Many graduates choose a career before they fully understand what they want from their professional life. However, some find out later in life that they aren’t happy with their chosen career. By the time they realize it they may feel it’s too late to start over. However, a recent trend shows that the healthcare field is attracting those who choose to make a switch.
Take Peter Stone for instance. Careershifters interviewed him after he switched from a high-paying IT career to a one as a paramedic. It paid less, but for him, helping people was far more rewarding than the money. Peter was feeling stuck in an unrewarding career. He switched because he found something that he was passionate about. That is just one of the many reasons people are transitioning to healthcare careers.
Why Healthcare?
There are hundreds of reasons why people are transitioning to healthcare as a career. Some, like Peter, don’t feel rewarded in their current careers. Others want to earn more money and some just want job security. The healthcare field offers all of these.
Earning Potential
As in most fields, the average wage varies based on position and experience. And, in healthcare, earnings vary greatly from one profession to another. For instance, an EMT’s average starting salary is $33,380 per year, states the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is ample opportunity to learn new skills and advance to earn more. Some people transition within the healthcare field, too, seeking increased income potential or a better fit.
Job Security
Everyone ages and everyone gets sick. At some point, we’ll all need the help of a healthcare professional. Because of this the medical field is constantly growing and will never go away. Emergency medical services, in particular, will always be needed. EMS professionals may gain the assistance of new technologies like artificial intelligence, but they will always have emergency calls to respond to. Nursing, in particular, is experiencing a well-documented shortage.
Endless Opportunities
A career in healthcare is boundless. Individuals can choose from a career in paramedics, medical coding, or physical therapy, just to name a few examples. Career-changers can consider what skills they’ve developed already and then discover which ones transfer well to healthcare.
The best EMS professionals, for example, display compassion, great customer service skills and a tough stomach! On the other hand, someone who prefers to work behind the scenes and think analytically might seek work as a lab technician or medical researcher.
All Career Backgrounds Welcome
Some may worry that they can’t break into the medical field because they don’t have a background in it. For those individuals, there is good news. According to CNN, Mercy College in Ohio, along with some hospitals, are specifically recruiting individuals in manufacturing and retail. They see that individuals with a diverse background help professionals think differently about how they help their patients.
Flexible training options allow some students to pursue their new field while continuing to work in their old one. When it’s time to pursue a job, consider all of your experience to find anything relevant. Verywell Health recommends that job seekers include on their resume any previous work experience with a connection to healthcare, along with any science classes or relevant extracurricular activities.
The biggest reason individuals are switching to a career in healthcare is the rewarding results. Paramedics and EMTs get to go home with a sense they were able to help someone. Sure the stability and the paycheck are nice but that sense of reward is the best of them all.
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