One of the most important aspects of medical care is how well your healthcare providers can communicate with each other. This vital aspect of any healthcare system can always be improved by new technology and better management tools. As a result, there’s recently been more interest in health informatics as a major field of study for people who want to work within the medical industry.
There are several reasons why getting a degree in this area would be beneficial, whether or not you want to go into medical school or if you plan on taking any kind of role within the healthcare industry. Consider some of these reasons below.
Job Growth
Healthcare has continued to expand since it was first formed, so much so that it currently makes up 17% of the nation’s GDP. This is one of the main reasons why there has been more interest in health informatics as a major. Since it provides students with more career options, it is no wonder that health informatics is one of the best college majors today. Their career growth is predicted to be 27% over the next 10 years, which is much faster than average. So if you are looking into a major with high growth potential after graduation, it is an option worth considering.
Competitive Salary
Health informatics is a growing field with several different employers that are looking for employees that are skilled in the area. This can lead to good news when it comes to job security and your starting salary. The average annual wage for health care informatics specialists is $87,650 and this number is expected to keep growing in the coming years. What this means for you is that even if you don’t work in the medical field, but rather a branch of the healthcare industry that needs employees with these skills, such as an insurance company or government agency, it would still pay off pretty well.
Great Job Security
You may not want to work in the medical field directly, but you might want a job that is closely related and provides job security after graduation. As mentioned before, health informatics specialists only make up about 0.1% of the total workforce, which contributes to its high growth potential. This means that it has competitive benefits compared to other careers that are growing at a much slower rate. If you get into this industry with a degree in health informatics, you can feel secure knowing that there will likely always be an available position for you whenever you need it.
Interdisciplinary Study
Health care informatics is different from bioinformatics because it focuses more on using technology within the healthcare setting rather than biological data. However, a person who has a degree in health informatics still needs to have strong computer skills, strong analytical skills, and be familiar with different systems that can help improve the healthcare system as a whole. Because of these reasons, it is considered an interdisciplinary major, which means you’ll likely get exposed to different areas of study such as psychology and biology. This kind of academic training will prepare you for whatever your future holds after graduation even if health informatics isn’t the field you end up going into.
This interesting major is useful in a variety of different roles and has been increasing in popularity over the past few years. You can use this information as knowledge, or you may choose to use it as inspiration and let it guide you into your future. So if you want to find a major that has the potential for strong growth and job security as well as one where you can learn skills applicable outside of the medical field, then health informatics is an option worth considering.