In general, the skills and experience required for a career in healthcare can be very demanding. In order to find work, medical professionals must be knowledgeable about medical equipment and medical terminology, as well as have the proper training for their position. With this, you might be wondering whether it is possible to find medical jobs without a degree.
The good news is that healthcare facilities offer a variety of opportunities to people with all different education levels. In fact, you can even get medical jobs with a GED. In this article, we’ll guide you through the different jobs available for job seekers without a degree, as well as the entry requirements for those jobs.
What Is a Medical Job
The term “medical job” covers all positions within the vast field of medicine. With a wide array of available positions, the opportunity to work in medical facilities is available for every educational level. These jobs involve a wide range of tasks, including providing care to patients, conducting tests, working in labs, and much more.
Various positions involve supporting other practitioners in the medical field. A home health aide, occupational therapy assistant, and physical therapy assistant fall under this category. In addition, there are a few administrative positions that job seekers can apply for without any degree requirements.
What Do Medical Jobs Pay?
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), healthcare practitioners and medical technicians were earning an average annual salary of $69,870 as of May 2020. This is significantly higher than the $41,950 median wage for all workers in the economy. That being said, if you apply for medical jobs without a degree, you may earn a bit less than the median salary for medical positions.
What Skills Do You Need to Land a Medical Job?
Ability to Work Well Under Pressure
Medical professionals are constantly pushed to their limits to find answers quickly, regardless of whether they’re diagnosing patients or performing a test. If you enjoy the feeling of working at a fast pace and can handle pressure well, you won’t be phased by anything you encounter during your healthcare career.
Flexibility
Healthcare professionals face a great deal of pressure. In a fast-paced environment, flexibility is essential to handle non-standard work hours and urgent medical emergencies. One of the primary characteristics of medical professions is the unpredictable and uncertain circumstances encountered everyday. For this reason, flexibility is key.
Attention to Detail
The medical field is meticulous in every aspect, which is why healthcare jobs require professionals to pay close attention to everything they do. This is important in daily tasks that range from filling out paperwork to giving medications to patients. People’s lives may quite literally be in your hands.
Communication Skills
All professions require good communication skills, but jobs in the medical field require more than most. In addition to speaking in terms that patients understand, you must also be able to speak with medical personnel in technical terms. Further, you should be able to speak about sensitive topics delicately and professionally.
Problem-Solving Skills
When it comes down to it, health professionals are all about solving the plethora of medical problems that others face. As such, you should be able to think through complex issues to address patients’ health concerns.
What Education Do You Need to Get a Medical Job?
While some medical positions don’t require university degrees, a high school diploma is always necessary. Additionally, having relevant skills and a solid understanding of the job requirements is absolutely crucial. Though a formal degree may not be required, many healthcare professions do have educational requirements, such as technical training or certification.
Why College Is Not for Everyone
It’s no secret that college isn’t for everybody. It requires participants to sacrifice four years, pay a lot of money, and adhere to a learning system that isn’t tailored to everyone’s needs. Although college presents many benefits that can’t be exchanged for another form of learning, there are great alternatives that can assist in a medical profession, such as bootcamps, online courses, and vocational schools.
How to Get a Medical Job With a GED
Select a Field
Even if you are going to get a medical job with a GED, you may need to go through some specialized training. Therefore, the first step is to determine which healthcare career path you would like to take. The medical field covers a massive amount of different job opportunities, so the initial step is narrowing your focus on what kind of job you would like.
Learning the Basics
If you want to work in the healthcare industry, it’s time to brush up on the basics of biology, chemistry, and physiology. GED holders might be at a slight disadvantage to high school graduates because of the former’s access to these classes. Nonetheless, there are many resources online for learning this kind of information.
Attend a Training Program
Once you have narrowed down what kind of medical position you want and have some background knowledge in science, you should attend the specific training or vocational program for your healthcare career path. Depending on the position you would like to have, the necessary training program may range from a few months to a couple of years in length.
Job Search
Now that you’ve gained the necessary knowledge and credentials in the healthcare field, it’s time to start looking for medical jobs. Online job boards, such as Indeed, are an excellent tool when searching for jobs in the healthcare industry. When applying for medical careers, you should be prepared for a competitive application process.
Hands-On Medical Experience
After finding a job that’s right for you, it’s time to go to work. A job is an excellent way to enhance your credentials and resume. By working and performing job duties, you’ll be able to gain hands-on work experience. By gaining more experience, you’ll be able to advance in your medical career and earn a higher salary, even without a degree.
High-Paying Medical Jobs Jobs Without a College Degree
| Job | Average Salary | Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmacy Technician | $33,955 | 4% |
| Phlebotomist | $34,321 | 22% |
| Medical Transcriptionist | $34,728 | -7% |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | $60,967 | 32% |
| Surgical Technologist | $51,405 | 9% |
| Licensed Practical Nurse | $54,179 | 9% |
| Ultrasound Technician | $66,831 | 14% |
| Healthcare Administrator | $74,191 | 32% |
| Dental Assistant | $40,329 | 11% |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologist | $80,197 | 8% |
Best Medical Jobs Jobs that Don’t Require a Degree: A Closer Look
Pharmacy Technician
Pharmacy technicians work closely with pharmacists to ensure patient safety and health. They also work to provide great customer service. A pharmacist technician reviews a patient’s prescription, dispenses, packs, and labels it, and makes sure it’s accurate.
Phlebotomist
The job of a phlebotomist is to take blood samples for testing. A phlebotomist will collect blood samples in order to learn more about a particular patient or conduct research with the samples. Blood is also collected from blood donors by phlebotomists for those in need of blood transfusions.
Medical Transcriptionist
The job of a medical transcriptionist is to listen to and transcribe voice recordings made by doctors and other health care workers. They may also perform this task live as a doctor converses with patients about their medical history and current ailments. Additionally, they may review and edit speech recognition-generated medical documents.
Physical Therapist Assistant
A physical therapist assistant treats patients through exercise, massage, and strength training, as well as other therapeutic interventions under the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapist. Each time a physical therapist sees a patient, the assistants record the progress and report their results.
Surgical Technologist
As part of the healthcare team, surgical technologists assist surgeons, nurses, and other medical professionals during surgical procedures. Technologists play a crucial role in ensuring a sterile and orderly operating room. In some cases, surgical technologists deliver patients to the surgery. The technicians assist in the operation in some cases as well.
Licensed Practical Nurse
The everyday tasks of a licensed practical nurse include supervising and providing patient care, as well as educating the public. Nursing facilities, physicians’ offices, hospitals, and home healthcare services employ licensed practical nurses. School and outpatient clinics also employ registered nurses.
Ultrasound Technician
Ultrasound technicians, who are also known as diagnostic medical sonographers, are professionals who assess and identify patients’ medical conditions. Ultrasound technicians are a type of medical technician that uses imaging equipment to record images and conduct tests using high-frequency waves on various parts of the body.
Healthcare Administrator
A healthcare administrator takes care of a facility or institution’s day-to-day and large-scale operations. They work on assuring the safety of guests and staff as well as deal directly with policy and budgets.
Dental Assistant
Dental assistants are responsible for preparing the room, tools, and patient for a dentist. They also assist the dentist in performing exams, filling cavities, conducting root canals, and more. In addition, they take impressions and images for the dentist to examine and help deliver quality care to patients.
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Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Physicists who practice nuclear medicine prepare and administer radioactive drugs to patients as part of imaging or treatment. These medical technicians provide support to physicians or other healthcare professionals who diagnose, treat, or care for patients and to researchers who investigate how radioactive drugs can be used.
Companies that Offer Entry-Level Medical Jobs
- Kindred at Home: This company is a leading home health aid service provider. You’ll be able to learn from experienced nurses, therapists, and aides as you gain experience in the medical field through the entry-level positions offered by Kindred at Home.
- Kaiser Permanente: As the nation’s leading nonprofit health plan, Kaiser Permanente is seeking new, entry-level medical professionals that can be part of a community that’s focused on making the world a better place by offering bespoke medical services.
- US Army: With its own training programs, lab settings, and healthcare jobs, the U.S. Army is an excellent way to hone your medical expertise. There is a wide range of medical jobs offered to active service members that want to develop as medical professionals.
- Quest Diagnostics: Most medical companies are looking for skilled technicians to operate and manage equipment inside hospitals and other medical establishments. Quest Diagnostics is looking for entry-level medical technicians and offers numerous medical field jobs.
- Spectrum Health: Spectrum Health System, a nonprofit, integrated health system, is committed to improving the health and wellness of their communities. The company is looking for talented physicians and caregivers as full-time employees.
Where to Find Medical Jobs that Don’t Require a Degree
Glassdoor
Glassdoor is excellent for job seekers. The website offers the Know Your Worth tool, which enables job seekers and employees alike to analyze what an applicant’s salary should be. The tool uses the applicant’s specific credentials to determine compensation. Additionally, Glassdoor offers a wide range of jobs you can apply to.
LinkedIn is a great resource for anybody who’s in the job-searching process. The site helps job seekers find relevant jobs based on their skills and qualifications. There are two ways to search for a job on LinkedIn. You can use the search box at the top of the page or go directly to the jobs section. You can even use additional filters to specify medical jobs that don’t require university degrees too.
Local Hospitals
Looking into what local hospital jobs are available is also a great way to find a position in the medical field. Hospitals are big operations that can often employ hundreds of people in a variety of positions. A hospital may be hiring medical transcriptionists or even technicians so you can visit your local hospital’s website to search for job postings.
Consider a Medical Degree Later in Your Career
It’s never too late to start paving your own path in the medical field. There is an enormous amount of resources you can choose from to become more knowledgeable in the healthcare industry, from online coding bootcamps that train you in medical coding to traditional medical school. Education and a path towards a medical career have never been so accessible.
The majority of medical students begin their degrees right out of school or college. However, some study medicine later in life or choose to pursue a different side of the medical industry.
From nurses to technicians, all medical professionals can choose to obtain more education after they have already started their careers.
While most people in medical and health services have gone to junior college, it’s not a requirement in many places. In other words, if you were thinking about gaining some work experience in the medical field before going to medical school, you can certainly do that.
Medical Jobs Without a Degree FAQ
What is the easiest career in the medical field?
Some of the easiest careers in the medical field include health information technician, licensed practical nurse, pharmacy technician, radiologic technologist, surgical technologist, physical therapy assistant, medical coder, and medical laboratory technician.
Is it possible to earn a medical degree online?
It depends on the degree you’re pursuing. While many medical degrees can be completed online, some degree programs require lab hours and clinical experience.
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