EduMed Careers Guide: Inside Nursing & Allied Health Today
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NursingNursing Ed.The healthcare industry contains some of the most rewarding careers out there. From certified nursing assistants (CNAs) on the front lines with patients to medical coders translating information for billing, everyone makes a difference. But which careers have the quickest entry, and which pay the most? See which careers in care stand out in 2025.
When it comes to medical careers, many people know exactly what they want. For some, interacting with patients could be the best part. For others, research is what makes their eyes light up. And for every medical professional who loves a quiet night shift, there’s another one who thrives in a fast-paced trauma department.
Though it’s important to go for a career that makes you happy, it’s equally important to look at the practical matters. Ask yourself these questions:
- Will your desired career come along with the salary you need?
- Will it give you room to grow?
- Can you start your career immediately, or do you have to go through years of schooling to get there?
This guide looks at the practical aspects of today’s medical careers to help you turn your passion for healing into professional success.
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Quickest Medical Careers to Start
Some medical professionals, such as physicians and pharmacists, need to spend a significant amount of time investing in their education. Others, such as occupational therapists, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives, can spend 6-10 years in school.
However, there are numerous healthcare careers that require much less time to earn the education required to start helping patients. Benefits of choosing a quick-start medical career:
- Can take you anywhere from a few weeks to a couple years to begin
- Excellent if you’re just starting your professional life
- Great if you’re considering a career change after years of working in another field
Here are some of the fastest routes to a medical career:
| Medical Career | Min Time to Start (mos.) | Max Time to Start (mos.) |
|---|---|---|
| Certified Nursing Assistant | 1 | 4 |
| Home Health Aide | 1 | 4 |
| Medical Biller or Coder | 2 | 16 |
| Pharmacy Technician | 4 | 24 |
| EMT | 6 | 24 |
| Massage Therapist | 6 | 24 |
| Paramedic | 6 | 24 |
| Dental Assistant | 9 | 24 |
| X-Ray Technician | 12 | 24 |
| Medical Assistant | 12 | 24 |
What makes these careers quicker to start than others? Read our full guide on the entry timelines for today’s most popular healthcare careers.
Highest-Paying Careers in Four Years (or Less)
Generally, the more education you acquire, the better your salary potential will be. That holds true in the healthcare professions as well, where the highest paying jobs usually require the greatest time commitment to education.
However, there are many benefits to starting your career in four years or less:
- It’s possible to make a good living on healthcare jobs that require only a few years to complete – or even less
- Jobs in healthcare are in demand so you’re likely to find a job early, allowing you to embark on a professional journey in just a short time
- You will already have strong knowledge of the healthcare field should choose to broaden your professional horizon and return to school later
Let’s look at the typical salaries of those in the medical field who hold bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, or certificates.
| Medical Career | Entry-Level Education | 2023 Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Radiation Therapists | Associate’s degree | $98,300 |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | Associate’s degree | $92,500 |
| Dental Hygienists | Associate’s degree | $87,530 |
| Registered Nurses | Bachelor’s degree | $86,070 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographers | Associate’s degree | $80,850 |
| Radiologic and MRI Technologists | Associate’s degree | $76,020 |
| Respiratory Therapists | Associate’s degree | $77,960 |
| Dietitians and Nutritionists | Bachelor’s degree | $69,680 |
| Exercise Physiologists | Bachelor’s degree | $54,860 |
| Recreational Therapists | Bachelor’s degree | $57,120 |
| Athletic Trainers | Bachelor’s degree | $57,930 |
| Surgical Technologists | Certificate or diploma | $60,370 |
| Licensed Practical Nurses | Certificate or diploma | $59,730 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Want a more detailed picture of salaries in healthcare? Read our comprehensive guide to salaries and careers in healthcare complete with detailed profiles of occupations and their compensations.
For more in-depth salary information about allied health jobs, visit our guide on the top 20 paying professions.
Fastest-Growing Medical Careers
Some jobs in healthcare are in the middle of an incredible employment boom. Many experts predict this demand will continue to rise due to several factors, including:
- An aging baby boomer population
- Greater access to medical insurance for many individuals
- Increased healthcare needs
But just how fast is the field growing compared to other positions in the workforce?
- 1.9 million openings are projected each year across the healthcare field, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 10 of the 20 fastest-growing careers from 2023 to 2033 are in healthcare — highlighted by nurse practitioners in the top three
Medical Career Crossover: Can You Make the Move?
For those who have established careers already, moving into medicine doesn’t mean starting from scratch. There are many professions that allow individuals to use their existing training and experience to cross over into the healthcare industry.
By utilizing prior work experience and post-secondary training, these people can apply some of the skills they attained to their new position in healthcare. You can even make the move into the medical field by offering your skills as a second language speaker in healthcare.
Explore how skills from these eight non-medical careers can be applied to careers in healthcare.
1. Education/Teaching –> Nursing
Help students learn –> Help patients learn
Teachers have the challenging task of helping students learn. To keep their attention, many find new ways to create interest and motivate those students. The nursing profession requires similar skills.
Nurses are often the highest trained medical professional a patient will see on a regular and consistent basis while receiving medical care. This provides nurses with an excellent opportunity to educate patients and their families on preventing further medical issues and answering any questions they might have.
Tips to get started:
- A certified nursing assistant program might be a great place to start
- If you already have a bachelor’s degree in another field, an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program can help you finish RN training much faster than those without a degree
- After a few years of working as a nurse, you can move into non-nursing careers with a nursing degree
2. Information systems –> Healthcare informatics
Manage general information –> Manage medical information
Whether it’s an online business or a hospital, the collection and management of customer or patient data is a mission-critical task any organization must perform at a high level.
This creates a strong need for professionals who can maintain the software and hardware systems for the vast amounts of data that must be managed, maintained, and kept secure.
Additionally, many of the principles in software or hardware development will be the same even though the database holds information on a patient’s medical history instead of other information, such as where they like to shop.
Tips to get started:
Learn more with our guide to healthcare informatics degrees.
3. Business management –> Hospital administration
Manage people and workflow –> Manage healthcare workers and functions
Business management is all about managing people and projects, and hospital administration is much the same. Even many non-profit hospitals are still run like a for-profit corporation.
An executive from the corporate sector will therefore have the management and leadership skills that can translate over to the healthcare setting. Of course, they will need to become educated in the intricacies of the healthcare setting, but the core skills will be largely the same.
Tips to get started:
- Campus and online healthcare administration degrees offer a wide range of skills for professionals interested in this path.
- Learn about other in-demand careers in healthcare leadership.
4. Military medic –> Paramedic/EMT
Provide emergency care to military personnel –> Provide emergency care to the community
A military medic provides emergency medical care to soldiers and other individuals in a combat setting. Therefore, a crossover to the job of an EMT or paramedic could be a great opportunity.
In fact, some schools have special bridge programs that allow former military medics to gain credit for the training and experience they already have. This can sometimes cut the time it takes to become an EMT or paramedic by about half.
Tips to get started:
Choose from several online paramedic programs to accelerate the process.
5. Legal secretary/paralegal –> Medical transcriptionist
Transcribe legal information –> Transcribe medical information
For most legal secretaries and paralegals, a large part of their day is spent listening to dictation from attorneys and drafting memorandums, legal documents, and correspondence. The ability to apply those transcription skills crosses over perfectly with the medical transcriptionist profession.
Instead of listening to a recording of an attorney, the recording will be from a physician. Medical transcriptionists will need to learn a brand new vocabulary to be able to understand some of the vocabulary used by medical professionals.
Tips to get started:
Earn certification through online medical transcriptionist training programs.
6. Information clerk –> Medical records technician
Keep track of general records –> Keep track of health records
An information clerk is someone who maintains records, collects information to be stored and facilitates the access of that stored information for others. A medical records technician, on the other hand, is a special type of information clerk.
Medical records techs specifically manage health information for patients and physicians. Any individual who is skilled in the categorization and organization of data can apply those same skills as a medical records technician.
Tips to get started:
Reach out to hospitals, physician offices, and health clinics for jobs in their medical records department. For some roles, you only need a high school diploma.
Expert Insight
Something as simple as organizational skills can transfer over to a career in healthcare. Prior to beginning my nursing journey, I briefly worked in an office managing paperwork. I learned to stay organized and pay attention to the smallest details so documents didn’t get misplaced. These foundational skills were essential when I became a nurse.
7. Bill collector –> Medical coder
Collect payments for general services –> Ensure medical services are billed correctly
Medical coders and bill collectors are very similar professions in that they both have the job of collecting payments for products or services. They must have excellent negotiating and communications skills.
They must also both act in accordance within a special legal framework, whether it’s the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or the Affordable Care Act.
One significant difference is that medical coders have additional training in applying the special codes that medical providers and insurance companies use for billing purposes. These codes must be written correctly so patients are not overcharged.
Tips to get started:
Check out campus-based and online medical coding programs to see if this educational path might work for you.
8. Forensic science technician –> Medical laboratory technologist
Collect general evidence from crime scenes –> Analyze criminal evidence collected from the human body
Forensic science technicians collect and analyze evidence from criminal investigations. Medical laboratory technologists have a parallel task, except they collect and analyze fluid and tissue samples from patients instead of crime scenes.
Despite this difference, both jobs require a basic understanding of science and the importance of conducting accurate and reliable analyses. In both professions, human lives are often on the line and a mistake can be deadly.
Tips to get started:
- Get your foot in the door by working in a laboratory as a phlebotomist. Obtain training through online phlebotomy classes for certification.
- If you prefer to stay in the forensics field, you might have good reason to explore a career in forensic nursing.
Medical Careers by Patient: Whom Do You Want to Work With?
Choosing the right healthcare profession comes down to many personal factors. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I want a quick entry into the field?
- Do I prefer to focus on my education to obtain the highest salary possible?
- Do I want to work with a certain patient population, like children or the elderly?
By looking at where you want to be five years down the road and then choosing which type of patient you want to interact with on a daily basis, you can narrow down your options to a “short list” of the most fulfilling jobs for you.
Here are some of those options and the educational paths that can take you there.
Working with Kids
Children need preventative care at least once a year, and, of course, sickness needs to be tended to quickly. This makes the demand for healthcare professionals who are great with kids imperative.
These three careers in medicine can put you on the front lines of working with children of all ages. And to explore even more kid-focused healthcare jobs, check out our complete guide to healthcare careers working with children.
1. Pediatrician:
A pediatrician is a medical doctor that specializes in young patients, from birth up to the age of 18 or 21. While many internal processes between children and adults are the same, there are still many cognitive and physical differences that require a specialization.
For example, a pediatrician will have more expertise in medical issues as they relate to growth and maturation.
2. School nurse:
Many schools have a full-time medical professional on staff at any time the facility is open to children. Because a full-fledged medical doctor usually isn’t necessary, a school nurse fills the role of providing first-line medical care to students who get sick at school.
The job can include anything from treating bumps and bruises sustained on the playground to finding counseling help for at-risk teenagers.
3. Respiratory therapist:
Respiratory therapists provide care to patients who have difficulty with their breathing. So it makes sense that most people associate respiratory therapists with older patients who might develop lung issues over time, such as emphysema.
But these professionals may also see many patients with underdeveloped lungs, such as prematurely born infants and children struggling with asthma.
Working with Seniors
Since the body tends to break down as we get older, it makes sense that one of the biggest consumers of healthcare services is usually the senior population.
Most in the medical field will work with geriatric patients at some point; however, some medical professionals see a larger share of older patients.
1. Geriatrician:
A geriatrician is a medical doctor who specializes in older adult patients, handling everything from routine preventative care and tests to acute problems and hospitalizations.
Their expertise and experience focuses on medical issues unique to this group and the aging process, such as memory issues, chronic pain, osteoporosis and cancer.
2. Optician:
Opticians work with optometrists and ophthalmologists by adjusting and fitting glasses and contact lenses of patients. Most opticians work in private offices, so they’ll see a wide range of patients, including young children.
But as people age, the need for corrective lenses dramatically increases. Therefore, an optician will have ample opportunity to help senior patients.
3. Nursing assistant:
Nursing assistants provide basic medical and personal care to patients. They work primarily in hospitals and long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.
Much of the work nursing assistants perform each day are tasks that elderly individuals need help with, such as eating, bathing and getting dressed. This is especially true in elderly individuals who have had a stroke or suffer from some neurological issue.
Certified nursing assistant classes are a great first step.
Working with Veterans
Veterans often put their bodies through challenging tests in the service of their country, and sometimes they return home with medical issues that require treatment. There are a host of healthcare positions available to provide this much-needed assistance.
1. Occupational therapist assistant:
Many veterans may have healed enough to be discharged from a hospital. However, due to the severity or permanence of the injuries, they may struggle with daily activities and tasks that used to be simple for them.
That’s where occupational therapist assistants can help. Occupational therapists to teach patients exercises and other activities to learn new skills (or relearn old ones) so they may return to as normal of a life as possible.
Learn how occupational therapy assistant programs online are changing how education works in the field.
2. Physical therapist assistant:
Due to advancements in body armor and emergency medical care, many soldiers are able to survive and return home. But they may develop injuries that take some time to heal, necessitating rehabilitation.
This creates the perfect opportunity for physical therapist assistants, who assist physical therapists to treat patients who are recovering from physical injuries or illness.
Learn about accredited online physical therapy assistant programs that can help you get there.
3. Home health aide:
Many veterans suffer from injuries so severe that, unfortunately, they can’t fully recover. This can lead to physical as well as mental disabilities that prevent a veteran from living independently at home.
Home health aides usually help patients with daily living activities, including bathing, dressing, eating, planning appointments and other housekeeping duties. But unlike similar professions, such as nursing assistants, home health aides usually work in the patient’s home.
You can earn home health aide certification online or on campus.
Working with Mothers
Pregnancy can be an exciting and confusing time. Many current or expecting mothers need specialized medical care to have the healthiest pregnancy and childbirth possible.
There are numerous medical careers devoted primarily to working with current or future mothers.
1. Diagnostic medical sonographer:
These professionals are sometimes referred to as ultrasound technicians because they use machines that utilize ultrasound waves to create a visual image of organs and other structures within the body. This makes them perfect for monitoring the development of unborn fetuses.
Many diagnostic medical sonographers are found in the offices of obstetricians and play a critical role in identifying any abnormalities during a pregnancy.
Interested students can take medical sonography and ultrasound tech programs online or in a campus setting.
2. Nurse midwife:
A nurse midwife is a type of advanced practice registered nurse, or APRN, tasked with primarily working with pregnant women. Nurse midwives can be found giving advice to expecting mothers, helping during the childbirth process and providing primary care to mothers and newborns immediately following birth.
3. Obstetrician:
Obstetricians are medical doctors that specialize in childbirth and pregnancy. However, many obstetricians are also gynecologists, professionals who focus on female productive health.
Obstetricians can be found doing everything from performing a caesarean section (c-section) and giving advice to new mothers, to performing an ultrasound examination.
Not quite at college age, but ready to start preparing for a career helping others? Learn how to prepare for a healthcare career in high school with recommended classes and resources to help you prepare.
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Medical & Health Careers on the Rise
All too often, people seek medical care after something goes wrong. It could be a feeling, an injury, or anything that could be deemed “after the fact”.
However, all medical and health professionals continue to promote the value of “before the fact” care. In other words, regular physical checkups, mental checkups, immunization, colonoscopies, mammograms, and other pre-emptive measures to catch things as early as possible.
Learn about the value of preventive medicine and the healthcare careers and degrees involved.
