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