While many say that life ends after having children, others say having children work is a wakeup call into the real world. If you are wondering how you are going to support your new bambino, there’s no need to panic. You won’t be cleaning houses or waiting tables forever, and if you pursue one of the following four healthcare careers, your life will be changed for the better.
Physical Therapist Assistant
Job growth in the physical therapy field is astounding. According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), this industry is slated to grow by 46 percent during the next ten years, thanks to the increased healthcare demands of our aging population. As a PTA (physical therapy assistant), you will guide patients through physical therapy exercises, and you will help them using pain-relieving and mobility-boosting techniques like massage and stretching.
You can get the training you need to start this career in just two years. Once trained, you can look forward to a median income of about $38,000 per year. When you are ready for a greater challenge, you can easily head back to school to become a physical therapist, a move which could increase your income substantially.
Veterinarian Assistant
Regardless of whether or not you have pets at home, you can spend all day with them when you become a veterinarian assistant. In this role, you will care for animals before and after their surgeries, and you will help provide medication and treatment to sick animals in emergency situations.
When you study to become a veterinarian assistant at Penn Foster, you can get the skills that you need to work in this field in less than 4 months. According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), this small investment is worth it in the long run as these professionals make a median income of more than $22,000.
Dietician
There are countless grants designed to get single moms through college. But once you get through the doors, it can be hard to decide what to study. If you love nutrition and want to help people improve their lives by making healthier choices, you may want to study health and nutrition. As a dietician, you will get to plan meal programs, educate the public about nutrition, and provide nutritional therapy. According to the BLS, you will earn a median income of more than $53,000. Those at the top of their game often earn more than $75,000.
Speech Pathologist
Speech language pathologists may focus on spoken language or sign language, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control). As a speech pathologist, you will have the opportunity to help children with speaking delays or hearing problems. Although this career requires a bit more education than the others, the final payoff is well worth the time you will invest into getting your master’s degree. The median income for a speech pathologist is $66,000 per year, and the industry is growing faster than most, reports the BLS.
Applicants to this field must have a master’s degree, but there are no requirements about what sort of bachelor’s degree you need to have to enter the master’s program for speech pathology. This could be the perfect field to consider if you already have a bachelor’s degree but don’t know what to do with it.
Creative Commons image by roger_mommaerts
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
