If you’ve ever dreamed of pursuing a career that focuses on helping others, healthcare is probably at the top of your list. This profession is only growing in terms of opportunities and advancements. However, with so many avenues to pursue, it’s easy to get stuck at the very first step. Where should you begin? How long will it take to reach your goals to become a healthcare professional? Can you afford the education and time investment it will take to get there?

We are here to help you put any hesitations aside. It is possible to obtain a quality, affordable education quickly, and better yet, land a rewarding job in healthcare. Many exciting roles in healthcare offer a competitive salary and are achievable with an associate degree.

Turning your passion for healthcare into a rewarding career is simpler than you may think. Goodwin University is an accredited, career-focused school in Connecticut offering a wide variety of associate degrees in healthcare.

Let’s explore some of the highest-paying associate degrees in healthcare, as well as their career outcomes.

1. Associate Degree in Nursing

Registered nurses are often the first person a patient interacts with once they arrive in an examination room. They offer a friendly, knowledgeable, and soothing presence when patients are arguably at their lowest. Nurses keep patients calm, discuss their symptoms, and reassure them that the healthcare team is going to make them feel better as soon as possible. All it takes is an associate degree in Nursing for aspiring nurses to launch their career.

Goodwin University’s associate degree in Nursing offers classroom and clinical learning experiences, which prepare nurses for many types of healthcare settings. Associate degree in Nursing graduates are eligible to apply for a registered nurse license through the NCLEX-RN examination. From there, registered nurses can find careers in settings such as:

• Community health centers
• Doctors’ offices
• Home health care services
• Hospice facilities
• Hospitals
• Long-term care facilities
• Nursing supervision & management
• Occupational & industrial nursing

For students who have accomplished all the prerequisite coursework, it is possible to earn an associate degree in Nursing in as few as 20 months part-time. Most classes are offered during the day as well as evenings, and there are daytime, evening, and weekend clinical experience options available. No matter what else students might be balancing outside of school, Goodwin University makes it possible to achieve this degree.

The coursework and practical training in real-life healthcare settings give students the hands-on training they need to be successful RNs, and to get jobs where they can earn $93,600 annually.

2. Associate Degree in Medical Assisting

Medical Assistants work under the supervision of physicians and play a key role in medical practice environments. They play a versatile role and conduct both clinical and administrative tasks. An associate degree in Medical Assisting gives students the skills they need to act as the liaison between physicians, nursing staff, and patients. For example, job duties of a medical assistant might include scheduling patients for exams, taking patients’ vital signs, collecting and processing lab specimens, preparing patients for procedures, updating and filing medical records, and corresponding with insurance companies to settle patients’ files.

Medical Assistants might work as billing specialists, medical assistants, office administrators, medical receptionists, office managers, or as medical assistant program educators. The following healthcare environments hire medical assistants, demonstrating how this role is highly in-demand in over a dozen types of facilities and offices:

• Ambulatory healthcare services
• Chiropractors’ offices
• Family medicine practices
• Health centers
• Healthcare practitioner offices
• Hospital facilities
• Medical laboratories
• Medical offices
• OB/GYN practices
• Outpatient care facilities
• Physicians’ offices
• Podiatrists’ offices
• Walk-in clinics

With just 12 to 16 months in school, Goodwin University Medical Assistant Associate Degree graduates are qualified to work in over a dozen types of healthcare facilities and offices.

At Goodwin University, medical assisting classes are offered during the day and evenings, and on-campus, online, or in a hybrid format. There are also six class start dates every year. These scheduling conveniences make it possible for aspiring medical assistants to easily launch into rewarding careers.

Medical assistants make, on average, $44,200 annually, which is on the lower end of the high-paying associate degrees in healthcare we are highlighting here. However, there is so much value in the ample opportunities available to medical assistants, that this degree pathway made the cut as one of our top recommended avenues to get started in healthcare. Becoming a medical assistant is an expedited way to obtain experience in healthcare and open doors to more advanced opportunities and lucrative positions in this field.

3. Associate Degree in Respiratory Care

Respiratory care professionals, commonly known as respiratory therapists, relieve adult, child, and infant patients who are suffering from acute or chronic cardio-pulmonary disorders. They administer diagnostic procedures and apply medications and treatments to relieve breathlessness, and apply ventilators to patients in need.

The Respiratory Care program at Goodwin University prepares students for the certification exam provided by the National Board of Respiratory Care. Students learn through clinical training in hospitals, health centers, and private practices. Additionally, they take courses in critical care, pharmacology, respiratory diagnostics, mechanical ventilation, and pediatric care, amongst others.

Classes in the Respiratory Care program are offered at night, on-campus, in a standard 15-week format. An associate degree in Respiratory Therapy, along with a license to practice, is the combination of qualifications required to become a Respiratory Care Practitioner. While respiratory therapists are needed in almost every healthcare setting, many graduates find jobs in settings such as:

• Acute care hospitals
• Homecare settings
• Life Star air ambulance
• Rehabilitation and long-term care facilities

Respiratory therapists make $80,450 annually, on average. For a program that takes a little over a year to complete, and which is offered in an ideal format for people who are already working during the day, earning an associate degree in Respiratory Care is another fantastic way to become eligible for a great salary in entry-level healthcare, fast.

4. Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene

Goodwin University’s Dental Hygienist program is the entry point to a rewarding career in dentistry. Goodwin’s dental hygiene students train in a state-of-the-art dental clinic and hone their skills through simulation. They also work with real-life patients. Students begin with a theoretical foundation and proceed to hands-on coursework, progressing to providing cleanings and education to community members in need, in the on-campus Dental Hygiene Clinic.

At Goodwin University, dental hygiene students become trained in as few as six semesters over the course of 24 months. This expedited dental hygiene education is achieved 12 months faster than most programs. Day or evening classes are offered in live and hybrid modalities. At the culmination of a dental hygiene education, associate degree graduates have all the necessary knowledge and tools to:

• Work with patients across the lifespan and communicate effectively across diverse populations.
• Use dental technology to provide comprehensive dental hygiene treatments.
• Maintain an investment in continued education in dental care.
• Apply skills to community-based health programs to improve the oral health of the population.

Dental hygienists work in the offices of dentists, physicians, and for the government. Licensure is required for dental hygienists to practice in all states.

A licensed dental hygienist with a Goodwin University Associate Degree can earn an income of $94,260 annually.

What are the benefits of an associate degree in healthcare?

For many nurses and healthcare providers, an associate degree in healthcare is just the beginning of their journey in this field. Earning an associate degree offers job security and a reliable income, not to mention the satisfaction of making a difference in patients’ lives every day.

Many people who begin with an associate degree in healthcare continue their field of study, earning their bachelor’s or master’s degrees, or even becoming doctors, later on. It’s never too late to get started on one of the fastest-growing industries in America, in which associate degree holders make (on average) more than $30,000 over the national median salary.

Get ready for a career in healthcare that will make a difference in your life and others, by studying at Goodwin University!

To learn more about enrollment, tuition affordability, and requirements, contact us today by calling 800-889-3282. You may also request more information about our healthcare programs online.