The 20 Best Health Care Care Care in the Future

When you think of a career in medicine or healthcare, it is probably the earliest job in your mind to be a doctor, surgeon, or dentist. Although these are excellent careers, they require a lot of time and money to invest. Fortunately, there are many high-paying and needing healthcare careers that don’t require a full medical degree. Share these options with your high school students when they consider their future careers.

Note: All salary information is from Inteble.com or the Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Outlook Manual as of March 2025.

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The best medical and healthcare careers in the future

These healthcare careers require a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree, so plan to pay a good time and a commitment to money. However, once you qualify, all work on this list is much faster than the national average, and their current positions are expected to increase by 40% over the next 10 years! This means that once today’s teenagers are ready to join the full-time workforce, it should be relatively easy to find a job.

Registered Nurse

Nurses are the cornerstone of the health care system, working in hospitals, clinics, schools, etc. This may be a high-pressure job, but it is also one of the most necessary and respectable jobs in the healthcare career.

• Average salary: $86,000
• Education/training: Bachelor’s Degree

Occupational Therapist

Recovering from injury or illness can be a long road, but an occupational therapist is there to help people relearn how to walk, move, speak, or live after a major health event.

• Average salary: $96,300
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Correctionists and prosthetics

The world of prosthetics and supporting devices has come a long way over the past few decades. Correctors and prosthetics help people find the best solutions to meet their needs to ensure proper fit and function.

• Average salary: $78,100
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Mental Health Consultant

Whether they serve as counselors or therapists for general mental health, or those supporting addiction recovery centers, these health care professionals provide important care in a society that eventually begins to value the importance of mental health.

• Average salary: $53,700
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Nurse anesthesiologist

These healthcare workers use anesthesia to calm down, sedate and place patients underneath so that they can undergo surgery and other medical procedures. They work in hospitals, clinics, dentists’ offices, etc. to monitor patients to ensure safe wake up after the surgery is completed.

• Average salary: $129,400
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Sports coach

Not all athletic coaches work for professional sports teams, but this type of healthcare market has a huge market. Athletic trainers respond to emergencies and provide support for athletes when they recover from injuries and are ready to compete again.

• Average salary: $57,930
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Genetic Consultant

The science of genetics continues to expand, and it is an exciting area for the future. Genetic counselors work with patients to identify and understand their genetic diseases and risks, helping them make informed decisions about their health care options.

• Average salary: $95,700
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Nurse practitioner

Doctors spent years (and hundreds of thousands of dollars) before they were fully qualified to practice medicine. Nurse practitioners only need a master’s degree and are able to perform the same type of patient treatment as doctors. This field (and similar jobs for physician assistants) are expected to grow dramatically over the next 10 years.

• Average salary: $129,400
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Healthcare administrator

As a healthcare administrator, help manage physician practices, hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities. This is an opportunity to use your organizational and management skills while helping others stay healthy.

• Average salary: $110,480
• Education/training: Bachelor’s Degree

Epidemiologist

These scientists track disease trends to predict, control and understand outbreaks. They spend a lot of time collecting and analyzing data, working with public health agencies to reduce the spread of the disease.

• Average salary: $81,390
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Speech pathologist

These healthcare professionals work in hospitals and schools to diagnose and treat speech, language and throat diseases. (Sometimes they are also called “speech therapists.”)

• Average salary: $89,290
• Education/training: Master’s degree

Best Health Care Care Care That Does Not Need a Four-Year Degree

Over the years, you can start a great medical career without going to college! There are many great options that require only an associate degree or licensed and certified course. This allows kids today to earn good salaries soon without worrying about college debt.

Physical therapist

While not in the highest paid jobs on this list, it only takes a few years for a physical therapist to start working with patients in post-secondary education. They do vary in the lives of many people, helping them heal and restore mobility after injuries and illness.

• Average salary: $58,740
• Education/training: Associate Degree
• Estimated growth: 19%

Radiology technicians

Technicians using equipment such as X-rays, cat scanners, MRIs, and mammograms usually spend several years on training courses. However, the ROI is high and the salary is high, which allows you to do some of the best jobs without a four-year college degree.

• Average salary: $114,000
• Education/training: Associate Degree

Dental hygienist

This is another medical position that takes several years of training courses and has a high payoff in the long run. The hygienist cleans his teeth during the operation, takes X-rays and assists the dentist.

• Average salary: $106,600
• Education/training: Associate Degree

Pharmacy technician

This is not one of the most paid jobs on the list, but if you want to be a pharmacist, this is a great way to gain experience in the field. Many future pharmacists pay through this type of work through school.

• Average salary: $38,532
• Education/training: Associate Degree

Medical Encoder/Biller

The American medical industry is very complex. In order for doctors and hospitals to get payments from insurance companies, they must submit their bills correctly using the appropriate code. This work requires people who quickly get into data input and pay close attention to details.

• Average salary: $60,800
• Education/training: Certification courses and exams

EMT/Careers

This is one of the most meaningful jobs on our list and offers opportunities to help save lives! These emergency medical staff respond to the phone and help patients on site, then transport them to the hospital if needed.

• Average salary: $49,100
• Education/training: Licensed courses and exams

Massage therapist

Massage therapy is a respected part of the healthcare industry and improves the quality of life for many people. Therapists take training courses to learn the best ways to manipulate muscles and soft tissues, relieve pain and increase circulation.

• Average salary: $58,800
• Education/training: Licensed courses and exams

Ultrasonic technician

Also known as ultrasound, we can treat tissues and organs as internal organs in a noninvasive way. Ultrasound technicians performed these scans to work with pregnant women and various other healthcare needs.

• Average salary: $80,850
• Education/training: Associate Degree

Health information technology personnel

You may also hear about this job called “Medical Record Experts,” which is exactly what these healthcare professionals do. They manage information from patients, doctors, hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities to ensure records are safe, safe and up-to-date.

• Average salary: $63,000
• Education/training: Associate Degree

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