
If you are considering a degree in one of the allied health fields, first you should consider the salary range for your chosen profession. There are many jobs to choose from, which all have different requirements for schooling and different expected salaries once you have completed your program. There are two types of allied health professionals: technicians or assistants, and therapists or technologists. The salary range for most common allied health careers will depend on which category you fit into, and other factors such as location and experience.
If you go to school for a job as a technician or assistant, you will probably be able to get your degree in two years or less. Some programs can even be completed in a year or less. These jobs include medical laboratory technicians, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapy assistants, radiological technicians, recreation therapy assistants, and respiratory therapy technicians. The following salaries are starting salaries for the most common technician and assistant jobs, meaning this is what you will likely make straight of school:
Clinical Lab / Medical Lab Technician: $37,100
Dental Assistant: $32,198
Dental Lab Technician: $31,780
Health Information Technician: $30,000
Medical Assistant: $22,650
Occupational Therapy Assistant: $33,000
Ophthalmic Dispensing Optician: $27,000
Ophthalmic Technician: $39,000
Pharmacy Technician: $19,000
Phlebotomist: $24,315
Physical Therapist Assistant: $30,000
Radiographer: $36,918
Respiratory Therapist: $41,537
Allied health therapists and technologists must go through more intensive schooling programs including specific procedural, treatment, and diagnosis skills before they can get their degree, so they will make a little bit more. Many of these careers require at least a bachelors degree. Here are the starting salaries for the most common therapist and technologist jobs:
Anesthesiologist Assistant: $95,000
Blood Bank Technology Specialist: $45,000
Cytotechnologist: $46,000
Cytotechnology Supervisor: $48,000
Dietician / Nutritionist: $35,300
Health Information Administrator: $40,000
Magnetic Resonance Technologist: $44,410
Medical Librarian: $41,000
Nuclear Medicine Technologist: $67,429
Occupational Therapist: $46,000
Pathologists Assistant: $55,000
Physical Therapist: $54,000
Physicians Assistant: $71,000
Radiation Therapist: $65,381
Speech Language Pathologist: $52,694