Alternative Medical Support Services

Types of Degrees Alternative Medical Support Services Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many alternative medical support services graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	68
Graduate Certificate	12

What Can You Do With a Alternative Medical Support Services Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with alternative medical support:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners	13.3%	$73,960

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Alternative Medical Support Services?

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of alternative medical support majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	11
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	43
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	10

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Alternative Medical Support, too. About 2.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Canada

How Much Do Alternative Medical Support Services Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of alternative medical support services students with a master’s degree is $40,302 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $40,302 (25th percentile) and $40,302 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to alternative medical support.

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to alternative medical support is $85,600. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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.

Online Alternative Medical Support Services Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 11 schools offered some type of alternative medical support services program. 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)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	3	1
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	4	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Alternative Medical Support Services Worth It?

The median salary for a alternative medical support grad is $85,600 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 115% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $914,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Alternative Medical Support Services

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to alternative medical support.

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	66,964
Medicine	28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	24,774
Public Health	19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services	17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	16,952
Mental & Social Health Services	16,815
Allied Health Professions	12,950
Communication Sciences	10,547
Dentistry	6,770
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,684
Chiropractic	2,658
Alternative Medicine & Systems	2,582
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	2,481
Optometry	1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,762
Medical Illustration & Informatics	1,747
Health Sciences & Services	1,746
Other Health Professions	1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs	1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	954
Medical Science	909
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	462
Dental Support Services	122
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	55
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	37
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	11
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	4
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	0

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.