2 answers
2 answers
Updated
Trilce’s Answer
You can pursue many different options to get started in the healthcare field and figure out if it’s the right one for you. I would recommend to become an EMT, Medical Scribe, phlebotomist or interpreter if you speak other languages. This way you will realize if this is the right environment for you. Then you can go to school for PA-physician assistant, for MD or DO schools to become a physician and go into the specialty that makes sense to you, or you can go the occupational therapist, veterinarian or pharmacist route. There are so many paths. See if you can visit schools that offer info and tours for their programs. Contact people that are in the fields you are interested in and ask them for an informational interview where you will talk to them about their jobs and their lifestyle and see which one resonates the most with you
Updated
David’s Answer
If you are interested in helping people, you can study to become an occupational or physical therapist. You work mainly with people with disabilities such as stroke, amputation, back pain, arthritis or nerve injury. as a physical therapist you work mainly on body strengthening, walking, balance, other large movements. as an occupational therapist you work on daily living activities such as the ability to dress, eat, bathe, or cook, and the ability to perform small hand movements.
For both of these professions, you can become a registered therapist or a therapy assistant. An assistant position requires an associates degree, 2 years of study. A registered physical therapist must have a doctorate degree (at least 7 years of college) and a registered occupational therapist must have a masters degree (at least 6 years of college).
Both fields are among the most rapidly growing in the US; bilingual therapists are in great demand. Depending on the part of the country, assistants can earn up to $50,000 a year and registered therapists up to $90,000 a year. All schools are hard to get into.
If you cant afford to go to school right after high school, working as a certified nursing assistant requires a few months training and is good experience to prepare you to be a therapist.
visit schools offering these programs
visit facilities offering these services to ask if you can talk with therapists about their work
If you have the option, volunteer at a skilled nursing facility where you can observe therapists at work
For both of these professions, you can become a registered therapist or a therapy assistant. An assistant position requires an associates degree, 2 years of study. A registered physical therapist must have a doctorate degree (at least 7 years of college) and a registered occupational therapist must have a masters degree (at least 6 years of college).
Both fields are among the most rapidly growing in the US; bilingual therapists are in great demand. Depending on the part of the country, assistants can earn up to $50,000 a year and registered therapists up to $90,000 a year. All schools are hard to get into.
If you cant afford to go to school right after high school, working as a certified nursing assistant requires a few months training and is good experience to prepare you to be a therapist.
David recommends the following next steps: