Here’s a test of your trivia knowledge:
What industry is now the largest employer in the United States?
Retail? Manufacturing? Agriculture?
None of the above! In actual fact, the country’s biggest employer is now the healthcare sector, says the Atlantic. That’s right, thanks to an aging population and dwindling manufacturing industry, more people now work in healthcare than any other field.
However, those aren’t the only reasons for this boom in medical industry employment. Simply, it’s a field that offers a host of benefits to anybody who enters it.
Are you interested in pursuing a career in healthcare? Well, allow us to persuade you of the merits of doing exactly that.
Read on to learn about the plethora of rewards of working in the medical industry.
1. Diverse Range of Disciplines
The medical and healthcare sector encapsulates a diverse set of roles.
People work as receptionists, psychologists, nurses, doctors, surgeons, and care support workers. This wide-ranging set of possible careers makes it easy to find the right job for you.
Each and every role is vital for the smooth running of the industry. The success of multi-disciplinary teams is reliant on the array of expertise that comes from each individual in it. Any career you pursue will be of high value.
As you can tell, the healthcare sector isn’t restrictive. There’s no glass ceiling to stop you from finding the perfect position. It’s possible to enter as a volunteer, experience the different opportunities and decide which is best for you.
Later, if you wish, you can extend your skillsets and qualifications to experience new roles in the industry. Career progression is part and parcel of the medical industry. You’ll enjoy numerous opportunities to expand upon medical technical training (http://www.ultimatemedical.edu/program/healthcare-technology-systems/) and advance through the ranks.
2. Rising Demand and Job Security
The healthcare industry offers job security that other fields cannot.
Jobs in almost every other area of life can be threatened by economic shifts and downturns. By contrast, the medical field is growing at a rate of knots. The demand for skilled medical professionals has never been higher.
This trend is set to continue. After all, the population is aging and baby boomers are entering their final stage of life. The result is a rising need for appropriate healthcare professionals to support them.
That amounts to a reassuring level of job security and income stability. You can rest assured that your skills will be required for as long as you’re able to offer them. Hospitals and clinics around the country will call upon you to help meet demand.
3. Take Your Skills Anywhere
We just hinted at his benefit of pursuing healthcare careers.
However, it’s worth going into in more detail. As a trained medical professional, your skills will be sought after wherever you go. It doesn’t matter if you’re a physiotherapist, nurse, psychiatrist, GP or a surgeon.
You will be able to find work anywhere and everywhere. Sports teams, international NGOs, certain businesses, and the military are just four examples of alternative fields that could require your input.
Many healthcare professionals would like to make a difference in other countries too. Developing nations have a critical shortage of medical personnel. The need for support is enormous but very little is provided. Your skills would be put to good use overseas.
Developed countries are always on the lookout for healthcare professionals too though. Want to travel? Take your qualifications overseas for new adventures in foreign lands.
4. Constant Learning and Growth
Other industries can become mundane.
You reach a certain level of expertise and realize there’s no room for growth or development. There’s nothing more to learn about and no opportunities for advancement. Stuck, you can spend years doing the same thing over and over again.
Not in the medical profession. Here, you’re learning and growing at all times. Of course, you’ll become proficient in a huge range of common tasks too. Yet there’s always something new and different to test and expand your aptitude and expertise.
At the same time, there are numerous opportunities for advancement in the specific career as well. Radiographers can train as sonographers or radiologists, nurses can become charge nurses, assistant psychologists become psychiatrists. The room for growth in the healthcare sector is unbounded.
You could even alter course and retrain in a different discipline. Experience in one field may translate into another. Tired of nursing but want to remain in healthcare? Why not give care work a shot, or go back to medical school to train as a doctor.
5. Rewarding and Stimulating Work
Healthcare isn’t for the faint-hearted.
It’s a high-intensity, all-stations go, invigorating and stimulating work environment. Anybody who wants to push themselves will be rewarded for their efforts. Expect a physical and psychological test from day 1 on the job.
Every day is different, with new challenges to overcome and workaround. Caring for people’s physical and mental wellbeing isn’t easy.
Helping people can be tough work, but the rewards it provides make it worthwhile. Healthcare professionals save lives every single day. Few other jobs can offer the same satisfaction that comes with that.
It can be a thankless job at times. However, the personal satisfaction you get from helping others is a constant reminder of why you do it.
6. Make a Difference
Part of the reward comes from making a difference to the lives of others.
There are a lot of sick and suffering people in the world. Grief, physical and mental pain, anguish and loss are ubiquitous. Entering the healthcare profession puts you on the frontline in the battle against it; you do your bit to relieve the suffering of others.
In so doing, you contribute to something far greater than yourself. A common thread of medical professionals is their desire to make people better. They want to make a difference, and to reduce suffering wherever possible.
It’s vital work of which the world will be in constant need. Pursuing a medical career, in whatever capacity, is a commendable and respectable choice of which you could be proud.
7. Competitive Salaries
There are financial benefits to consider as well though.
The medical profession is full of trying work. It’s only right that the salaries tend to exceed the national average. Indeed, the median wage across the industry is just under $65,000. Compare that to the US average of approximately $38,000 and you realize the financial incentives involved.
Now, the wage goes up in relation to the specific role and level of skill and qualification required. For instance, the best-paid individuals are physicians and surgeons.
They, according to the same source, can bring in over $200,000 per year. However, they also bear a heavy responsibility and go through years of training in order to qualify. Roles with less responsibility and training involved will earn less as a result.
Nonetheless, expect to earn a higher level of income (in relative terms) regardless of a specific area of interest.
8. Schedules That Suit You
Most professions have a fixed working schedule.
The typical 9 to 5 routine makes it harder to fit a life around work. You’re constrained by the terms of your employment. You have to abide by those hours if you want to earn your wage.
Of course, the same rule applies to healthcare professions. You can’t just turn up to work whenever you want! However, the 24 hour nature of hospitals means you can often find shifts to match your needs.
Staff are required at all times of the day. That provides wiggle room to fit shifts in around outside engagements and activities. For example, you could work the night shift in order to spend the afternoon with family.
This flexibility is a common positive for healthcare workers looking for work-life balance. It helps cater to busy lives and outside commitments.
9. Work as Part of a Team
A final benefit of the medical sector is the team-based nature of the work.
Working in silo is almost unheard of in this industry. Instead, you’re forever engaged with a team of fellow health professionals. Everyone is there in different capacities but for the same purpose: to enhance the lives of service users.
In a difficult and high-intensity environment, the support of a team is vital.
They help to encourage you, lift your spirits, and educate you on the role. It removes the weight of responsibility too. Rather than one person carrying the burden of care, people work together to share it.
Time to Pursue Your Medical Industry Career
The medical industry is booming the United States.
A growing need for skilled healthcare professionals has provided a plethora of job opportunities. Even better, those roles that need filling provide a host of benefits to anybody who enters them.
As we’ve seen, working in the healthcare sector is full of advantages.
Hopefully, this post has highlighted the main ones. If you’re considering a career in the industry, then we hope it’s provided enough inspiration to give it a shot.
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