Health Professions
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Types of Degrees Health Professions Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many health professions graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Master’s Degree | 144,198 |
Doctor’s Degree | 86,396 |
Graduate Certificate | 15,114 |
What Health Professions Majors Need to Know
People with careers related to health professions were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.
Knowledge Areas for Health Professions Majors
Health Professions majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Skills for Health Professions Majors
A major in health professions prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Abilities for Health Professions Majors
As you progress with your health professions degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
What Can You Do With a Health Professions Major?
Below is a list of occupations associated with health professions:
Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Health Professions?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of health professions majors is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 11,398 |
Black or African American | 17,577 |
Hispanic or Latino | 15,729 |
White | 80,797 |
International Students | 4,334 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 14,363 |
Geographic Diversity
Health Professions appeals to people across the globe. About 3.0% of those with this major are international students.
How Much Do Health Professions Majors Make?
Master’s Degree Starting Salary
The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in health professions was $60,732 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $47,636 (25th percentile) and $92,505 (75th percentile).
It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in health professions, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.
Salaries According to BLS
Health Professions majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $44,010 to $93,350 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.
To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Health Professions
Some degrees associated with health professions may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.
Find out what the typical degree level is for health professions careers below.
Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
Less than a High School Diploma | 0.8% |
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) | 10.8% |
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) | 8.9% |
Some College Courses | 5.5% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 16.6% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 21.5% |
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. | 3.4% |
Master’s Degree | 17.5% |
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. | 1.4% |
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. | 2.4% |
Doctoral Degree | 7.6% |
Post-Doctoral Training | 3.3% |
Online Health Professions Programs
In 2020-2021, 3,980 schools offered a health professions program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.
Degree Level | Colleges Offering Programs | Colleges Offering Online Classes |
---|---|---|
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (1-2 years) | 6,089 | 384 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 310 | 2 |
Associate’s Degree | 8,204 | 635 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 1,552 | 411 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 5,376 | 1,092 |
Post-Master’s | 1,399 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 1,072 | 122 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 1,429 | 189 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 78 | 27 |
Is a Degree in Health Professions Worth It?
The median salary for a health professions grad is $62,500 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.
This is 57% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $452,000 after 20 years!
Top Ranking Lists for Health Professions
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References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics
- O*NET Online
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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