Many find careers in healthcare rewarding and take great pride in helping others make their way through tough physical and mental challenges. It also doesn’t hurt that the healthcare profession has some of the highest-paying positions in the country, even when you factor out those that require medical degrees! Of the jobs on CNN Money’s “20 Highest-Paying Jobs” list, almost half are in healthcare.

THE FACTS ABOUT HEALTHCARE JOBS

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook wage and salary employment will increase in the healthcare industry by 22 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is substantially greater than the projected 11 percent growth for all other industries combined. More specifically, the BLS projects employment growth of 41 percent in home health care services, 39 percent for outpatient care, and 21 percent for nursing during the next decade. To amplify matters, a 2009 article in Health Affairs by Dr. Peter Buerhaus and company found that even in the face of the Great Recession the nursing shortage in this country is projected to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 2025. This is a strong signal that there is definitely high earning potential here!

HOT POSITIONS

The following is a list of some of the hottest healthcare positions out there:

• Patient advocates
• Health informatics technician
• Physical therapy assistants
• X-ray technician
• Fitness nursing (similar to dietician)
• Holistic nursing
• Gerontological nursing
• Medical and public health social worker
• Lab technician
• Dental hygienist
• Occupational therapist

HOT SPOTS

Where can you go to find these positions? Here are some options:

• HR page of hospital websites and other similar facilities
• Nursing Jobs
• Health Career Web
• Monster.com (Healthcare)
• Career Builder (Healthcare)
• Healthcare Jobsite

GET OUT OF THE HOT SEAT

After researching this industry, there is no doubt some potential for solid career paths here. So if you’re in a rut and have the urge to go back to school or get a certification, it’s never too late in the name of job security. But if school isn’t an option, they have lots of administrative jobs that range from human resources to billing and even jobs in maintenance. Growth in the healthcare industry is going to require a lot of non-health related jobs because these are complex operations which will require a lot of support. Definitely keep your eyes open for opportunities in healthcare!

Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD is a CEC certified professional coach who holds a PhD in organizational psychology. Dr. Woody is founder of the consulting firm HCI and author of the new book: The YOU Plan: A 5-step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy.

As an organizational psychologist, I believe there are three ways you can react to the challenge of uncertain times: 

          – you can cower and hide,

          – you can buckle down and survive, or

          – you can step-up and thrive

For those looking to step-up and thrive, it’s time to start planning. Planning begins with assessing your values, intrinsics, passions, and then leveraging your essence (brnad) and creating a roadmap. I like to refer to this as the VIPER approach to re-establishing your career in the new economy. So, look out for more information on the VIPER model in upcoming blogs! 

Remember, if you want to shine in 2009, it’s time to step-up and start planning.

-Dr. Woody

To see my Shine in ’09 speech go to www.DrWoody.com