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There are many careers that a health science degree prepares one for, and it’s not necessary to get a graduate degree to find work. A master’s degree in health science usually allows graduates to work in administration or research, but a bachelor’s degree is all that’s needed to work in most clinics and many research labs. With a four-year degree, you can work in a clinical laboratory as a cytologist, histologist, medical technician, medical technologist or phlebotomist.
Jobs With a Health Science Degree
With a health science degree, you can work in the health care industry as a communication or information professional, or if you have special skills, you can go into a field like medical illustration, biomedical photography or health care interpretation. There are health care jobs in areas such as therapy and counseling that are available for bachelor’s degree holders, and you can consider going into a field like social work, drug counseling, human services or human development.
There are also many specialized areas of health science that don’t require advanced education, and you can begin a relatively high-earning career with an associate’s degree in dental assistance, dental hygiene, nursing or nutrition. With a master’s degree, you can work as a health clinic administrator or a manager in most areas of health care. It also allows you to do more specialized jobs like health library science or psychological evaluation. You need a master’s degree if you want to work in most non-clinical areas of health science as a manager or administrator, but you can start your career with only a bachelor’s degree while you’re earning your master’s degree in your chosen field.
Health Science Careers That Require Advanced Education
The one big exception to this rule is in research, and you usually must have a master’s degree to get full-time work doing lab research in a university or medical lab. You can get simple lab technician work with only a bachelor’s degree, but you must have advanced education to be hired as a university researcher who publishes academic work. You usually need a PhD or professional degree to practice clinical psychology or to do some jobs as a health science writer.
If you’re worried that a bachelor’s degree in health science is a bad investment, you should know that many jobs in this field require only a bachelor’s degree or less, and the health care industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the economy. This is mostly due to the aging population that requires an increasing amount of medical care.
A bachelor’s degree in health science doesn’t prepare you for some of the specialized jobs in health care that require a graduate degree and you must major in these subjects to receive the training that qualifies you to do these jobs. However, you will often be working with nurses and medical assistants in your line of work as a technician or health care administrator.
The job market for health science careers is booming, and you can take advantage of this opportunity without earning a master’s degree. If you have an interest in the health care industry, keep learning about the jobs a health science degree prepares for.
For more information, please see: What Jobs Does a Health Science Degree Prepare You For?
