You’re right to consider the healthcare field for your career as healthcare opportunities continue to expand. Why is that? The demand for healthcare services increases as our population grows and ages, and innovations and discoveries reveal better ways to help people live healthier lives. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects healthcare careers will grow 16% between 2020 and 2030, about twice that of the average for all occupations.
Even if you have an idea of what direction you want to go, it can be challenging to know how to get there. Luckily, that’s not the case with healthcare. It’s a wide-ranging field, and you need to find out if it’s right for you.
Best of all, you don’t have to have all the answers while you’re exploring the possibilities. Certain biological science-centered degrees can provide you with a good healthcare career foundation.
For example, an Associate of Arts (A.A.) in Biological Sciences is a terrific way to determine how deep you want to go into healthcare, and it takes only two years to earn the degree. Along with earning general education credits, this A.A. degree will allow you to earn college hours in the physical and life sciences.
Typical coursework includes:
As a graduate with an A.A. degree in Biological Sciences, you will be prepared to work in different areas of healthcare, including as a:
While earning the A.A., you may decide that you want to add another level of knowledge. Maybe you have your eye on a career in
If so, you will need to continue your studies by earning a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. By going for the B.S. degree, you’ll go deeper into a curriculum that includes physical and life sciences, as well as foundational and biological sciences.
This focused study broadens your life/health sciences knowledge base and prepares you for many healthcare careers.
A proven, traditional degree leading to healthcare careers includes a B.S. in biology or human biology. In contrast to general biology, human biology examines humans through different perspectives, including genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, nutrition, and epidemiology (diseases, conditions, and other factors relating to health.)
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 2.6 million jobs will be added to the healthcare sector by 2030.
Increasingly, healthcare support professionals find employment beyond hospital settings, in physician offices, outpatient centers, schools, and assisted and long-term care facilities.
One medical staffing consultant describes the future of today’s healthcare careers in favorable terms. The article Reasons to Work in the Healthcare Field includes this: “the chances of finding employment and staying employed are much greater than in other fields, thanks to advances in medicine and the dramatic growth of the aging U.S. population…boosting demand for medical professionals across the board.”
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a nonprofit, private, healthcare-focused university located in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. CUKC has been educating healthcare professionals for 100 years.
Our College of Health Sciences offers an Associate of Arts in Biological Sciences that can apply toward earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology degree. Another option is a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Exercise Science, which studies movement, exercise, and nutrition to support health and well-being using exercise strategies, and includes a 9-hour internship in a specific area determined by the student.
Some students at CUKC simultaneously earn a human biology degree and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree through our concurrent B.S./D.C. program. This option works well for focused students who want to maximize the overall value of their education by earning two degrees at once.
CUKC admissions advisors are ready to answer your questions and help you navigate your options for a rewarding healthcare career. Request more information here, and get your free eBook on chiropractic careers here.
