CareerCast, a Carlsbad, California-based online jobs database, released its top 10 jobs in the healthcare field Thursday, highlighting careers in the industry that have the highest growth potential over the next eight years.
The list measured projected salary growth, weighing benefits such as work environment, stress, travel and public perception, culling their data from industry groups, trade associations and other reports.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare field is expected to create 5 million jobs by 2022 – making it the fastest growing field in the nation.
Healthcare employment remained strong through the Great Recession, and continues to show above average growth as more Americans are gaining access to health insurance and providers are being forced to add staff to meet demand, said CareerCast Publisher Tony Lee.
A Forbes.com article discussing the CareerCast list also cites an aging U.S. population, coupled with increased longevity, as other factors for growing healthcare careers, as many of the jobs are associated with preventative care and function.
“There’s living, and then there’s quality of life,” said Adrian Miranda, a physical therapist in Brooklyn, New York in the CareerCast statement. “Physical therapists maintain quality of life.”
Podiatry was the only career highlighted that requires a medical degree, but most require associates and/or bachelor-level degrees with some residencies and internships.
The careers don’t have the earning power of orthopedic surgeons or urologists, but most are near the $50,000 range with two, podiatrists and pharmacists, earning above $100,000 annually.
Pharmacists represented the the lowest growing career, according to CareerCast, likely seeing 14 percent growth by increase by 2022. The highest, physical therapy, is expected to see 36 percent growth over the same period.
Below are the 10 best jobs in healthcare heading into 2015, according to CareerCast's Jobs Rated report metrics:
AUDIOLOGIST Average Annual Salary: $69,720 Projected Growth by 2022: 34%
DENTAL HYGIENIST Average Annual Salary: $70,210 Projected Growth by 2022: 33%
DIETITIAN Average Annual Salary: $55,240 Projected Growth by 2022: 21%
MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN Average Annual Salary: $34,160 Projected Growth by 2022: 22%
MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST Average Annual Salary: $47,820 Projected Growth by 2022: 22%
OPTICIAN Average Annual Salary: $33,330 Projected Growth by 2022: 23%
PHARMACIST Average Annual Salary: $116,670 Projected Growth by 2022: 14%
PHYSICAL THERAPIST Average Annual Salary: $79,860 Projected Growth by 2022: 36%
PHYSIOLOGIST Average Annual Salary: $42,690 Projected Growth by 2022: 19%
PODIATRIST Average Annual Salary: $116,440 Projected Growth by 2022: 23%