Allied Health is used to describe a variety of different health industry professions. When you start considering a health-related position under the Allied Health “umbrella”, it can be challenging to know which one will fit your interests and goals for a rewarding career.
The following tips will help you decide which of the 80+ positions is right for you.
1. The first step should be deciding which of the two main career branches you’re going to work in. Usually, you’ll have to either sign up as a technician (or assistant technician) or you’ll work among the technologists and therapists. These two primary groups make up almost every job available under the Allied Health umbrella.
2. Once you have an idea of which area you’re going to be focusing on, you’ll have to start looking at the jobs that lie within each branch.
At the entry-level, technicians are trained for a diverse variety of procedures that are usually fairly basic and easy to follow. Generally speaking, you need less than 2 years of experience and education to enter this career path, but you’ll be able to work your way up. Popular careers as an Allied Health technician include ultrasound technicians, EKG technicians, and dialysis technicians.
For therapists and technologists more specialized education. You can work in physical therapy, as a medical laboratory technologist, respiratory therapist, and much more more.
3. You’ll want to think about where you’re going to work. While there are many positions available in the Allied Health fields there might only be certain ones available in your location – especially if you live in a rural area.
Would you be willing to move? If you can’t see yourself going anywhere for the job, you might want to check out the positions available in your area.
4. What kind of job do you want? The positions you have to choose from range from working hands-on with patients to handling only the equipment. What are you comfortable with? Are you a people person or do you do better working on your own behind the scenes? Do you thrive when given responsibility, or do you prefer to handle lower-level tasks? You’ll find that there are plenty of positions no matter what your preferences.
5. As you progress along your chosen career path you might get the chance to teach. Often people working in more specialized Allied Health professions end up teaching a variety of subjects later on. If you feel you’d enjoying teaching, choose a career path that can lead to teaching if that’s how you want to spend the latter half of your career.
6. Be sure to choose your Allied Health career wisely. It can be difficult and costly to jump around from career to career so picking the right one today will save you time, frustration, and money later on. You have to know whether you want a hands-on job or not, whether you want to move up into teaching or another lucrative career in the future, meaning you have to make some important decisions in order to guarantee yourself a rewarding career.
7. Even though it’s not a requirement, acquiring a certification can improve your chances of getting the Allied Health career of your choice, moving you ahead of other applicants. You’ll also be a better choice for health care facilities that have higher standards than others.
Using the tips listed above, start your search for a rewarding Allied Health career today.
