Many people mistakenly believe that there is some secret trick to landing a high-paying job in a lucrative field like tech or healthcare, but the truth is that almost anyone can achieve the high earning potential and job security available in these fields by earning the proper credentials. If you are ready for a high-powered career change, you might enroll in a program that allows you to qualify for any of the following incredibly in-demand tech positions in the healthcare field:
Software Engineer
Software engineers are tasked with developing or maintaining software applications. In healthcare, software can help providers accomplish all manner of tasks, from making it easier to collect patient data to easing communication between providers to interfacing with complex medical equipment. This is why software engineers are among the most in-demand tech workers across the healthcare industry and why they can command average salaries around $104,000.
Many of the first software engineers were completely self-taught, with no credentials to speak of. Today, most employers expect to see some certifications and degrees backing up your skills. Fortunately, you can master the basics of software engineering with online boot camps, most of which are entirely affordable and provide valuable certifications in different desirable skills. Once you have a job in software engineering, you can consider pursuing more advanced education through a bachelor’s or master’s program in computer science, and your healthcare employer might help cover some of the costs of this professional development.
Systems Administrator
A systems administrator is tasked with overseeing the entirety of an organization’s digital systems. In healthcare, it is the responsibility of the systems administrator to ensure that no critical systems experience interruptions or downtime, which could cost the provider time and money, not to mention negatively impact outcomes for patients. The average salary for a systems administrator in healthcare is about $99,000.
No two systems administrators have arrived at the role by following the same path. It is possible to reach a systems administration position by starting in a healthcare institution’s IT department and receiving a promotion into the role, in which case you need only basic IT skills to begin. However, a more certain path to systems administration could be through an online master’s in health informatics from UAGC, which will provide a comprehensive overview of health data and systems to ensure you have the knowledge and skills to keep everything up and running.
Data Analyst
The healthcare industry is absolutely inundated with data, and health institutions are in desperate need of assistance making sense of it all. Healthcare data analysts use tools to organize and understand massive amounts of data, which helps leaders in healthcare make better decisions for their businesses and their patients. For their efforts, data analysts in the healthcare industry earn an average salary of about $90,000.
As with software engineering, you can build and improve the skills you need for data analysis through various online bootcamps, and the more experience you have working with data, the better. You can find all sorts of data sets online to use in personal analysis projects, which you can add to your application portfolio to impress employers. Because health data tends to be specially protected, it might benefit you to pursue a health informatics degree for this career path, as well.
AI Engineer
Artificial intelligence is the future of technology, in healthcare as well. Though it will likely be several decades before robots have fully replaced human healthcare providers, AI has already found many applications in healthcare to improve accuracy, efficiency and patient outcomes. Yet, because AI remains a relatively new tech, many healthcare institutions are scrambling to find AI engineers to assist in the development of practical solutions. Because the demand for this type of expertise is so high, AI engineers can demand incredible salaries, upwards of $150,000 per year.
AI is a new frontier in tech, and as such, many of the experts in this field are self-taught. Still, you will need foundational skills in information technology, computer science and math, all of which you can gain through online bootcamps and other programs. Before applying to health institutions, you might gain more experience in AI development with internships and personal projects. Still, with even rudimentary experience, you should be able to find employment because the job market for AI experts is red-hot.
With the right skills and credentials, you can be a high-paid tech professional in healthcare, too. The sooner you enroll in the programs you need to qualify for these positions, the sooner you can obtain the career of your dreams.