Best 4 Year Medical Degrees That Pay Well.
If you’re not keen on spending eight years in medical school, opting for a four-year medical degree program could be your best bet. This blog post delves into a handpicked selection of top four-year medical degrees that offer lucrative career prospects, empowering you to make informed choices about your education and career path.
Becoming a doctor typically demands seven to eight years of rigorous medical schooling, which can be daunting for many due to the extensive time commitment and financial investment involved. Despite the conventional wisdom that entering the medical field requires more advanced degrees like a master’s or professional certification, there exist several four-year medical degree options that lead to well-paying positions within the healthcare sector. It’s important to note that a four-year degree refers to a bachelor’s program, opening doors to various medical professions that offer substantial annual incomes.
The advantage here is clear: rather than dedicating nearly a decade to medical education, you can achieve your career goals in just four years or less, saving considerable time and money while potentially entering the workforce sooner. Numerous roles in healthcare, such as physician assistant or medical coder and biller, are attainable with a bachelor’s or associate’s degree, highlighting diverse entry points into the medical field without the prolonged commitment of traditional eight-year programs.
As the healthcare industry continues to expand, opportunities abound for individuals seeking expedited paths to rewarding careers. If concerns linger about whether a four-year medical degree can yield comparable earnings to traditional eight-year paths, this discussion challenges those assumptions.
This blog post provides a list of the different 4-year medical degrees that you can use to enter the medical field and earn a high income. It also provides an overview of the corresponding annual salaries for each of the 4-year medical degrees.
Read also: 20 Highest-Paying Medical Jobs With Little Education
Best 4 Year Medical Degrees That Pay Well
Doctors and surgeons top the list the highest paid doctors in the world and are among the highest paid professions, but what did they have to do to get there? First they complete a four-year undergraduate program, then they go to medical school to get their MD, complete a residency on the other side of the country, and rack up thousands of dollars in student debt.
You can go through all of this if you want, but it’s worth noting that there are high-paying jobs in the medical field that only require a bachelor’s degree. They require less education and pay as much as $167,000 per year.
What else?
The jobs aren’t even as stressful and demanding as those required by MDs, and they generally rank among the happiest medical professions. And the best part is, these jobs are projected to grow over the next seven years, in some cases by as much as 37%. So if you get into one of these fields, you can expect to keep your high-paying job for a long time and earn a higher salary.
Here are 10 high-paying medical jobs you can get with just 4 years of schooling:
- Graduate student
- Respiratory therapist
- Biomedical engineer
- Radiation Therapist
- Registered Nurse (RN)
- Pharmacy clerk
- Paramedic
- Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
- Dietitians/nutritionists
1. Physician’s assistant
Physician assistants , as the name suggests, are workers who assist doctors in examining, diagnosing and treating patients, as well as maintaining and recording the patient’s medical history and giving medical advice to patients. PAs assist various doctors such as dentists, surgeons, psychiatrists, etc., but during their studies or training as a PA, they will have to study under the doctor of their choice to gain practical skills in that field of medicine.
To become a physician assistant, you need a bachelor’s degree, which must meet the licensing requirements of the state in which you want to work, because all doctors must be licensed to practice. So they must pass the National Physician Assistant Certification Exam . There are respected physician assistant schools in California and Texas to apply to if this is a field that interests you.
According to an annual CNBC survey , physician assistants earn a median annual salary of $108,610, and the job is projected to grow by 37% by 2026.
2. Respiratory therapist
Respiratory therapy is a growing and in-demand field, meaning that working in this field comes with many benefits, such as a high annual income and job security. The primary responsibility of a respiratory therapist is to treat and prevent all types of breathing complications and respiratory diseases, such as asthma. They also perform lung diagnostics and examine patients with lung or respiratory diseases.
Getting into this field is so easy, you only need an associate degree in respiratory care, which takes 2 years to complete, or a bachelor of science degree in respiratory care. The base salary for a respiratory therapist ranges from $67,385 to $80,625 per year. Employment in this profession is projected to grow by 23% by 2030.
3. Biomedical engineer
The median salary for biomedical engineers is $88,550 per year, and they are among the top medical specialties that pay well with just a bachelor’s degree. The program is not hard to find, as there are many universities that offer a program at the bachelor’s level. You can move up in the field by earning a master’s degree, which takes 2 years to complete.
As a biomedical engineer, you will have critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are tailored to the medical field, using your skills to develop technical and non-technical solutions that can be hardware or software to help and save humanity. If you want to work in a medical field where you don’t have to deal with so much blood, consider a career as a biomedical engineer.
Read also: 30 Best Schools for Biomedical Engineering
4. Radiation Therapist
The minimum educational qualification for radiation therapists is an associate degree, which only takes 2 years to complete, but this will only get you an entry-level position. If you want a much higher position, then you should consider a bachelor’s degree to get it. The average annual salary for radiation therapists is $82,330, and employment is projected to grow by 13% through 2026.
As a radiation therapist, you will be part of a medical team that treats cancer patients, your job is to administer doses of radiation to patients to treat them. Radiation therapists also diagnose and analyze patient data to plan their treatment. In addition to being one of the best 4-year medical degrees that pay well, radiation therapists are one of the Best Low Stress Jobs for Introverts That Pay Well .
5. Registered Nurse (RN)
You’ve likely encountered a nurse at some point in your life—they’re a cornerstone of every medical institution, handling daily operations with responsibilities ranging from conducting tests and diagnosing patients to preparing surgical rooms, assisting during procedures, administering medications, and providing crucial treatment advice. It’s a demanding yet highly rewarding profession.
To become a registered nurse (RN), you typically need either an associate’s degree (taking about two years) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN, requiring four years), which opens doors to higher-level positions. Upon completing your chosen degree, passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) is essential to obtain licensure and start practicing.
Nursing offers diverse specialties such as pediatric nursing, cardiac nursing, or critical care nursing, often requiring advanced degrees like a master’s or doctorate. The average annual salary for RNs stands at $82,750, with a projected 6% job growth through 2026, highlighting robust career prospects in the field.
6. Pharmacy technician
Pharmacy technicians work in drug stores, pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals with licensed pharmacists to confirm, prepare, and dispense prescriptions. They advise patients and guide them on how to take medications. They assist the pharmacist and maintain patient records.
Becoming a pharmacist requires a bachelor’s degree and gives you the opportunity to quickly enter the pharmacy. The salary for a certified pharmacist is $19.13 per hour.
7. Paramedic
Paramedics are the first responders who provide first aid to victims at the scene of an accident. They ride around in ambulances, waiting and ready to save a life before the patient is seen by a doctor. It is a difficult profession, you can be called at any time, and you must be prepared.
This is probably the fastest medical profession on this list. There is a 6-month paramedic program that will prepare you for the job with immediate employment in a short time. The average salary for a paramedic is $38,830 per year.
8. Nuclear Medicine Technologist
Personally, I had never heard of this profession until now. This shows that different roles are emerging in the medical field every day that do not require an MD. According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research , a nuclear medicine technologist is a specialist who performs tests for diagnostics and medical research.
They prepare and administer small doses of radioactive drugs to patients, then use high-end imaging equipment to record images of the radioactive material in the body. The minimum requirement for this job is an associate’s degree, which takes only 24 months to complete. The average annual salary for a nuclear medicine technologist is $89,917.
9. Diagnostic medical sonograph
If you want to enter a healthcare field that does not involve blood and/or you want to quickly enter the medical field, you should consider a career as a diagnostic medical sonographer. One of the benefits of this profession is that it requires little education. You can get into it with just an associate’s degree in sonography, but the program also offers bachelor’s degrees, and then it’s up to you to choose the one that suits you best.
Sonographers are healthcare professionals who use ultrasound imaging devices to produce diagnostic images, scans, videos, etc. They work in a variety of healthcare settings, such as physician offices, general medical and surgical hospitals, medical and diagnostic labs, and outpatient centers. According to US News, the average salary for a sonographer is $77,740 in 2021.
10. Dietitians/nutritionists
Dietitians are healthcare professionals specializing in food and nutrition, using their expertise to promote better health through tailored dietary plans for clients and patients, particularly in managing conditions like obesity and diabetes.
To pursue this career, a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in nutrition is required. Following graduation, aspiring dietitians typically complete a dietetic internship and pass their state’s licensing exam to obtain licensure and commence practice. For those interested in exploring the field before committing fully, options like earning a dietitian degree online or taking free online nutrition courses can provide valuable insights.
Dietitians and nutritionists earn a base salary ranging from $61,572 to $74,327 annually, reflecting their vital role in healthcare and nutrition management.