These 6 Healthcare Certifications Will Earn You an Extra $1,000 a Month

It’s clear why you’re attracted to healthcare careers. On a personal level, healthcare certifications offer many rewards outside of financial gain. The most popular reasons for choosing healthcare as a career tend to be wanting to help others or being able to make a difference. Hospital staff and medical workers are some of our greatest heroes. Being a role model can be a great feeling, and finding a healthcare job that makes you happy is certainly important. However, making a comfortable living is something most of us strive for as well.
Medical professionals see remarkable recoveries and uncover incredible human stories on a daily basis, but it takes some time to get on the road to financial stability.

Part of the oncology team, radiation therapists administer treatment to cancer patients. Using machinery to shrink and remove cancerous cells, your role as a therapist is to protect the patient from harmful radiation rays, check that equipment is working correctly and keep detailed records of treatment.

Generally, nuclear medicine technologists work full time in a hospital environment, although there may be work available in specialized imaging clinics.

Our bodies are remarkable in their ability to repair themselves, but sometimes we need a little extra help. Orthotists design and repair supportive devices that correct problems in the body (muscles, bones and nerves), whilst prosthetists work with artificial limbs. It takes a bright spark to help patients find their independence again.

Registered nurses spend a lot of time on their feet. With many options on where you can work, this is a varied and busy position. A registered nurse can choose to work in a hospital or specialist center, perhaps for the military or in a school. Wherever you look, people need care, information, and advice. In this role, you're the person to deliver it.

Ultrasound is big business in hospitals these days, as the technology becomes more sophisticated. Diagnostic medical sonographers use scanning equipment to help diagnose medical problems. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 24% growth in this field within the next decade.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners produce detailed images of the inside of a person’s body as they lie inside the machine for a full body scan. With the help of powerful magnetic fields and radio waves, technologists can detect health issues and diseases such as multiple sclerosis and cancer. MRI technologist training only takes two years, so you'll be working in the field in no time.
If you want to succeed in any of these allied health careers, it’s important to get the appropriate qualification first. We've offered some everyday examples of ways you might spend your disposable income, but don't forget that you may have a student loan to pay off too.

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With the cost of living going up year after year, how do you focus your healthcare job search on careers that will be as rewarding financially as they are emotionally?

Batting Above the Average

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average monthly salary for all occupations in the United States in 2014 was approximately $3,936 per month. The goal, however, is to make more than that. Let’s take a look at some healthcare certifications that can lead to monthly earnings above the average monthly income.

We take the average pay for a range of health professions and then work out how much you have left over to play with after pay day.

1. Radiation Therapists Got Wheels!

$6,976 Monthly Salary ($3,040 Above Average)

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A radiation therapist earns almost 77% more than average. With this kind of pay, you’ll be able to save up and put cash down for a new car in just a few months.

2. Nuclear Medicine Technologists Make a Home Sweet Home

$6,102 Monthly Salary ($2,166 Above Average)

Depending on where your interests lie, you could be trained to use equipment that produces 3D images of a person’s brain, or create images that examine blood flow and the heart.

Within a couple years of saving all your extra pennies, you’ll have enough to put a down payment on a house.

3. Orthotists and Prosthetists Are Switched On

$5,890 Monthly Salary ($1,954 Above Average)

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Despite rising energy costs, the extra salary you receive above the national average  for 1 month will be enough to turn on the lights and feed your electrical appliances for almost 18 months, based on the average monthly electricity bill of $110 in the most recent statistics.

4. Registered Nurses Take a Long, Hot Bath

$5,815 Monthly Salary ($1,879 Above Average)

You could afford to live in a state where monthly water bills are at their highest, covering sewer costs and stormwater fees, too. Americans have seen a 41% increase in these fees since 2010, making it one of the bigger bills you won’t need to stress out over.

5. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers Go Gourmet

$5,699 Monthly Salary  ($1,763 Above Average)

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With the average American spending around $300 per week on groceries, you could easily increase this allowance as a certified sonographer, letting you switch to gourmet dinners (or feed a teen on a growth spurt).

6. MRI Technologists Can Be Film Buffs

$5,608 Monthly Salary ($1,672 Above Average)

When your work is done, you can go to the movies 194 times with your extra cash, or pay the average ticket cost of $8.61 for all of your friends until the popcorn runs out!

But Before the Fun Begins….

Healthcare certifications can take a few months or a few years to complete, so the cost varies widely. It's important to weigh the time and financial resources you have available to study, as well as what kind of lifestyle you want to have after you graduate. Once you’re on an established career path, the lifelong earnings speak for themselves.

Wondering where you'll be happiest in your allied healthcare career? Check out the seven best US hospitals to work for.