10
Top-Paying Careers
occupation
Average Entry-Level Experienced
Wage Wage Wage
dentist, general $66.89 $31.85 $84.42
Early Opportunities
family and general practitioner $65.22 $31.60 $82.03
Lahey says students need to have an early opportunity to sample
physician assistant $37.20 $28.37 $41.61
the variety of health science careers. The high school’s health
medical and Health services manager $34.16 $21.33 $40.57 science class prepares students to take exams for pharmacy
physical Therapist $32.58 $22.80 $37.47
technician board certification and phlebotomy technician
certification. “After high school, the students can apply for work
radiation Therapist $28.93 $21.93 $32.43
in either field and have a job while in college that pays $12.50 an
nuclear medicine Technologist $25.93 $21.08 $28.36
hour,” says Lahey.
orthotist and prosthetist $25.84 $16.68 $30.42
Lahey believes the future looks bright for students and for the
diagnostic medical sonographer $25.49 $20.12 $28.18 future of medical science. “What makes me so optimistic,” she
registered nurse $25.32 $18.91 $28.52
says, “is the potential that I see in some of the students. Their
generation will answer many of the questions that scientists have
This is a chart of hourly wages for 10 of the top-paying careers in the Health Science cluster in Texas. Note
how entry-level wages are often much lower than pay for the average worker and experienced workers in been researching for years.”
each profession. Source: Texas Workforce Commission.
Personal fulfillment
Health science is not all about money, however. Says Lahey, “A
career should be something professionals love to do and have so
TEXAS H.O.T. JOBS
much fun doing that they sometimes feel a little guilty about taking
The Texas H.o.T. Jobs website (www.texashotjobs.org) provides an
money.” She adds that her career in health science has delivered
introduction to careers in health science. In addition to descriptions of different
great personal fulfillment in a variety of occupations.
professions, the interactive site lets students match their interests, skills,
She entered the field as a board certified medical technologist,
and desired earnings and education levels with particular health careers. The
then added further training in molecular diagnostics. Finally, after
site lays out the educational routes to different career goals and provides
more than 15 years as a research scientist and clinical diagnostician,
links to college and university
Lahey earned her teacher certification and began preparing another
websites helping students
generation of students for medical careers.
find information on
Health science professionals often work in a number of different
postsecondary
occupations in the course of their careers. “I have worked in
programs in Texas.
multiple roles in health care,” says Macienko-Krenck, “and my
different assignments have always been engaging.”
“There hasn’t been a dull moment, either in my work as a teacher
or as a research scientist,” agrees Lahey. “They are both rewarding
careers because they give you the sense that you are making a
difference in somebody’s life.”
Q
is health science the right cluster for you?
U
Take this quiz to find out. Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions.
I
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
do you like are you Have you ever when you are do you work Have you ever are you good do you enjoy do you enjoy when you
working with interested in cared for a working, do well in a team? done volunteer at solving laboratory games like tackle a
Z
people? science? sick pet? you pay close work to help problems? work in chess that problem, do
attention to others? chemistry or involve you stick with
detail? biology? strategy? it until you find
the answer?
If you answered “yes” to five or more of the above questions, Health Science may be the right cluster for you. To get a more specific and
scientific measurement of your attitudes and abilities, ask your guidance counselor or teacher about taking a career assessment test or
interest inventory.
Page 7
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24