The burden of student loans and long years of training in medical school can put you off even if you are interested in the medical field. Luckily for you, the healthcare industry has a wide range of jobs that do not require you to be in school for a long time. If you are looking for a career in the healthcare industry with good pay and plenty of benefits, read on to find out what’s there for you.

Medical Coder/Inpatient Coding

What is inpatient coding? The principal duty of a medical coder is to interpret the healing process. Most employers require medical coders to be certified. You are also highly likely to earn more if you are accredited than when you have no certification. The certification takes approximately nine months.

Medical coders go through the doctor’s notes and assign codes based on the type of treatment, supplies, and procedures that a patient went through. These codes will determine the amount of insurance reimbursement the physician treating the patient will receive. Accuracy is, therefore, a necessary skill in this field. Medical coders are also tasked with maintaining confidential medical records as well as ensuring adherence to compliance regulations. Coding is very precise, and attention to detail is essential as the codes are always changing.

Medical Assistant

A medical assistant works in a clinic or a physician’s office doing day to day administrative work and providing primary care to patients. These primary duties include checking a patient’s vital signs, helping a physician with the examination, administering injections, and preparing blood samples for the lab. This is the perfect position for a person looking for hands-on clinical experience to pursue a medical degree. This is the ideal place to kickstart a career in healthcare if you are hoping to gather some knowledge to enhance your resume.

Training might be nine months to three years. Most employers hire certified and registered personal assistants. This is also an excellent place to earn some money if you are a medical student. Getting a certification is a demonstration to the employer that you are seriously interested in working in the field.

Home Care Aide/Assisted Living

Working in people’s homes or homes for the elderly and disabled is the work of a home care aide. Other than caring for the invalid, you may be involved in doing household chores for them. You will need to move the elderly or disabled person from their bed, clean them, feed them, and so on. You will also have to interface with families a lot. The best part about this job is you will get a lot of nursing experience in the process. While at it, you will make about $20,000 annually.

Psychiatric Aide

A psychiatric aide is tasked with helping patients who have been confined to a mental institution or facility. You will be tasked with administering medication as required, ensuring they take their meals, and stay clean. On average, a psychiatric aide makes about $27,000 annually.

Pharmacy Technician

A pharmacy technician works under a pharmacist helping fill prescriptions, filling in information regarding medicines, organizing inventory, processing insurance, and accepting payments. This is the place to launch a pharmacy career or looking for some hands-on experience that will earn you extra income. Most states require certification. The certification program takes nine months, and you will make slightly over $30,000 annually.

Ultrasound Technician

Ultrasound technicians are tasked with performing ultrasounds on patients and passing along the results to physicians. If you are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare but are unsure if you are a fit, this role is an excellent opportunity to determine if you are cut out for the job. Keeping updated on medical equipment used is necessary for an ultrasound technician.

Occupational Therapist (Aide)

You might consider working as an aide to an occupational therapist to help rehabilitate patients with mental and physical impairments. You will mostly do administrative tasks, logistics, and help patients to get comfortable. For these duties, you’ll be making about $32,000 annually.

We hope this list has broadened your search for jobs in the healthcare field. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that pay in some of these job categories will grow by up to 37% in the next seven years, notwithstanding the stability and career growth.