by RS Coolidge

Created on: January 18, 2009   Last Updated: January 27, 2009

Has all the talk about economic recession made you worry about your future? Well if so, you may find that its not the children but rather the seniors that are the future. As life expectancies increase and more baby boomers join their parents in retirement, the need for health care continues to sky rocket. This article will detail some of the hot new health care fields and explain why you may wish to make one of these fields your new career.

Let me begin with Nursing Assistants. This category is a good starting point since it requires little education beyond a high school diploma. Generally to be a Nursing Assistant only 6 to 8 weeks of training,often on the job, is required. The job duties are pretty straight forward. Nursing Assistants work under the direct supervision of a licensed or registered nurse. Nursing Assistants transport patients, take vital signs, answer patient calls and provide other direct aid to the patients. The work can be very rewarding but not financially. Generally, the pay range is only between 18 to $25,000 per year. However, with demand projected to increase 35% over the next decade, Nursing Assistants can expect job security.

If you want to work in health care but are loathe to work directly with sick people, a good choice for you may be Medical Secretary. The Medical Secretary's duties are essentially to provide clerical and Administrative support, often in a hospital or in a dr's office. Since the work of a Medical Secretary is more 'cerebral' than that of a Nurse's Assistant, most employers require Medical Secretaries to have at least an Associates degree. Medical Secretaries are paid anywhere from 21-$32,000 per year. As for demand, the need for Medical Secretaries is expected to increase by 20% over the next decade.

If you are ready to make an all out commitment, then Registered Nurse may be the right choice for you. The Registered Nurse is the workhorse of every healthcare facility. At the most basic level, the Registered Nurse carries out and administers the treatments prescribed by the doctor. The demand for Registered Nurses is projected to increase by more than 25% in the next decade. Commanding a salary of between 40-$60,000 per year, the Registered Nurse is one of the best paid members of the hospital community. Becoming a nurse, however, is far from easy and the all out commitment I spoke of earlier typically includes obtaining at least a bachelor's degree in Nursing.

So there you have it: a small sample of the hot jobs available in the health care industry. If any sound good to you, then perhaps you have found your calling. If so, don't be afraid to respond.

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