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Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 10:37 am
by doodle
So my significant other is considering transitioning into the healthcare industry. She has a four year degree in sociology/psychology with some science classes but would have to take some pre reqs to qualify for admission to most associate of science 2 year medical tech programs.
Does anyone here that works in medical industry have any insights into what career path in this industry would offer the best bang for time/effort/money invested? Also important is ease of finding job openings as concerned about certain areas being saturated with applicants. Any information or suggestions regarding this would be highly appreciated!
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 12:03 pm
by Ad Orientem
"To a bloody war or a sickly season." -Traditional toast of the Royal Navy for officers hoping for promotion
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 3:16 pm
by WiseOne
Is she crazy?
No one is hiring and layoffs/pay cuts are happening everywhere. The hospitals and outpatient centers & practices of all kinds are going broke. Pugchief gave us a nice inside look into what's happening to his small dental practice.
Plus, in the era of EHRs and oppressive regulation, everyone in medicine is flat out miserable.
It'll all recover at some point (minus the EHRs & regulations which aren't going anywhere), so entering a training program at least 2 years long may not be a terrible idea. PA school sounds fine. Consider physical therapy or nursing also. But, if she likes medicine in general why not consider becoming a vet tech? Same work, less stress, cute fuzzy critters instead of crazed people with their lawyer's phone number in their pockets, and a lot less bureaucracy to deal with.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 4:22 pm
by GT
WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 3:16 pm
Is she crazy?
No one is hiring and layoffs/pay cuts are happening everywhere. The hospitals and outpatient centers & practices of all kinds are going broke. Pugchief gave us a nice inside look into what's happening to his small dental practice.
Plus, in the era of EHRs and oppressive regulation, everyone in medicine is flat out miserable.
It'll all recover at some point (minus the EHRs & regulations which aren't going anywhere), so entering a training program at least 2 years long may not be a terrible idea. PA school sounds fine. Consider physical therapy or nursing also. But, if she likes medicine in general why not consider becoming a vet tech? Same work, less stress, cute fuzzy critters instead of crazed people with their lawyer's phone number in their pockets, and a lot less bureaucracy to deal with.
My Daughter was thinking Criminal science or Medical field - Do you know if there as been any forecasting on the medical field needs based on the age of the population - I have no proof but I think we are in a medical field bubble due to the large population of aging Boomers. Gen X is a much smaller group and the next largest group is still very young.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 pm
by yankees60
WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 3:16 pm
Is she crazy?
No one is hiring and layoffs/pay cuts are happening everywhere. The hospitals and outpatient centers & practices of all kinds are going broke. Pugchief gave us a nice inside look into what's happening to his small dental practice.
Plus, in the era of EHRs and oppressive regulation, everyone in medicine is flat out miserable.
It'll all recover at some point (minus the EHRs & regulations which aren't going anywhere), so entering a training program at least 2 years long may not be a terrible idea. PA school sounds fine. Consider physical therapy or nursing also. But, if she likes medicine in general why not consider becoming a vet tech? Same work, less stress, cute fuzzy critters instead of crazed people with their lawyer's phone number in their pockets, and a lot less bureaucracy to deal with.
I never thought that vet tech's were that well paid? Low five figures? While I'm assuming that physican assistant's are minimum six figures?
Vinny
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 6:56 am
by Kriegsspiel
GT wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 4:22 pm
WiseOne wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 3:16 pm
Is she crazy?
No one is hiring and layoffs/pay cuts are happening everywhere. The hospitals and outpatient centers & practices of all kinds are going broke. Pugchief gave us a nice inside look into what's happening to his small dental practice.
Plus, in the era of EHRs and oppressive regulation, everyone in medicine is flat out miserable.
It'll all recover at some point (minus the EHRs & regulations which aren't going anywhere), so entering a training program at least 2 years long may not be a terrible idea. PA school sounds fine. Consider physical therapy or nursing also. But, if she likes medicine in general why not consider becoming a vet tech? Same work, less stress, cute fuzzy critters instead of crazed people with their lawyer's phone number in their pockets, and a lot less bureaucracy to deal with.
My Daughter was thinking Criminal science or Medical field - Do you know if there as been any forecasting on the medical field needs based on the age of the population - I have no proof but I think we are in a medical field bubble due to the large population of aging Boomers. Gen X is a much smaller group and the next largest group is still very young.
"Mental health" has a very promising future. There are an unprecedented number of crazy people nowadays.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 9:17 am
by drumminj
yankees60 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 pm
I never thought that vet tech's were that well paid? Low five figures? While I'm assuming that physican assistant's are minimum six figures?
Vinny
I recall reading that vets have a high suicide rate as well. I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 9:46 am
by WiseOne
drumminj wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:17 am
yankees60 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 pm
I never thought that vet tech's were that well paid? Low five figures? While I'm assuming that physican assistant's are minimum six figures?
Vinny
I recall reading that vets have a high suicide rate as well. I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?
Better than doctors. Neither applies to lower level positions though.
You might be right that vet techs aren't paid as much as PAs, but consider that pay in medical positions is likely to stagnate/go down. Less money to spread around. The Gen Xers may be less numerous than the boomers, but they're sicker. More obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease etc. And the millennials are even worse.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 10:02 am
by yankees60
drumminj wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:17 am
yankees60 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 pm
I never thought that vet tech's were that well paid? Low five figures? While I'm assuming that physican assistant's are minimum six figures?
Vinny
I recall reading that vets have a high suicide rate as well. I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?
If true, that is shocking to me and something that would have never crossed my mind.
Vinny
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 10:04 am
by yankees60
WiseOne wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:46 am
drumminj wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:17 am
yankees60 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 pm
I never thought that vet tech's were that well paid? Low five figures? While I'm assuming that physican assistant's are minimum six figures?
Vinny
I recall reading that vets have a high suicide rate as well. I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?
Better than doctors. Neither applies to lower level positions though.
You might be right that vet techs aren't paid as much as PAs, but consider that pay in medical positions is likely to stagnate/go down. Less money to spread around. The Gen Xers may be less numerous than the boomers, but they're sicker. More obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease etc. And the millennials are even worse.
My theory for any profession is no matter what is going on in the overall profession if you are one of the good / upper level ones in your profession then you are always going to have a job and will always be paid well. And, the medical industry is a huge one. Just like every organization needs some form of accounting personnel, every single county in the country needs various medical personnel.
Vinny
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 10:07 am
by WiseOne
The higher ups in the medical profession are not doctors any longer. It's administrators. And it's definitely not PAs.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 10:18 am
by yankees60
WiseOne wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 10:07 am
The higher ups in the medical profession are not doctors any longer. It's administrators. And it's definitely not PAs.
By upper level, I was not referring to where you are on the organizational hierarchy but how you compare to your peers at your profession. Therefore, I'd be comparing Physicians Assistants to Physicians Assistants and not to any type of administrator.
Vinny
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 9:12 pm
by drumminj
yankees60 wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 10:02 am
drumminj wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:17 am
I recall reading that vets have a high suicide rate as well. I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?
If true, that is shocking to me and something that would have never crossed my mind.
Vinny
A quick search yielded this:
https://time.com/5485552/veterinarians-suicide/
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Thu May 07, 2020 8:14 am
by yankees60
drumminj wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:12 pm
yankees60 wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 10:02 am
drumminj wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 9:17 am
I recall reading that vets have a high suicide rate as well. I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?
If true, that is shocking to me and something that would have never crossed my mind.
Vinny
A quick search yielded this:
https://time.com/5485552/veterinarians-suicide/
Those are veterinarians. I thought the original reference was to veterinarian technicians? I'd assume they would be subject to much less stress than the veterinarians.
Vinny
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Thu May 07, 2020 8:59 am
by drumminj
yankees60 wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2020 8:14 am
Those are veterinarians. I thought the original reference was to veterinarian technicians? I'd assume they would be subject to much less stress than the veterinarians.
Vinny
I feel we're way off on a tangent now, but will try to close the loop. Yes, the original discussion was vet techs and the article is about veterinarians, but if you see my quote above in your post, as I say "I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?".
Perhaps I misunderstood you earlier and you were saying that it never would have crossed your mind that techs are exposed to the same stressors, rather than (as I interpreted it) it never crossed your mind that vets would have a high suicide rate? If so, I apologize for derailing us.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Thu May 07, 2020 4:32 pm
by yankees60
drumminj wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2020 8:59 am
yankees60 wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2020 8:14 am
Those are veterinarians. I thought the original reference was to veterinarian technicians? I'd assume they would be subject to much less stress than the veterinarians.
Vinny
I feel we're way off on a tangent now, but will try to close the loop. Yes, the original discussion was vet techs and the article is about veterinarians, but if you see my quote above in your post, as I say "I suspect vet techs would be exposed to the same causes?".
Perhaps I misunderstood you earlier and you were saying that it never would have crossed your mind that techs are exposed to the same stressors, rather than (as I interpreted it) it never crossed your mind that vets would have a high suicide rate? If so, I apologize for derailing us.
I believe that now all your current interpretations are correct!
Vinny
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Thu May 07, 2020 4:45 pm
by Kriegsspiel
I could see mental health techs committing a lot of suicide after dealing with millennials in such large doses. Maybe that wasn't such a good suggestion. I disavow my previous post, and now promote plastic surgery.
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 9:36 am
by ochotona
Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2020 4:45 pm
I could see mental health techs committing a lot of suicide after dealing with millennials in such large doses. Maybe that wasn't such a good suggestion. I disavow my previous post, and now promote plastic surgery.
I want to commit suicide after hearing Millenial women speak... vocal fry and "thank you" comes out as "THENK-yeeeew", and you still have whatever ugly regional accent mixed in with it... current Kroger commercial
Re: Healthcare jobs, which are best options for career change
Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 5:03 pm
by Kriegsspiel
ochotona wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 9:36 am
Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2020 4:45 pm
I could see mental health techs committing a lot of suicide after dealing with millennials in such large doses. Maybe that wasn't such a good suggestion. I disavow my previous post, and now promote plastic surgery.
I want to commit suicide after hearing Millenial women speak... vocal fry and "thank you" comes out as "THENK-yeeeew", and you still have whatever ugly regional accent mixed in with it... current Kroger commercial
Your daughter had her friends over recently, didn't she?