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About 580,000 establishments make up the health care industry; they vary greatly in terms of size, staffing patterns, and organizational structures. Nearly 77 percent of health care establishments are offices of physicians, dentists, or other health practitioners. Although hospitals constitute only one percent of all health care establishments, they employ 35 percent of all workers. Health care firms employ large numbers of workers in professional and service occupations.

Professional occupations, such as physicians and surgeons, dentists, registered nurses, OB/GYNs, social workers, and physical therapists, usually require at least a bachelor’s degree in a specialized field or higher education in a specific health field, although registered nurses also enter through associate degree or diploma programs. Professional workers often have high levels of responsibility and complex duties. In addition to providing services, these workers may supervise other workers or conduct research.

Other health professionals and technicians work in many fast growing occupations, such as medical records and health information technicians and dental hygienists. These workers may operate technical equipment and assist health diagnosing and treating practitioners. Graduates of one or two year medical training programs often fill such positions; the jobs usually require specific formal training beyond high school, but less than 4 years of college.

Service occupations attract many workers with little to no specialized education or training. For instance, some of these workers are nursing aides, home health aides, building cleaning workers, dental assistants, medical assistants, and personal and home care aides. Home health aides provide health-related services for ill, injured, disabled, elderly, or infirm individuals either in institutions or in their homes. By providing routine personal care services, personal and home care aides help elderly, disabled, and ill persons live in their own homes instead of in an institution. Although some of these workers are employed by public or private agencies, many are self-employed. With experience and, in some cases, further education and training, service workers may advance to higher level positions or transfer to new occupations.

The health care industry consists of the following nine segments: hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, offices of physicians, offices of dentists, home health care services, offices of health practitioners, outpatient care centers, ambulatory health care services, and medical and diagnostic laboratories.

Healthcare Job Types

Hospital jobs
Nursing care facility jobs
Physician office jobs
Dentist office jobs
Home health care jobs
Health practitioner office jobs
Outpatient care center jobs
Ambulatory health care jobs
Medical laboratory jobs
OB/GYN jobs

Employment Outlook for Healthcare Industry

As the largest industry in 2006, health care provided 14 million jobs—13.6 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 438,000 jobs for self-employed and unpaid family workers. Of the 13.6 million wage and salary jobs, 40 percent were in hospitals; another 21 percent were in nursing and residential care facilities; and 16 percent were in offices of physicians. The majority of jobs for self-employed and unpaid family workers in health care were in offices of physicians, dentists, and other health practitioners—about 295,000 out of the 438,000 total self-employed.

Health care will generate 3 million new wage and salary jobs between 2006 and 2016, more than any other industry. Seven of the twenty fastest growing occupations are health care jobs. Job opportunities should be good in all employment settings.

Wage and salary employment in the health care industry is projected to increase 22 percent through 2016, compared with 11 percent for all industries combined. Projected rates of employment growth for the various segments of the industry range from 13 percent in hospitals, the largest and slowest growing industry segment, to 55 percent in the much smaller home health care services.

Education Needed for a Healthcare Job

A variety of programs after high school provide specialized training for jobs in health care. Students preparing for health careers can enter programs leading to a certificate or a degree at the associate, bachelor, or graduate level.

• Two-year programs resulting in certificates or associate degrees are the minimum standard credential for occupations such as dental hygienist or radiologic technologist.
• Most therapists and social workers have at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Health diagnosing and treating practitioners—such as physicians and surgeons, OB/GYNs, optometrists, and podiatrists—are among the most educated workers, with many years of education and training beyond college.

Earnings and Pay for Healthcare Jobs

Average earnings of nonsupervisory workers in most health care segments are higher than the average, with hospital workers earning considerably more than the average and those employed in nursing and residential care facilities and home health care services earning less. Average earnings often are higher in hospitals because the percentage of jobs requiring higher levels of education and training is greater than in other segments. Those segments of the industry with lower earnings employ large numbers of part-time service workers.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Career Guide to Industries, 2008-09 Edition, Health Care, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs035.htm

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