I know you’re tired. You’re tired of hearing “This is how you build wealth” make these better financial decisions, blah blah blah shit, fix your spending habits (even though it’s just you not getting enough money) and all that other jazz. You’re also tired of looking for jobs with the same damn titles that have the same pay. I’m definitely sure you’re tired of not knowing what you want to do, or wanting to do something for fun as a hobby but still wanting a job that pays well and gives you enough free time. I’m tired too. I’m tired of you being spoon fed bullshit through IG posts and half-baked financial articles that tell you what to do with money, but don’t tell you how to get it.
The truth is you gotta have money first before learning how to manage it. This post isn’t about what to do with your money. That comes second. This article is about how to get money first. To be honest. MOST OF US ARE GONNA HAVE TO WORK FOR A LIVING AND ITS GONNA BE SOMETHING WE DON’T "LOVE". I want to open this up by saying this is OKAY. Matter of fact its more than OKAY. IT'S. HELLA. HONORABLE. Yes I said it. Showing up to a place that you don’t enjoy for the check is honorable yo. People say discipline is “waking up early” or other types of shit. But to be real, after a certain point 80% of the things people call discipline are simply good habits. Discipline is doing something you don’t really want to do everyday, and very well, because YOU HAVE TO for the betterment of yourself. That whole “find what you love to do and do it forever” works for some, but not for all. The rest of us gotta find a job dawg. But the key to this job thing is a combination of not hating something so much that it makes you sick, but pays you well enough to live a decent life, and gives you a decent amount of time to spend with your loved ones. Great investing and wealth management amplifies the earnings from that job and sets you up for a GREAT life. In short, an average job (in regards to how you feel about it) can lead to an amazing life. Don’t let them IG posts fool you into thinking that if you’re not SUPER ecstatic about your job you CAN’T be happy.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s get to the facts. Today is about where the good paying jobs are we’re doing industry.. I’m thinking about making this a series, y’all let me know if I should.
Today’s focus:
HEALTHCARE
Your Caribbean parents didn’t lie. Go home and tell them they were right. Healthcare is ON FIRE right now and is poised to increase over the next decade. Yes, I said…. Decade.
Let’s start with where it’s going so you can get an idea over what I’m talking about real quick:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the US Government) As of Last May (May 2017) there are over 8 million filled positions in healthcare and in technical positions in that space. The average hourly wage for the industry is $38.83 and the average salary is $80,760 a year. The median (in short the middle) hourly wage is $31.14. When I say median, that means half of the industry make more than $31.14 and half of the people make less than $31.14. Now some people may look at that as peanuts and that’s fine ballers but the median hourly wage in the United States is $22.59 an hour and people are pushing for a $15 minimum wage so I think $31.14 an hour is a good life dawg (depending on where you live of course).
So that’s an idea of where things are currently for those working in the industry.
Now let’s look at how many openings are in the industry in general.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (The US GOVERNMENT) as of April 2018, there are over 1 MILLION job OPENINGS in the HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY. YES. MORE THAN 1 MILLION. I think this goes without saying… THAT’S HELLA JOB OPENINGS DAWG. The industry is in dire need of workers so y’all need to shoot y’all shots bruh.
The unemployment rate for the industry is 5.5 percent which means for every 100 people only 5.5 people are searching for a job for some reason or another. Basically things are looking good.
In the month of April, the healthcare industry hired 91,000 people and are growing. Things are serious.
By 2026 the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the US government) projects that from the Healthcare industry:
“--Healthcare support occupations (23.6 percent) and healthcare practitioners and technical
occupations (15.3 percent) are projected to be among the fastest growing occupational
groups during the 2016–26 projections decade. These two occupational groups--which account
for 13 of the 30 fastest growing occupations from 2016 to 2026--are projected to contribute
about one-fifth of all new jobs by 2026. Factors such as the aging baby-boom population,
longer life expectancies, and growing rates of chronic conditions will drive continued
demand for healthcare services.”
AKA THIS WHERE YOU NEED TO BE IF YOU AREN’T SURE WHERE TO WORK AND WANT TO GET PAID RIGHT NOW.
When they say aging baby boomer population, and longer life expectancies this is what they mean y’all:
Now some people are thinking “Wow Carl so now you’re telling me to go to medical school and become a doctor?” NOPE. I am not telling you that. There are so many jobs in that field it’s insane. Many of those jobs not requiring a degree in medicine at all.
Here are some of the departments in healthcare that don’t require a medical degree:
Law (Lawyer or paralegal)
Compliance
Grant writing
Human resources
Project management
Design
Finance
Marketing
Social Media management
Now that’s not to say having a medical degree doesn’t help. We’re going to exclude the med school degrees from this real quick (cause that takes a lifetime to accomplish. Shoutout to the medical degree holders). In 4 years someone can get a degree medical ethics, healthcare administration, or physical therapy (for my folks who love working out and posting it on IG). Yeah 4 years like a bachelors degree 4 years. If you have a bachelors already you can do a 2 year masters program and get those degrees and sit for your certification exams (and pass of course) and become a physician assistant.
A physician assistant is basically part of a medical team, a team led by a doctor. When the doctor says “scalpel” during surgery and reaches out her/his hand out it’s either to a nurse or physician assistant. What’s the starting salary for a physician assistant you ask?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the US government) the lowest salary average (lowest 10% percentile) for physician assistants is $66,590 a year. Assuming that the people with the lowest salaries are those just beginning their careers in the industry… I think that’s a pretty good starting salary right out of college. It’s definitely better than getting $15 an hour dealing with people who want to yell at your face in the morning because they didn’t get their coffees yet.
The median (the middle) salary in the industry is $104,860 a year. Six damn figures y’all. It takes people entire lifetimes in other industries to make six figures, but in this position you can earn that in less than 7 years. If you graduate college at 23 years old, by 30 you can be making six figures annually. I think that’s a pretty nice chunk of change to get consistently. If you manage your money and invest properly with a decent lifestyle and compound interest you can have a nice pot by 40 years old.
Here’s a link to more data for physician assistants around the country https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291071.htm
Please don’t misunderstand me. This post is not about getting you to become a physician assistant. This post is about showing the opportunities that lie in working in or with the healthcare industry. Use your skills, education, and knowledge to place yourself in the space so you can increase your cash flow (amount of cash coming into your account). With more cash on hand you can then use it to make better financial and investment decisions (using Benjamin I hope) and lead yourself to a more fruitful and happy career/life.
So now the next question: HOW DO I GET IN THE GAME?
Today I got some bars from someone who works in recruiting in the healthcare industry working with one of the largest healthcare systems in the country.
Meet Marv.
Marv is the Lead Media & Strategy Project Manager for the Talent Acquisition Department within HR at the Mount Sinai Health System. Marv has 5 years of Human Resources experience and began his professional career as a recruiter. His role and responsibilities revolve around Employer Branding and one of his major objectives is to attract talent through means beyond the use of generic and traditional job descriptions. Some of those means include leveraging the latest technologies and applying it to sourcing talent, curating networking events and establishing brand presence at conferences, and managing the department’s social media accounts to increase brand awareness.
Here’s his advice on getting into the industry and positioning yourself for the check:
The first thing to do is to reengineer some of your thinking as it pertains to a job hunt. I know plenty of people with preconceived notions and myths that they think applies to healthcare when looking for jobs. Let’s go ahead and demystify some of those myths:
“ I don’t have a medical degree and/or medical experience”: This is an easy myth to debunk because I don’t have a medical degree nor did I have medical experience; I majored in Digital Art & Multimedia Design. Many people forget all about the functions that go into supporting any health system. There’s Finance, Accounting, Real Estate, Supply Chain, Human Resources (That’s me), IT, and the list goes on.
Let’s take an Operating Room Technician for example. Sounds Pretty sophisticated right? The educational requirement for this position is a high school diploma or GED. Certification in Operating Room Technology or courses in such is preferred – not a deal breaker. Check it out for yourself: https://careers.mountsinai.org/jobs/2275948?lang=en-us
The going salary for this kind of position is $56k, but guess what? Effective December 31st, Minimum Wage and Salaries will increase to $58k for large employers (11 or more employees). And being that is now illegal for employers to ask for previous salary history, your negotiating prowess goes up!
“I don’t have the skills necessary to do the job”: In many cases this may be true, but does not mean it is still impossible to transition into healthcare. Oddly enough, there are many transferable skills that you may already have that could be qualified for healthcare positions, both clinical and non-clinical. And for those who wish to strengthen some of those skills, Mount
Sinai Partners up with STRIVE New York – a program targeted to serve disconnected populations and underrepresented communities. The beautiful thing about this is that once the program is complete, they don’t just send you out into the world with well wishes. They work hand in hand with you in identifying opportunities to help get you placed. You can learn more here: https://www.striveinternational.org/strive-new-york/
“I have a record, no way would any healthcare institution take me”: No worries because that’s not the case. The DOE Fund program along with 1119SEIU works closely with Mount Sinai to provide opportunities to those with criminal records and are looking for a second chance to do right in society. I personally had the opportunity to interview an employee who went from a life of crime to starting his career in healthcare through housekeeping to now becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Like Biggie and 112 said – “Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
what you want, be what you want” to learn more about these programs visit: https://www.1199seiu.org/
https://www.doe.org/programs/ready-willing-able
Now that you’re excited and ready to see what healthcare is all about, here are a few things to consider especially when applying to any job:
Do your research: It seems like common knowledge, but I can’t stress this enough. There’s nothing worse than going in for an interview and having no idea what the company or it’s goals is all about. Be ready so that you don’t have to get ready!
Make sure that your values align with the company’s mission and values: Take some time to think long and hard what it is you want; not only what you want out of your career but what you want out of life. Any new job is almost up there with some of the biggest decisions you make in your life (purchase of a first home, starting your first business, getting married, having your first child, etc.) This is where a lot of your time is tied up and trust me, no job is the “perfect dream job” There’s always going to be something you don’t like about it – and that’s okay; we can apply that mentality to almost everything.
Cover letters? Get rid of them: No one is reading cover letters. Ever. They’re a complete waste and overcompensation for something that you maybe lacking (necessary experience, skills, etc.) It’s better to dedicate time to your resume and highlighting your strengths (I recommend reading the book Strength Finders by Tom Rath)
Professional Headshot and Linked In Profile– In the age of Transparency, I believe in putting your best foot forward. Although every employer should and need to be equal opportunity employers and hire based off skills and ability to perform the job’s functions, a professional headshot can only help put icing on the cake. It shows that you invested and dedicated time in how you want to broadcast yourself to the world.
If you would like to pick my brain a little more – you can reach me at Marvel@mvmdsolutions.com or Follow me on IG: 7gawd (Clearly I respect Drake’s Music)
As I’ve mentioned throughout this post, the goal is not to get you to switch jobs or anything. The goal is to help you identify new money making opportunities. Whether you’re in a job that doesn’t satisfy you and are looking for the next move, or starting a business and looking for a clientele, unsure what to major in during college, or looking for a career that pays and can provide fulfillment, this post is simply to provide guidance. Remember you can’t save, invest properly without earning first and this is just one of many guides for you earn more money.
I hope this article helped you in some kind of way and more importantly……
Keep stacking y’all,
CJB