College is expensive and time-consuming. Plus when you graduate, you’re often saddled with student loans. Fortunately, there are plenty of jobs in the healthcare field that don’t require a college degree. Here are a few.
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1. Medical Assistant
A medical assistant helps with both administrative and clinical tasks. They give shots and apply bandages as well as take blood for laboratory tests. They also handle patient records and deal with insurance companies. Better still, the job pays well. Medical assistants make about $35,000 per year. Best of all, you can take an online medical assistant course and finish your training in six weeks.
2. Pharmacy Technician
Pharmacy technicians organize pharmacy inventory and help fill prescriptions. The pay is about $35,000 per year, depending on where you live. You will need to complete a certification program that takes nine months.
3. Nursing Assistant
The only education this requires is a high school diploma, as most positions provide on-the-job training. As a nursing assistant, you’ll help bathe patients as well as assist them with getting dressed and eating. You’ll also help move patients from their beds to a wheelchair. Nursing assistants often develop close relationships with their patients, making the job rewarding. The pay is about $30,000 per year.
4. Medical Records Specialist
A medical records specialist takes the notes that doctors record and assigns codes to all supplies and procedures along with other services given to the patients in order to bill the patients properly. You must be detail-oriented and be willing to keep up to date with constantly changing policies and codes. Medical records specialists make, on average about $44,090 per year.
5. Phlebotomist
If blood doesn’t scare you, think about becoming a phlebotomist. Phlebotomy is the process of penetrating a vein with a needle for the purpose of drawing blood. You also have to know how to safely dispose of used needles and biohazardous materials. Compassion for others is required along with steady hands to do the job right the first time. The pay is about $36,000 per year.
6. Occupational Therapy Aide
An occupational therapy aide works with an occupational therapist to help patients regain life skills after an injury. In addition to helping patients, an occupational therapy aide also communicates with patients through emails and phone calls and schedules appointments. Occupational therapy aides make about $41,000 per year.
7. Massage Therapist
It takes strength to be a massage therapist, but it’s also a rewarding field. A massage therapist provides massages to help relieve others of pain. The work pays very well, and massage therapists can make $60,000 per year.
8. Paramedic
While you don’t need a college degree to be a paramedic, you will need to have a cpr certificate. As a paramedic, you assess a patient and provide immediate treatment when necessary. You also ride with them in an ambulance to the hospital. Paramedics make about $43,000 per year.
Not every lucrative field requires a college degree. If you dread the idea of going to college, consider a position in health care.
