Allied Health

Allied health professionals make up an estimated 60% of the total healthcare workforce, and their ranks are growing fast.

With projected job growth of 15% (much faster than average) and over 68,000 annual openings, allied health represents one of the broadest and most accessible entry points into healthcare. Starting salaries vary widely by specialty – from $23,500 for entry-level support roles to well over $90,000 for specialized technologists – but the common thread is meaningful work with strong demand and multiple advancement paths.

What Is Allied Health?

Allied health is a broad umbrella term that encompasses healthcare professions outside of medicine (physicians), nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy. Allied health professionals work alongside doctors and nurses to deliver diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and preventive health services. The field includes more than 80 distinct occupations spanning clinical, technical, and support roles.

The term “allied health” is defined differently by various organizations, but generally includes professionals who:

• Diagnose and treat – through laboratory testing, imaging, and rehabilitative therapies
• Support patient care – by assisting physicians and nurses with clinical procedures, documentation, and patient management
• Provide therapy and rehabilitation – helping patients recover function through physical, occupational, respiratory, and speech therapy
• Manage health information – coding medical records, managing data systems, and ensuring regulatory compliance

Unlike nursing or medicine, which are single professions with established educational ladders, allied health is a collection of diverse specialties, each with its own education requirements, certification bodies, and career trajectory.

Major Allied Health Career Categories

A Day in the Life

Because allied health spans such a wide range of roles, the daily experience varies dramatically depending on your specialty. Here are snapshots of what a typical day looks like across several common allied health positions:

Medical Assistant (clinical setting): You arrive at a busy primary care clinic and begin rooming patients – taking vital signs, updating medication lists, asking about the reason for the visit. Between patients, you administer vaccinations, draw blood, process lab specimens, and handle phone messages from patients. The pace is fast and the patient interaction is constant.

Physical Therapy Assistant: Your day involves working directly with patients recovering from surgery, injuries, or chronic conditions. You follow treatment plans designed by a physical therapist, guiding patients through therapeutic exercises, applying hot and cold therapy, and documenting their progress. You see 8–12 patients per day, spending 30–45 minutes with each.

Surgical Technologist: You scrub in for the day’s first case, an orthopedic knee replacement. You set up the sterile field, organize instruments, hand tools to the surgeon during the procedure, and count sponges and instruments before and after. You may assist in 3–5 surgeries per day, each requiring precision and anticipation of the surgeon’s needs.

Health Information Technician: You spend your day at a computer in the health information management department, reviewing medical records for coding accuracy, assigning diagnosis and procedure codes for billing, auditing documentation for compliance, and responding to medical records requests. The work is detail-oriented and largely independent.

The common thread across these roles is that you are part of a healthcare team making a direct difference in patient outcomes, whether you are at the bedside, behind a microscope, or managing the data that keeps the system running.

Salary and Job Outlook

National Overview for Allied Health (SOC 31-9099: Healthcare Support Workers, All Other)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024. Note: These figures represent the “Healthcare Support Workers, All Other” category. Salaries for specific allied health specialties vary widely.

The BLS classification for general allied health support (31-9099) captures entry-level and generalist support roles. Specialized allied health careers command significantly higher salaries:

Salary Comparison Across Allied Health Specialties

Top-Paying States for Allied Health Professionals

For specialized roles like sonography or respiratory therapy, state-level pay can be $30,000–$50,000 higher than these general figures.

Job Outlook

Allied health as a whole is experiencing some of the fastest growth in the U.S. economy. The aging population needs more healthcare services. Physician shortages are increasing reliance on allied health professionals for tasks that were once physician-only. Advances in medical technology create new roles and expand existing ones. Many allied health workers are approaching retirement, creating additional openings.

The 15% growth rate for general healthcare support workers significantly outpaces the 4% average for all occupations.

How to Become an Allied Health Professional

Education Pathways by Level

One of the biggest advantages of allied health is the range of entry points. You can start with minimal education and work your way up, or pursue a focused degree path from the beginning.

Certificate Programs (3–12 months):

• Medical assisting
• Phlebotomy
• Patient care technician
• Sterile processing
• EKG technician
• Medical billing and coding
• Cost: $2,000–$15,000
• Best for: Quick entry into healthcare with plans to advance later

Associate Degree Programs (2 years):

• Radiologic technology
• Diagnostic medical sonography
• Medical laboratory technology
• Physical therapy assistant
• Respiratory therapy
• Dental hygiene
• Surgical technology
• Cost: $10,000–$30,000 (public); $25,000–$55,000 (private)
• Best for: Higher starting salary and broader career options

Bachelor’s Degree Programs (4 years):

• Health information management
• Clinical laboratory science/medical technology
• Radiation therapy
• Respiratory therapy (increasingly requiring bachelor’s)
• Nuclear medicine technology
• Cost: $30,000–$80,000+
• Best for: Leadership, specialized clinical, or management roles

Timeline Considerations

The time from decision to employment ranges from as little as 3 months (phlebotomy certificate) to 4 years (bachelor’s-level clinical laboratory scientist). Most allied health careers that pay above $50,000 require at least an associate degree (2 years).

Starting in Allied Health and Advancing

A common and effective strategy is to enter allied health at the certificate level – as a medical assistant, phlebotomist, or patient care technician – to gain clinical experience and determine which specialty interests you before committing to a longer degree program. Many allied health professionals start this way and then pursue targeted education for higher-paying specialties.

Licensing and Certification

Licensing and certification requirements vary enormously across allied health specialties. Here is a general framework:

Roles Requiring Certification or Licensure (in most states)

• Radiologic technologists – ARRT certification required; state licensure in most states
• Respiratory therapists – CRT or RRT credential required; state licensure in all states
• Physical therapy assistants – state licensure required in all states
• Dental hygienists – state licensure required in all states
• Surgical technologists – certification required in some states (CST credential)
• Medical laboratory technicians – certification required in ~12 states; expected by most employers

Roles Where Certification Is Voluntary but Strongly Recommended

• Medical assistants – CMA (AAMA) or RMA (AMT) certifications improve hiring prospects and salary
• Phlebotomists – CPT (ASCP) certification preferred by most employers
• Medical coders – CPC (AAPC) or CCS (AHIMA) certifications are effectively required for employment
• EKG technicians – CCT or CET certifications are preferred

General Advice

Before enrolling in any allied health program, verify the certification and licensure requirements in the state where you plan to work. Requirements can differ significantly from state to state, and graduating from an accredited program is often necessary to sit for certification exams.

Skills and Tools

Skills Common Across Allied Health

Technical Skills:

• Medical terminology and anatomy fundamentals
• Electronic health record (EHR) systems (Epic, Cerner, Meditech, athenahealth)
• Specimen collection and handling (for clinical roles)
• Vital signs assessment and patient monitoring
• Infection control and standard precautions
• Medical equipment operation and maintenance
• HIPAA compliance and health information privacy

Soft Skills:

• Patient communication and empathy
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Teamwork and interprofessional collaboration
• Time management and multitasking
• Adaptability to different clinical settings and patient populations
• Professionalism under stressful conditions
• Cultural sensitivity and patient-centered care

Technology in Allied Health

Modern allied health professionals work with increasingly sophisticated technology:

• Point-of-care diagnostic devices
• Telehealth platforms and remote monitoring systems
• Automated laboratory analyzers
• Digital imaging and PACS systems
• Rehabilitation robots and virtual reality therapy tools
• Health information exchange (HIE) platforms
• AI-assisted diagnostic and documentation tools

Work Environment

Settings

Allied health professionals work in virtually every healthcare setting:

• Hospitals – the largest employer across most specialties; 24/7 operations with shift work
• Outpatient clinics and physician offices – more predictable schedules
• Rehabilitation centers – inpatient and outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy
• Long-term care and nursing facilities – growing demand as population ages
• Home health agencies – in-home patient visits; growing sector
• Diagnostic imaging and laboratory centers – independent outpatient facilities
• Public health departments – community health, epidemiology, and health education
• Schools and universities – school health services and academic programs
• Military and VA healthcare – federal employment with strong benefits

Schedule

Schedule varies by specialty and setting. Hospital-based roles (imaging techs, lab techs, respiratory therapists) often involve shift work including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. Clinic-based roles (medical assistants, dental hygienists, coders) typically follow standard business hours. Home health and mobile positions offer the most schedule variability.

Pros and Cons

Advantages:

• Enormous variety of career options under one umbrella
• Multiple entry points, from certificate to bachelor’s degree
• Strong and growing demand across nearly all specialties
• Ability to start in one role and advance or pivot to another
• Meaningful work with direct patient impact
• Available in every geographic region and community size

Drawbacks:

• Entry-level pay for generalist support roles is modest ($23,500–$36,000)
• Some roles have high physical demands and repetitive stress risks
• Shift work and irregular hours are common in hospital-based positions
• Career advancement often requires additional education and certification
• Burnout and staffing shortages affect many allied health workplaces
• “Allied health” is so broad that career planning requires focused research into specific specialties

Career Advancement

The Allied Health Career Ladder

One of allied health’s greatest strengths is its built-in career ladder. You can enter at any level and advance with additional education and certification.

Transitioning Between Allied Health Specialties

Because many allied health roles share foundational knowledge (anatomy, medical terminology, patient care), transitioning between specialties is often possible with bridge programs or additional certificates. For example:

• A radiologic technologist can cross-train into CT, MRI, mammography, or nuclear medicine
• A medical assistant can advance to phlebotomy, coding, or surgical technology
• A dental assistant can advance to dental hygiene with an associate degree
• A phlebotomist can advance to medical laboratory technician or medical assistant

Related Career Pages

• Phlebotomy Technician – specimen collection ($40,580 median)
• Medical Lab Technician – clinical laboratory testing ($57,380 median)
• Radiologic Technologist – diagnostic imaging ($65,140 median)
• Ultrasound Technician – diagnostic sonography ($79,150 median)
• Medical Coder – health information management ($48,780 median)
• Pharmacy Technician – medication preparation ($39,680 median)
• Licensed Practical Nurse – direct patient care ($54,620 median)
• Healthcare Administrator – facility management ($110,680 median)

Browse all Healthcare & Medical Careers.

Professional Associations

• Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) – asahp.org – represents allied health education programs and advocates for the profession
• National Healthcareer Association (NHA) – nhanow.com – certifications for medical assistants, phlebotomists, EKG techs, and other entry-level allied health roles
• American Medical Technologists (AMT) – americanmedtech.org – certifications and professional support for multiple allied health specialties
• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) – caahep.org – accrediting body for over 2,100 allied health programs in 32 health science disciplines
• American Society of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP) – advocacy and professional development for allied health educators and practitioners

Specialty-specific associations (ASRT for imaging, ASCLS for laboratory, APTA for physical therapy, AARC for respiratory care) provide the most targeted resources for each discipline.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly counts as an “allied health” profession?

Allied health is an umbrella term for healthcare professions that are not medicine (physician/surgeon), nursing, dentistry, or pharmacy. It includes over 80 specialties, from medical assistants and phlebotomists to radiologic technologists and respiratory therapists. If you work in healthcare but are not a doctor, nurse, dentist, or pharmacist, you are likely an allied health professional.

What is the fastest way to start working in allied health?

Phlebotomy, medical assisting, and patient care technician certificate programs can be completed in 3–12 months. These are the quickest entry points into the healthcare workforce. Starting salaries are modest ($28,000–$38,000), but these roles provide clinical experience and a foundation for advancing to higher-paying specialties.

Which allied health career pays the most?

Among roles requiring only an associate degree, diagnostic medical sonography ($79,150 median), dental hygiene ($81,400), and respiratory therapy ($77,960) are among the highest paying. Radiation therapy, which may require a bachelor’s degree, has a median salary above $90,000. Healthcare administration, at the bachelor’s and master’s level, can exceed $110,000.

Do I need a college degree for allied health?

Not necessarily. Several allied health careers require only a certificate or postsecondary training (medical assisting, phlebotomy, surgical technology, EMT). However, careers with higher salaries and more autonomy typically require an associate or bachelor’s degree. The education level directly correlates with earning potential and career ceiling.

Can I switch between allied health specialties?

Yes, and this is one of the field’s biggest advantages. Many allied health professionals start in one role and transition to another through bridge programs or additional certification. Your clinical experience and foundational healthcare knowledge transfer across specialties, even if you need additional training for a new role.

Is allied health a good career for someone who does not want to work directly with patients?

Yes. Several allied health careers involve minimal or no direct patient contact, including medical coding and billing, health information management, medical laboratory science, and biomedical equipment technology. These “behind the scenes” roles are essential to healthcare operations.

How does allied health job growth compare to other fields?

The 15% projected growth for healthcare support workers far exceeds the 4% average for all U.S. occupations. Some allied health specialties are growing even faster: sonography at 10%, veterinary technology at 20%, and healthcare administration at 28%. The aging population and healthcare expansion are the primary drivers.

Are there allied health careers I can do remotely?

Yes. Medical coding, health information management, utilization review, clinical documentation improvement, and telehealth coordination are allied health roles that can often be done remotely. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift toward remote work in health information-related allied health roles.

Explore allied health training programs near you and request information directly from schools.

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