Health Career Opportunities:
Why It's a Good Time to Start a Health Career

What is Allied Health?

Allied health is a vast field of health careers comprised of over 100 health care professions including physical therapy, medical assisting, radiologic technology and health information management. Allied health providers are crucial to the health care system as they support, facilitate, and complement the roles of doctors, nurses, and other health care specialists.

Fastest Growing Careers in the Country

In a health career, your professional skills can really make a difference. Allied health professionals are competent, caring and compassionate. Each role involves not only working with your mind—and with your hands—to solve problems and provide quality care.

Careers in allied health also offer flexibility in terms of work settings and schedules. The constant demand for health care ensures a great degree of job security and steady earning potential at every level. A career in the dynamic, fast-growing allied health field will guarantee that you'll enjoy boundless challenges and opportunities in a prestigious industry.

Shortage of Health Care Professionals

Due to rapid technological and scientific advances in the medical field, along with a large aging population, there is a high demand for health professionals. Currently, there are over 2 million allied health professionals who deliver high-quality patient care services for the sick, injured and disabled; however, the supply of allied health professionals is not keeping up with demand.

Of the 3,000 hospitals surveyed by the American Hospital Association, 90 percent experienced difficulty recruiting health professionals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects the growth rate of new jobs in the health care professions will be twice the rate of job growth in non-healthcare professions. The BLS also predicts a need for 5.3 million health care workers to fill job openings created by departures and new positions in the next 5 years.

Wondering how to get started in the allied health field? All Allied Health Schools provides detailed information on dozens of health care careers. Each field has its own educational requirements, and state or national licensing requirements also differ, so read up on each area, and then search for a school that matches your interests and needs.