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As the economy suffers, many people are interested in finding a new career. Sometimes this is a personal choice, and sometimes, like in the case of people who have lost their jobs or have gotten laid off, it is a necessity. There are certain types of careers which become at risk when the economy takes a turn for the worse. A career in the medical field is not one of those risks.  If anything, a career in the medical field can be expected to increase in demand overtime, regardless of our economic situation. That is because the medical needs of the population are not necessarily driven by the status of the economy.  As the population grows the need for highly trained and qualified medical workers will rise. 

The Healthcare Job Outlook for 2008/2009 describes new job growth from 2006 – 2016 as excellent with over 3 million new jobs added for the period.  As well, the projected salary increase is 22% compared to just 11% for other industries combined.

The Department of Labor shows similar findings, projecting that medical assistant jobs are expected to increase over 35 percent over the next decade, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. The health care industry is expanding as our population grows and ages, and as technology advances, so will the need for highly trained health care workers such as a surgical assistant medical assistant, vocational nurse, computerized office assist, and so on.

A career in the medical field has been referred to as “recession-proof.”  Few industries can boast this kind of employment outlook.  If you’ve been laid off in another work field, this should not be a concern for you in considering starting training in a medical career.  It is highly unusual for medical layoffs to occur.