hiring and firing people, and handling large-scale issues.

Overall, those in management can expect the following data to apply:

Advancing Your Career as a Medical and Health Services Manager

Some sub-groups in medical and health service management are:

• Clinical management
• Health information management
• Home health aide management
• Nurse management
• Nursing home administration