If you think you need to be an MD to earn a prime salary in health care, think again. The doctors are not the only ones pulling down healthy salaries. Some of the highest health care salaries may well surprise you.
In fact, you may be surprised to discover that the top current salary among non-MD health professionals is earned by a pharmacist. Today the prime salary for a pharmacist is about $105,000 a year. Pharmacists are not mere medication dispensers, either. These professionals must know what goes into medications, what their primary effects are, and what their potential side effects may be. They are also teachers; they are responsible for teaching patients the right way to use medication, including what to avoid when using it.
Because many people develop chronic illnesses or conditions, a pharmacist may become someone's primary health care professional for a very long time. His knowledge of medication and his ability to convey intelligent use and alternatives to his customers is invaluable. Becoming a pharmacist is almost as involved as becoming a medical doctor: a typical pharmacist today finishes two years undergraduate science study, passes a pharmaceutical college entrance examination, and, if accepted, finishes a four-year course of study earning a doctorate in pharmacy.
Physician assistants are also highly salaried; today's physician assistant is likely to earn $85,000 a year. Today, a medical doctor is just as likely to delegate routine physical examinations, basic treatments, and basic patient counseling to a physician assistant while the doctor tends directly to the most specialised problems of his patients. More important, physician assistants find themselves part of a fast-growing career path, particularly in the inner city or the rural area, according to several health field surveys.
A physician assistant typically earns a college degree and obtains health-care work experience before or while finishing an accredited program and a national examination. But the PA's education does not stop there; typically, they are required to finish one hundred hours of continuing education in the newest medical techniques every two years, and they must re-certify every six years.
If you have the kind of personality that empathises with and reassures others, you may want to consider a career as a radiation therapist. Typically, this professional earns about $77,000 a year, and the job includes reviewing diagnoses and prescriptions from radiologists, preparing X-ray equipment, and keeping continuously updated and accurate records. According to numerous reports, moreover, radiation therapy is thought to be one of the steadiest-growing health career fields.
Typical radiation therapists earn bachelor's degrees heavily oriented toward the sciences and toward physics, since they work with the physics side of the body. Certification in radiation therapy is also a requirement.
These are the three highest-salaried, non-medical doctor careers in the health field today. Following them to complete the top five are physical therapists (around $76,000 per year), and occupational therapists ($71,000). Health care careers whose salary ranges are between $49,000-70,000 are, in ascending order, physical therapy assistants ($49,000), cardiovascular technicians (also $49,000), certified occupational therapy assistants ($51,000), dietitians ($53,000), radiologic technicians ($54,000), respiratory therapists ($54,000), medical and clinical laboratory technicians ($56,000), diagnostic sonographers ($64,000), occupational health and safety specialists ($64,000), registered nurses ($67,000), orthotists and prosthetists (artificial limb specialists/technicians, basically; $67,000), audiologists ($67,000), dental hygienists ($68,000), speech-language pathologists ($68,000), and nuclear medicine technologists ($68,000).
In fact, you may be surprised to discover that the top current salary among non-MD health professionals is earned by a pharmacist. Today the prime salary for a pharmacist is about $105,000 a year. Pharmacists are not mere medication dispensers, either. These professionals must know what goes into medications, what their primary effects are, and what their potential side effects may be. They are also teachers; they are responsible for teaching patients the right way to use medication, including what to avoid when using it.
Because many people develop chronic illnesses or conditions, a pharmacist may become someone's primary health care professional for a very long time. His knowledge of medication and his ability to convey intelligent use and alternatives to his customers is invaluable. Becoming a pharmacist is almost as involved as becoming a medical doctor: a typical pharmacist today finishes two years undergraduate science study, passes a pharmaceutical college entrance examination, and, if accepted, finishes a four-year course of study earning a doctorate in pharmacy.
Physician assistants are also highly salaried; today's physician assistant is likely to earn $85,000 a year. Today, a medical doctor is just as likely to delegate routine physical examinations, basic treatments, and basic patient counseling to a physician assistant while the doctor tends directly to the most specialised problems of his patients. More important, physician assistants find themselves part of a fast-growing career path, particularly in the inner city or the rural area, according to several health field surveys.
A physician assistant typically earns a college degree and obtains health-care work experience before or while finishing an accredited program and a national examination. But the PA's education does not stop there; typically, they are required to finish one hundred hours of continuing education in the newest medical techniques every two years, and they must re-certify every six years.
If you have the kind of personality that empathises with and reassures others, you may want to consider a career as a radiation therapist. Typically, this professional earns about $77,000 a year, and the job includes reviewing diagnoses and prescriptions from radiologists, preparing X-ray equipment, and keeping continuously updated and accurate records. According to numerous reports, moreover, radiation therapy is thought to be one of the steadiest-growing health career fields.
Typical radiation therapists earn bachelor's degrees heavily oriented toward the sciences and toward physics, since they work with the physics side of the body. Certification in radiation therapy is also a requirement.
These are the three highest-salaried, non-medical doctor careers in the health field today. Following them to complete the top five are physical therapists (around $76,000 per year), and occupational therapists ($71,000). Health care careers whose salary ranges are between $49,000-70,000 are, in ascending order, physical therapy assistants ($49,000), cardiovascular technicians (also $49,000), certified occupational therapy assistants ($51,000), dietitians ($53,000), radiologic technicians ($54,000), respiratory therapists ($54,000), medical and clinical laboratory technicians ($56,000), diagnostic sonographers ($64,000), occupational health and safety specialists ($64,000), registered nurses ($67,000), orthotists and prosthetists (artificial limb specialists/technicians, basically; $67,000), audiologists ($67,000), dental hygienists ($68,000), speech-language pathologists ($68,000), and nuclear medicine technologists ($68,000).
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