What Are the 5 Health Science Once a student has decided to pursue health  Dental laboratory technician

science courses, they will then need to

Career Pathways? choose which health science career pathway
most interests them. 2. Therapeutic Services
CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION This is necessary because each pathway has
(CTE) | HEALTH SCIENCE its own course requirements and ultimately The therapeutic services pathway is the
leads students to different career options! most popular pathway in health science.
Each state uses the pathways to develop It’s focused on working with patients to
their health science programs, courses, and provide care, treatment, or counseling to
certification options. improve the patient’s status over time.
While states generally align with the Common careers in therapeutic services
pathways, the health science courses vary include:
from state to state.  Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
For example, in Florida there are more than  Pharmacist
20 health science courses for middle and  Occupational therapist
high school students. In Georgia, there are  Paramedic
fewer health science courses, but a huge  Respiratory therapist
Share: number of certification options.
There are five overarching industry While the details vary state to state, the 3. Health Informatics
pathways for CTE students interested in importance of the health science career
pursuing a career in healthcare. cluster still stands and the outlook for The health informatics pathway involves a
The five health science pathways are: careers in health care are astonishing. wide variety of occupations made up of
 Diagnostic Services So now that we’ve covered the health people responsible for managing patient
 Therapeutic Services science career cluster as a whole, let’s dig information, financial information, and c
 Health Informatics into the career pathways! omputer applications related to health care.
 Support Services 1. Diagnostic Services This pathway includes careers such as:
 Biotechnology Research &  Medical administrative assistant
Development The diagnostic services pathway is made up  Health information technician
of careers that use tests to detect, di agnose,  Nurse manager
The Health Science Career Cluster and treat diseases, injuries, or other physical  Medical transcriptionist
conditions.
 Health care administrator
The health science cluster is one of 16 career Some common careers that fall under
clusters that make up career and technical diagnostic services include:
education (CTE) in the United States.  EKG technician
4. Support Services
This cluster is one of the most popular  Phlebotomist
choices, with more than 35% of all CTE  Radiology technician The support services pathway is often
students pursuing healthcare careers.  Ultrasound technician unnoticed by patients, but it’s what keeps
healthcare facilities running. Support
services employees work behind the scenes  Read the post to help give your
to ensure other health care professionals can Now that we’ve gone over the five students a clearer idea of their future
accomplish their duties. healthcare career pathways, let’s apply as healthcare professionals!
Some common careers in support services the information to your classroom!
include: Help Your Students Decide on a
 Dietary technician Healthcare Pathway
 Biomedical equipment technician With so many healthcare career options out
 Medical librarian there, trying to nail down the right one for
 Hospital maintenance engineer each student can be daunting in the span of a
 Central services technician school year (or semester).
Often, this type of decision is made in a
5. Biotechnology Research & student’s junior or senior year of high school
Development when they need to take pathway-specific
courses.
The biotechnology research & development While this is a viable option for everyone,
pathway is a great fit for students who excel we believe it’s important to introduce
students to healthcare careers options much
in science classes. It includes a range of
earlier.
careers that use advancements in science and
technology to improve healthcare. Teaching health science career
These careers include: exploration as early as middle school can
 Toxicologist help students have a more defined path --
both in their schooling and with career
 Biomedical engineer
goals.
 Forensic science technician
But there aren’t many resources out there to
 Cytotechnologist help you teach this critical topic to middle
 Epidemiologist school students.
This pathway is highly focused on science We’ve put together a list of the five best
and math, so having strong abilities in these lessons for teaching health science career
areas is crucial to success. exploration in middle school to help you
People who work in this pathway discover get started:
new information that paves the way for
better treatments and medical devices!  An introduction to healthcare careers
Anyone interested in pursuing a career in
 The basics of career exploration
this pathway will need a strong foundational
 Healthcare career pathways
education in science. In addition, an
Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree  A look at careers in healthcare
is required along with a state license for  Student reflections
most positions.
 babies. The range of skills and
10 Reasons to experiences is limited only to your
imagination.
Pursue a Health
Career 3. Y ou can live and work
anywhere you want:
A career is more than a paycheck. It’s
something you’ll be doing 40 hours a week Almost every region of the United
for 40 years or more. That’s why you should States has a strong demand for
carefully consider the reasons you are health care professionals in a wide
choosing your career. And while a good range of fields. As a trained health
salary and interesting work are at the top of worker, you can choose where you
the list, there are even more reasons to want to live and the setting you
want to work in.
Why a Career in consider a health care career.

4. You can find a health career

Health? 1. You’ll enjoy job security:
that fits your educational
plans:
Unlike many industries that are
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects losing workers, the health care field
health care to be the fastest growing is growing rapidly. The U.S. There are health careers that
employment industry between 2014 and Department of Labor expects require eight, 10, even 13 years of
2024. This projection is good news for you health care will generate 3 million specialized education after high
as it means increased job security as more new wage and salary jobs between school, and there are health
and more fulfilling, lucrative positions are 2006 and 2016, more than any careers you can train for in 18 to
being created for people driven to make a other industry.  Dozens of health 24 months at your local community
difference in their communities. careers have good or excellent job college. Search for health careers
prospects, meaning you’ll never that fit your educational plans.
have trouble finding a job.
ExploreHealthCareers.org strives to
highlight the opportunities health careers 5. You can learn by reading
offer and serve as your expert resource as 2. You will do work that and doing:
you navigate your career path. With content interests you:
authored by those already working in the
Many health career training
field themselves, we’ll connect you to the
A career in health can lead in many programs involve both classroom
knowledge you need to choose the right
directions. You can treat patients in lectures and hands-on learning
health career and apply and pay for school.
an office or study cells under a opportunities. You may spend time
microscope. You can work in a in a lab, do a summer internship in
Together, we can make caring your career. small doctor’s office or run a a community clinic or do a clinical
hospital. You can examine eyes, rotation in a bustling hospital to
mend bones, clean teeth or deliver hone your technical and patient
 care skills. There are even hands- working with people or with
on learning programs for high information? Whatever your
school and college students who preference, you can find a health
haven’t decided on a career. career that matches your skills and
interests.
6. You can get help to pay for
school: 10. You’ll make a
difference in people’s lives
Hundreds of scholarships, financial
aid programs, grants and student Perhaps the biggest benefit of
loans are available to help aspiring being a health care professional is
health care workers pay for school. that you will make a difference in
people’s lives.  Whether you work
as a nurse’s aide, an
7. You’ll have a clear path to acupuncturist, a health services
advancement: administrator or a veterinarian, to
name just a few careers, you will
It costs employers less to promote be helping to make our world a little
a trusted worker than to hire healthier, a little safer and a little
someone new. Many employers will better.
reimburse educational expenses
and even give you time off to go to
school so you can qualify for a
higher-paying position.

8. You’ll earn a good salary:

Health care workers make good
money. The average entry-level
health worker earns from $15 to
$50 per hour. The more experience
and training you get in your field,
the more money you can make.

9. You can work with people

(or not):

Do you prefer to work alone or on a

team?  Are you more comfortable
 in-depth look at the different public Some health care professionals
spend many years (and many dollars)
health degrees available and the
on the educational training they need
potential careers available upon to perform specialized tasks, but did
graduation. you know that not all health care
career paths require extensive time in
school?
Why a Career in For students who want to enter the workforce
Public health focuses on disease
prevention and the overall Health? sooner and still work in the healthcare field have
a number of options from which to choose.
We’ve provided a sample of health careers
improvement of human life. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects health grouped by years of study with links to detailed
Research makes it clear that the care to be the fastest growing employment career information for each where you’ll learn
industry between 2014 and 2024. This projection more about what the job responsibilities are like,
importance of public health cannot is good news for you as it means increased job how much you might earn and what, exactly, is
required academically.
be understated. The CDC reports security as more and more fulfilling, lucrative
positions are being created for people driven to
that from 1900 to 1999, the average make a difference in their communities.
life expectancy of an individual living Advanced Schooling
in the United States increased by 30 ExploreHealthCareers.org strives to highlight the
opportunities health careers offer and serve as You have the drive, desire and opportunity to
years. However, 25 of those years your expert resource as you navigate your commit to graduate and/or doctorate work. If this
can be attributed to advances in career path. With content authored by those sounds like you, consider these careers:
already working in the field themselves, we’ll
public health. Not surprisingly, many connect you to the knowledge you need to
choose the right health career and apply and  Biostatistician
schools risen to the challenge and pay for school.  Audiologist
offer programs designed to train  Naturopathic Physician
 Dentist
individuals for careers in public Together, we can make caring your career.  Osteopathic Physician (D.O.)
health.

The public health field is broad, and

Types of Health Moderate schooling
several different public health Careers You can begin pursuing these careers after as
little as five or six years of college and/or
careers exist, such as graduate school:
epidemiologist, public relations
 Health Administrator
specialist and health educator,
 Anesthesiologist Assistant
among others. This page will take an  Athletic Trainer
  Cardiovascular Technologist
 Art Therapist
2 GET A MASTER’S DEGREE IN PUBLIC 4 GO FOR THE DOCTORATE PUBLIC

Less schooling, HEALTH

The master’s degree in public health (MPH) is typically a
HEALTH DEGREE
Medical scientists, advanced researchers or professors at

immediate service professional, practice-based degree that helps graduates

assume leadership roles in a variety of public health
the college or university level will almost always need a
doctorate degree. And depending on the type of work,
settings at the local, state, federal and even international students will need to decide which type of doctorate
level. It may be offered as a Master of Science or a Master degree to pursue. For example, the PhD is more tailored
These careers offer students the opportunity to
of Arts. The student will choose which of these to purse for those interested in teaching or research. Beyond that,
enter the health care workforce sooner so you
based on future career plans. This degree is necessary for students will typically be expected to choose a focus.
can start earning and build practical experience many jobs; epidemiologists, advanced health educators Examples of public health doctorate concentrations incl
immediately: and health survey researchers will need a master’s degree. ude biostatistics, chronic disease epidemiology,
The MPH and MSPH degrees are popular among those environmental health and health policy and
 Dental Assistant interested in an advanced public health degree.
management.
 Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse
 Emergency Medical
Technician/Paramedic
3 GAIN WORK EXPERIENCE
 Home Care Assistance/Aide This is especially important if a doctorate degree will be
 Pharmacy Technician sought. Public health doctoral programs like to see
applicants with prior relevant work experience. Ideally, a
student will pursue pre-professional experience while
STEPS TO PURSUING PUBLIC HEALTH DEGREES & CAREERS earning a degree. Not only does this work experience
Though the requirements for a public health career might provide for more well-rounded graduates, it improves the
vary depending upon the profession, a certain amount of learning outcomes, as students will have the experience
education will be needed or recommended. Here are the and knowledge to put their learning into perspective. Be
steps to making a public health career a reality. sure to choose work experience that aligns with your
ultimate career goals. For example, someone who wants
1 OBTAIN A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN
to work in epidemiology should find work experience that
includes field work and research in this area.
PUBLIC HEALTH OR A RELATED
CONCENTRATION
The bachelor’s degree is the bare minimum for some
public health professions. Depending on the college, there
may be either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts
degree in public health offered. Either on should give
students a broad educational background in public health,
allowing them to choose a master’s program to fit their
individual needs. Those who want to move on to higher
degrees can start at the bachelor’s level by using their
elective choices to specialize in what they intend to pursue
at the graduate level.