If you want to help others, make a difference, and have a career with purpose, choosing a healthcare career may be right for you. But healthcare is a big industry with dozens of career paths, from nursing and pharmacy to public health, healthcare administration, and allied health professions.
If you know you want to work in healthcare but aren't sure which direction to take, you're not alone. Here are some questions to help you narrow your options and choose a healthcare career that aligns with your interests, strengths, and goals.
- Do I want to work directly with patients?
- Am I more interested in treatment, prevention, or healthcare operations?
- What subjects and activities do I enjoy most?
- What type of workplace appeals to me?
- How much education am I willing to pursue to reach my goals?
Let’s look closer at how your answers may point you toward choosing a healthcare career that aligns with your interests and long-term objectives.
Start with What Motivates You
Different healthcare careers serve patients and communities in different ways. Consider what excites you most about working in healthcare.
Do You Want to Work One-On-One with Patients?
If you think you’ll enjoy hands-on care and building relationships with patients, you may want to explore careers that involve direct patient interaction. Some options our students commonly pursue include:
- Anesthesiologist Assistant:* Anesthesiologist Assistants provide anesthesia care for patients under the supervision of a licensed anesthesiologist.
- Medical Assisting: Medical assistants help care providers with taking patient vitals, medical history, and more.
- Nursing:* Nurses provide patient care, educate patients and families, coordinate treatment plans, and collaborate with healthcare teams.
- Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA):* OTAs help patients develop or regain skills needed for daily living and independence.
- Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA):* PTAs work with physical therapists to help patients improve mobility and recover from injuries or illnesses.
- Pharmacy:* Pharmacists help patients understand and safely use medications while collaborating with healthcare providers on treatment plans.
- Physician Assistant (PA):* PAs are licensed clinicians who diagnose illnesses, order and interpret diagnostic tests, develop and manage treatment plans, and prescribe medications. They often serve as a patient’s main healthcare provider.
Are You a Big Picture Person Who Likes to Be Behind the Scenes?
Not all healthcare careers focus on individual patient care. Some people have careers focusing on the health of entire populations. Others work to make healthcare organizations better places for patients and employees. You may enjoy fields such as:
- Public Health: Public health professionals analyze health trends, educate communities, work to prevent disease, and create programs to improve or promote health. They may work in government, nonprofit, and community organizations, as well as more standard healthcare settings like hospitals and clinics.
- Healthcare Management or Administration: Healthcare managers and leaders help healthcare organizations run efficiently so doctors, nurses, and other providers may deliver quality care.
- Medical Assisting: Some medical assistants focus on administrative duties, including assisting with office management and medical billing and coding.
Think About Your Strengths and Preferences
Your natural abilities and interests may provide clues that help you choose which healthcare careers may be a good fit.
Do You Enjoy Science and Problem-Solving?
If you are fascinated by biology, chemistry, or medical research, you may enjoy careers that require scientific knowledge and critical thinking. Many of these careers are patient-facing, but not all. Digging deeper into your interests may give you clues about what might interest you. Fascinated by the way the human body moves? A PTA career may be a good option. Curious how medications work? Consider pharmacy. Interested in how diseases spread and what can stop them? That’s public health!
Do You Like Organizing and Managing Processes?
Healthcare organizations of every size need people at all levels who can plan, oversee, and support operations, budgets, staff, and strategic initiatives. These people often have a background in business as well as healthcare, but others enter this career path with a background in medical assisting or allied health sciences. Some nurses even specialize in nursing informatics, where they find ways to use technology to manage and improve healthcare delivery planning and processes.
Are You a Natural Leader?
As a healthcare leader or administrator, you may want to help healthcare organizations grow, improve their services, and better support their employees. As a healthcare leader, you could focus more on the business side of healthcare or lead a team of patient-facing providers, including in roles such as nurse administrator or lead pharmacist.
Bonus: Are You a Strong Communicator?
Communication is important in all healthcare careers. Healthcare professionals communicate with patients, families, providers, and colleagues every day. In patient-facing roles, you’ll need communication skills to learn what is going on with your patient and explain medical procedures, diagnoses, treatments, and more. You’ll also be working as a part of a care team for your patient and will need to talk with other providers regularly.
Strong communication skills may also be valuable in healthcare administration and public health. In those fields, you may be communicating with your co-workers and supervisors as well as with the general public. Luckily, communication is a skill you always have the opportunity to practice and improve!
Imagine Your Ideal Work Environment
Do You Prefer Fast-Paced Environments with a Lot of Variety?
If you thrive in fast-paced environments, choosing a healthcare career where you get to be part of a patient care team in a hospital or urgent care clinic may be appealing. For pharmacists, community pharmacy may also be fast-paced because many patients may come in or call throughout the day with all sorts of needs. (Being a hospital pharmacist may actually be a more scheduled, structured role.)
Or Are You Looking for More Routine and Stability?
Working as a healthcare provider at an outpatient clinic, private practice, or even school may offer a more moderate pace and more predictable days. Healthcare administration and public health jobs are also generally more routine and less likely to vary drastically from day to day.
Explore Education Requirements
Healthcare professions may vary significantly in the level of education, training, and licensure they require. For example, you may be able to enter some careers with an associate degree, while others require a bachelor's or master's degree. In some cases, you may start with a bachelor’s degree, and then earn a graduate degree later when you’re ready for the next step in your career. For patient-facing roles, you’ll also often need to complete a certification or licensure exam.
Once you know these career requirements, you have the opportunity to decide how much time and investment you're willing to make in education and identify healthcare careers that align with your goals. Comparing educational pathways may also help you create a realistic plan for entering the healthcare field and advancing your career over time.
Remember, There Is No One Best Healthcare Career
The healthcare field needs people with a wide range of skills, interests, and personalities. Some people are drawn to bedside care, while others are passionate about medication management, rehabilitation, community health, or healthcare leadership. By exploring your interests, evaluating your goals, and learning about your career options, you may take the first step toward choosing a healthcare career that's right for you.
Ultimately, one of the best ways to determine whether a healthcare career is right for you is to learn more about it through research, talk with current professionals, and even shadow someone at work if possible. Wherever your interest in healthcare comes from, investing time in understanding your options today may help you build a rewarding career tomorrow.
To talk with our admissions team about your interest in healthcare and what program best matches your goals, request information today!
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*Graduates are required to pass the national certification exam and obtain a state license in order to work in the field. (Exam names vary by program.) Please refer to the State Professional Licensure Determination and National Certification/Licensure section of the University catalog for additional information. South University cannot guarantee each graduate will pass the required licensure examinations. South University does not promise or guarantee licensure, employment, or salary amounts.
Programs, including all Clinical/Medical programs, have a required in-person, practicum, or externship. We cannot guarantee flexibility in these components of the program.
