What Are the Highest-Paying Jobs in Health Science?

Looking for a healthcare job that allows you to help patients through research or administration — and that may not require you to work at the bedside? Explore this roundup of high-paying careers in the health sciences.

The health sciences are generally defined as a broad, interdisciplinary field that studies human health, well-being, and disease prevention.

Health science salaries can be competitive, with many positions offering rapid job growth, stability, and proof that you don’t need to work entirely at the bedside to make a difference in the health and well-being of others.

Whether you enjoy conducting research or working hands-on with patients, there’s a health science job — and a health science salary — to match your needs and goals.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Most health science graduates specialize in these and similar fields:

While you often need a master’s degree to command a high-paying health science salary, there are plenty of options for people with undergraduate degrees. Due to growing demand for health science occupations, employers may even help pay for your graduate education.

Most of these health science jobs are growing at a faster-than-average rate, given the aging U.S. population and persistent demand for healthcare professionals and services.

Looking for a high-paying career in the health sciences but feel like an advanced degree isn’t the right fit for you? These jobs offer opportunities to help others, earn a good living, and potential career growth. Whatever your strengths, these are some of the best-paying jobs in healthcare for undergraduate degree holders, according to data from the BLS.

Keep in mind: graduate-level degrees can help you earn higher salaries in positions that accept undergraduate degrees as the minimum education requirement.

This wide-ranging job category encompasses professionals who help coordinate and deliver certain specific medical services to a given patient population. They can oversee entire operations or work at the team or department levels, from a hospital to a doctor’s office.

Nursing school is required for these specialized nurses, who help execute health interventions on a community scale and educate the public on important health matters. These nurses are often employed by larger health systems or government agencies.

While both of these professionals work with clients to improve their health through improved diet and nutrition, registered dieticians tend to have more education and experience, meaning they may be able to command higher salaries than nutritionists.

Health education specialists help to design and implement public health initiatives and programs designed to improve health. Job functions differ by employer and location, with nonprofit and government agencies historically being a common place of employment.

Community health workers work directly with patients to promote healthier behaviors and provide relevant resources from within a community’s network of health advocates, care professionals, and medical providers, among others. This job may be attractive to people looking to make a tangible difference in people’s lives on a day-to-day basis.

Many of the best-paying jobs in healthcare require a master’s degree or higher, as well as special certifications. Here are some of the top-paying graduate-level health science positions.

Chief administrative officers or CAOs are top executives who help manage staff and certain operations. In a healthcare setting, CAOs must be keenly aware of the latest regulations and rules pertaining to their facility and functions. Health science professionals are often experienced in managing complex administrative and regulatory issues as part of their day-to-day work.

A biostatistician uses math — particularly statistics — to help conduct studies and answer key questions in healthcare operations, public health, and more. Collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data, often in large amounts, is a key function of this professional.

According to the BLS, “administrative services managers plan, coordinate, and direct a broad range of services that allow organizations to operate efficiently. Administrative services and facilities managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities that help an organization run efficiently.”

Public health directors can serve many functions, including from the local to the national level. (As a result, salary and job duties can vary widely.) These professionals strategize, plan, coordinate, and execute specific plans or interventions designed to address a given health problem in a specific location or population.

Epidemiologists are in many ways the lifeblood of health science and public health research. Common tasks include seeking and studying the root causes of disease and injury, as well as determining patterns that may occur that could be used to tailor public education or intervention efforts.