If you’re searching for a stable and in-demand career, a job in the medical field could be a great option for you. As medical technology grows and more medical facilities become available, healthcare roles will continue to grow drastically as these facilities hire more employees to care for patients. There are several medical roles available depending on your interests, skill set and qualifications. In this article, we cover different medical jobs in demand and why they’re projected to stay in demand over the next few years.
How are these medical jobs considered in demand?
As the population continues to grow over the next 10 years, the demand for more employees offering medical care to people will increase alongside it. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides estimates for the job outlook of different positions within the medical industry to determine which job titles will increase drastically in demand. Many of these roles will remain steady as they maintain stable job growth.
There are other roles that will grow drastically as more clinics, hospitals and healthcare facilities require more qualified medical workers to provide the necessary amount of care and support to patients. Since the demand of medical employees can range from steady to quickly increasing, the job outlook for each of these roles typically ranges from 4% to 45%, according to the BLS.
Medical jobs in demand
Here are common medical jobs currently in demand:
1. Respiratory therapist
National average salary: $20,352 per year
Primary duties: A respiratory therapist provides care to patients suffering from chronic respiratory diseases and breathing issues, like asthma or emphysema. Other duties include operating medical tools and devices like mechanical ventilators and therapeutic gas administration apparatuses, handling charts with therapy and patient information and monitoring patients’ responses to regular therapy treatments.
2. Veterinary technician
National average salary: $29,291 per year
Primary duties: A veterinary technician assists veterinarians in caring for animals and pets in zoos, hospitals, research laboratories or veterinary clinics. Their main responsibilities include taking vitals and patient histories, providing assistance with diagnostic procedures and treatment, collecting blood samples and discussing treatment plans and dosage instructions with pet owners.
3. Phlebotomist
National average salary: $33,864 per year
Primary duties: Phlebotomists collect blood samples from patients using finger sticks and venipuncture. Other job duties are evaluating patients’ need, reviewing patients’ medical histories, discovering reasons for drawing patients’ blood, preparing fingers or veins for blood drawing, selecting needles to use and using testing equipment to analyze blood specimens.
4. Medical assistant
National average salary: $36,371 per year
Primary duties: Medical assistants provide administrative support to nurses and physicians in medical clinics, hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Key job duties include gathering patients’ medical history, taking vital signs, preparing and sanitizing treatment rooms, checking patients’ in and out of appointments and administering medications to patients under direction of physicians.
5. Cardiovascular technician
National average salary: $40,273 per year
Primary duties: A cardiovascular technician administers tests to patients and gathers results to determine their cardiovascular health statuses. Other duties are conducting diagnostic tests, monitoring and analyzing patients’ blood pressure, setting up monitoring equipment and identifying heart conditions.
6. Massage therapist
National average salary: $44,744 per year
Primary duties: Massage therapists provide therapeutic massages to clients to enhance their circulation, relieve stress and reduce pain or injuries. Other key responsibilities include screening guests for underlying conditions, keeping massage rooms clean and sanitized and identifying key areas to apply proper pressure and care to during the appointment.
7. Physical therapist assistant
National average salary: $52,413 per year
Primary duties: Physical therapist assistants work directly under physical therapists to help patients recover from various injuries or illnesses. Their key responsibilities include massaging patients, setting up therapy tools and equipment, scheduling appointments, lifting or moving patients and monitoring patients’ health during exercises and sessions.
8. Medical services manager
National average salary: $55,802 per year
Primary duties: A medical services manager, also known as a healthcare services manager, reviews and analyzes patients’ needs to build personalized care plans. Key duties include recruiting and hiring healthcare providers, collaborating with providers to facilitate patients’ treatment plans, educating patients on certain procedures and maintaining case management activity records.
9. Home health aide
National average salary: $64,056 per year
Primary duties: A home health aide supports clients who need assistance performing daily tasks, like cleaning, bathing, cooking and dressing. Other responsibilities are checking vitals, administering prescribed medications, assisting with light housekeeping duties, observing and reporting conditions of patients to nurses and arranging necessary transportation for appointments and errands.
10. Occupational therapy assistant
National average salary: $68,509 per year
Primary duties: An occupational therapy assistant works directly under occupational therapists to provide support during therapy procedures and treatments. They’ll help patients recover from treatments and improve their abilities to complete basic tasks for their everyday lifestyle and work life. Other main duties include completing clerical tasks, like answering phones and scheduling appointments, recording patient information and medical history, implementing patients’ treatment plans and teaching patients and their families how to conduct treatment plans on their own.
11. Orthotist
National average salary: $74,446 per year
Primary duties: An orthotist, also known as a prosthesis, designs medical supportive devices for patients to regularly use. They’ll typically design devices like artificial limbs, surgical equipment and braces. Their main duties include interviewing patients to determine their needs, taking measurements and fitting patients for devices, choosing materials for the devices, adjusting these pieces as necessary and teaching patients and family members how to use and care for the devices.
12. Audiologist
National average salary: $77,675 per year
Primary duties: An audiologist provides assistance to patients suffering from hearing and other ear-related problems, diseases or illnesses. Other responsibilities include conducting tests on patients with hearing problems, recording test results for future use, administering listening devices when needed, inserting listening devices and teaching patients and family members how to care for these devices.
13. Occupational therapist
National average salary: $82,699 per year
Primary duties: An occupational therapist treats patients who are sick, injured or disabled using special equipment, devices and therapeutic treatments. Their main goal is to help patients develop and improve the skills needed to complete basic duties in their work and personal lives. Other responsibilities include performing physical and psychological exams on patients to develop treatment plans, evaluating patients’ home and work environments to make adjustments accordingly and creating rehabilitative programs to help patients improve or regain their basic functional skills.
14. Speech-language pathologist
National average salary: $82,710 per year
Primary duties: A speech pathologist helps patients suffering from disabilities, illnesses or traumatic events that caused swallowing, voice or speech impairments. Key job duties include conducting screenings to detect speech disorders, evaluating patients’ conditions to build treatment plans, educating patients on causes of speech disorders and how to live with them and keeping detailed records of patient treatment plans and progress.
15. Physical therapist
National average salary: $82,782 per year
Primary duties: Physical therapists follow techniques like functional movement training, massage and exercises to help patients recover from illness and injuries, reduce pain or improve their strength. They typically care for patients undergoing fractures, neck or back injuries and neurological disorders. Other duties are conducting tests on patients, developing personalized treatment plans and advising patients on exercise techniques to practice.
16. Nurse midwife
National average salary: $90,218 per year
Primary duties: A nurse midwife assists pregnant women and their partners before, during and after labor. Their main duties include answering any questions about childbirth, conducting routine antenatal checks, locating any potential risks to the baby or patient and teaching new mothers how to bathe and breastfeed infants.
17. Advanced practice registered nurse
National average salary: $90,221 per year
Primary duties: An advanced practiced registered nurse is a certified nurse who works directly under physicians to provide basic and sometimes advanced healthcare to patients. Their main duties include maintaining healthcare records and reports, prescribing and administering certain healthcare treatments, ordering medical diagnostic tests, assessing patients’ conditions and modifying patients’ treatment plans according to the patients’ conditions or progress.
18. Physician assistant
National average salary: $105,980 per year
Primary duties: Physician assistants operate directly under the supervision of doctors or surgeons to treat, examine and diagnose patients. Other job responsibilities include interpreting diagnostic tests, prescribing medications, setting bones, stitching wounds, assisting with surgical treatments, administering shots and immunizations and educating patients and their families on certain treatment methods.
19. Nurse practitioner
National average salary: $116,463 per year
Primary duties: A nurse practitioner offers advanced specialty and primary nursing support to patients. Their main responsibilities are conducting health assessments, building medical strategies to improve patients’ health statuses, performing physical exams on patients, recording patients’ symptoms and creating patient care plans according to their needs and symptoms.
Additional medical jobs in demand
Here are additional medical jobs currently in demand according to Indeed Salaries:
Diagnostic medical sonographer: $26,741 per year
Medical transcriptionist: $28,164 per year
Optician: $29,703 per year
Pharmacy technician: $30,222 per year
Nursing assistant: $34,393 per year
Exercise physiologist: $35,607 per year
Paramedic: $38,158 per year
Ophthalmic Technician: $40,422 per year
Emergency medical technician: $41,932 per year
Dietitian: $48,041 per year
Laboratory technician: $50,448 per year
Recreation therapist: $50,713 per year
Medical technologist: $57,368 per year
Dental assistant: $59,204 per year
Registered nurse: $61,730 per year
Anesthesia Technician: $65,069 per year
Chiropractor: $68,140 per year
Surgical technologist: $73,169 per year
Radiation therapist: $74,480 per year
Clinical nurse: $77,080 per year
Dental Hygienist: $78,129 per year
Biomedical engineer: $86,085 per year
Director of nursing: $92,408 per year
Nuclear medicine technologist: $93,927 per year
Veterinarian: $101,698 per year
Pediatrician: $179,082 per year
Psychiatrist: $221,402 per year
Dentist: $237,868 per year
Physician: $242,615 per year
Optometrist: $256,513 per year
Surgeon: $269,795 per year
Anesthesiologist: $376,461 per year
