Choosing a health science major prepares you for a robust and versatile career in a large interdisciplinary health care field. Find out what careers match best with your interests.
Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability.
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
Audiologists are experts in providing services in the prevention, diagnosis, and evidenced-based treatment of hearing and balance disorders for people of all ages.
Speech, language, and hearing research focuses on the normal functions of human communication, the processes underlying impaired function, and the development of new techniques for assessment and treatment. This research generates the evidence on which clinical practice is based.
Athletic trainers are highly qualified, multi-skilled health care professionals who work as part of a collaborative inter-professional health care team. They work with physicians and other health care professionals to provide injury/illness prevention and wellness protection, clinical evaluation and diagnosis, immediate and emergency care, treatment and rehabilitation and organizational and professional health and well-being.
Exercise physiologists analyze their patients’ fitness in order to help them improve their health or maintain good health. They help patients with heart disease and other chronic conditions, like diabetes or pulmonary (lung) disease, to regain their health. They also work with both amateur and professional athletes who are hoping to boost their performance.
Kinesiotherapists develop and monitor exercise programs to help people regain muscle strength and function lost due to injury or disease. Some kinesiotherapists focus on specific types of patients or conditions, such as people recovering from injuries or those with degenerative musculoskeletal disease.
Sports medicine primary care physicians treat anyone who is physically active help them improve performance, enhance overall health, prevent injury and maintain their physical activity throughout their lives. Some work with professional and amateur sports teams.
A fitness trainer leads people in exercise and related activities. He or she works with individuals or groups, providing both instruction and motivation. A fitness trainer may specialize in aerobics, weight lifting, yoga or another activity.
Some biomedical sciences majors choose to enter the workforce immediately as science writers or as pharmaceutical sales reps and marketers. Others may pursue graduate work to enter the workforce as microbiologists, lab researchers, and more.
When you enter any engineering discipline you must have a strong interest in science and mathematics in a way that allows you to solve problems of a highly technical nature. For Biomedical Engineering you must be willing to add the life sciences and medical knowledge necessary to understand the frame work of the problems on which you will work.
Microbiologists are scientists who study living organisms and infectious agents, such as bacteria and viruses, that can only be seen with a microscope. They work in a variety of contexts, including food production, environmental science, medicine, and basic research, and can have many different job titles, from Biosafety Officer to Professor.
Do you like solving puzzles and problems? Do you excel in handling multiple tasks? Do you like a fast-paced and challenging environment? Do you like hands-on science? Do you want to find a science-based degree that prepares you for advanced studies in science or applied sciences such as medical school? Do you want a career that develops skills and provides experience to be used in a variety of employment settings?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, clinical laboratory science may be a good choice for you.
As the health care field grows, the need for skilled administrators who can manage hospitals, long-term health facilities, and provider offices grows as well. Health care administration career professionals deal with finances and regulations, but successful administrators say their passion for making a difference in people’s lives is central to their work.
Healthcare managers plan, coordinate and supervise medical services in hospitals, clinics, public health departments, nursing homes or physicians’ practices. Often they work for public or nonprofit organizations, but may be employed by for-profit companies as well.
People who work in medical informatics are highly educated in both information science and health care. They understand how to acquire, store, protect, retrieve and use a wide range of information about health and medicine. They understand the “ins and outs” of computerized and non-computerized information systems and also are familiar with clinical guidelines, workflows and medical terminology.
Nutritionists are experts in food and nutrition. They can help patients choose the right things to eat, help them plan menus, and advise them on the health effects of certain foods. Nutritionists assess a patient’s current dietary habits and needs, educate them on healthy eating habits, follow up to ensure the menus are working, and write reports that document a patient’s progress.
A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a trained nutrition professional who has met the strict educational and experiential standards set forth by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). Registered dietitians may work in a variety of settings, including (but not limited to) schools, long term care facilities, hospitals, community/public health facilities, corporate nutrition programs, the food and nutrition industry, sports nutrition, business, and research.
Physical therapists are licensed professionals who work with people that have sustained disabilities, impairments, or limitations in their overall physical function and mobility. These deviations can be the result of disease, injury, or illness. Physical therapists may also work with people to help them prevent injuries.
People who have been in accidents or have disabling conditions such as low-back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries and cerebral palsy turn to physical therapists, commonly called PTs, for help. These health professionals use a variety of techniques, called modalities, to restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities in their patients.
PTs supervise physical therapist assistants and physical therapy aides and, along with them, are members of a team that also includes doctors, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists.
Medical imaging is the process of visualizing the body’s parts and organs in order for medical doctors and technicians to diagnose, monitor and treat disease or injury. it plays an important role in today’s health care system, and workers with the knowledge and skills to perform diagnostic imaging procedures are in high demand.
A diagnostic medical sonographer is a highly-skilled professional who uses specialized equipment to create images (sonograms) of structures inside the human body. Physicians interpret the images to make a medical diagnosis.