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Health Professions

Types of Degrees Health Professions Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Health Professions can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	144,546
Associate’s Degree	186,752
Bachelor’s Degree	253,795
Master’s Degree	256,537
Doctor’s Degree	89,612

What Health Professions Majors Need to Know

Programs in Health Professions emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Health Professions graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Health Professions emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Health Professions program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Health Professions careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Health Professions graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Health Professions professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
MEDITECH software	Medical software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Medical procedure coding software	Medical software	—
eClinicalWorks EHR software	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Health Professions graduates include:

• Instructor
• Lecturer
• Associate Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Faculty Member
• Professor
• Clinical Instructor
• College Professor
• University Faculty Member
• College Faculty Member
• Teacher
• Nutrition Educator
• Clinical Professor
• Anesthesiology Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Health Professions graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	22.6%
Bachelor’s degree	18.3%
Doctoral degree	15.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	11.0%
Post-doctoral training	8.6%
Postsecondary certificate	8.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	6.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	5.1%
Some college courses	2.8%
First professional degree	1.4%
Post-master’s certificate	0.5%
Less than a high school diploma	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Health Professions?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 82.1% of Health Professions degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	816,908	82.1%
Men	177,781	17.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Health Professions graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	474,527	47.7%
Asian	74,418	7.5%
Hispanic or Latino	189,467	19.0%
Black or African American	150,400	15.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	7,013	0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2,884	0.3%
Two or More Races	33,393	3.4%
Race Unknown	46,577	4.7%
International Students	16,010	1.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Health Professions Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Health Professions graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$56,500
4 years	$53,248
5 years	$61,168

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $61,168 — roughly 8% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Health Professions Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for Health Professions. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	633	522
Bachelor’s	880	800
Master’s	1,507	686
Doctoral (Research)	153	80

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Health Professions Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Health Professions graduates earn a median of $53,248 four years after completion — roughly 40% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.