Picking a professional education is always a tricky thing. You devote all your time to a subject, which may not pay off in the end. That’s why it is quite important to know your working prospects. Kentucky is an ever-changing state. It constantly morphs financially, technologically, and workwise as well. And living in the ever-changing state requires going hand in hand with what tomorrow may bring.
There are a lot of additional things you can do to land the job of your dreams, one of them is hiring one of the resume services to polish your CV with the help of platforms like Skillhub website. It will help you attract prospective employers. But that’s just flavor. One cannot get a high-paying position if they are not qualified for it. And in order to be qualified for it, you need to know what kind of education to apply for.
Predicting what job is going to turn into one of the highest paying is a tricky thing, as no one knows what will happen within the next year. But there are certain tendencies statewise that can help in the prognosis. As of now, the future highest paying jobs in Kentucky are mainly in the healthcare field.
Healthcare jobs have been the fastest growing in Kentucky since 2019. Needless to say that those professions only benefited, if you find this word suitable, from the COVID-19 pandemic. No one knows for how long the novel virus will be around, but it has already changed the healthcare system in a way that makes it unlikely that professions on this list will go anywhere in the foreseeable future.
Home Health Aide
There are a lot of people with disabilities, who need everyday care. As a home health aide, you will be responsible for assisting in the daily routines of people with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and mild cognitive impairments. And this work is the easiest to apply. No specific education is needed, just a high school diploma will be enough.
Your duties and workload will depend on the number of clients that you have. Generally, when you think about home health aid work, you imagine working with one patient/client a day. But that’s far from being correct. You can have between four and five customers a day, devoting several hours to each of them.
Your work as a home health aide may include assisting customers with their daily routines like bathing and dressing, do light housekeeping, helping with their schedule, and make sure that they took their prescribed medication on time. The hourly rate for this position is generally between $15 and $25.
Physical Therapist Assistant
Unlike the previous entry on the list, working as a physical therapist assistant requires passing the physical therapist assistant program, and acquiring a license from the Federation of the State Boards of Physical Therapy. Generally, the educational program lasts for two years, after which you need to pass the National Physical Therapy Exam.
Based on the title itself, PTAs are performing certain actions under the supervision of the physical therapist. The duties of the PTA may include observing patients before and after the physical therapy, aid patients with performing certain exercises of their course and educating patients and their family members on the treatment.
The work of the PTA is quite demanding, as it requires interpersonal skills, compassion, and great physical stamina. Working with patients can be hard from time to time, and you need to keep calm. The good thing about this job is that the salary is quite rewarding, as PTAs on average get between $50,000 and $60,000 per year.
Physical Therapist
Logically this job title is next on the list. To become a physical therapist you need to have a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. To obtain the degree, you need to pass the program that lasts three years. But you need to have a bachelor’s degree. It is also important for you to have had classes in anatomy, biology, physiology, chemistry, and physics.
But some DPT programs offer six or seven years courses for freshmen. Upon finishing them you will get both a bachelor’s degree and a DTP diploma. During the program, students need to complete thirty weeks of clinical work. After that, you need to pass a one-year hospital residency to become licensed by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.
PT’s work revolves around helping ill and injured people to manage their physical pain and improve their movement. Their duties include diagnosing patients’ problems by observing the way they stand or walk, developing the plan of therapy, evaluating and recording their therapy progress, and educating the patients, as well as their family members, on the therapy.
The work is quite demanding and requires a lot of psychological and physical strength. You need to have strong soft skills, as patients are often capricious. Still, the work is quite rewarding. On average, physical therapists earn between $65,000 and $70,000 annually.
Occupational Therapist
To become an occupational therapist one must have a degree in it. There are more than two hundred programs in the United States that offer two and three years programs. Although, certain schools have a program after which students graduate with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But a program like that takes at least five years.
All those programs require at least twenty-four weeks of supervised clinical work experience. After passing the program, the prospective occupational therapists must pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy exam in order to become certified and registered specialists.
The work of occupational therapists includes observing patients and studying their medical history to develop a treatment plan. You need to evaluate the main problems of the patient to set the goals of the therapy. You may also need to demonstrate the required exercises for patients and members of their families.
The work is demanding, and you need to be compassionate and have good interpersonal communication skills. Dealing with patients and their relatives may be tough from time to time. But the work is rewarding, as, depending on whether you have a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, you can earn between $80,000 and $800,000 per year.
Operations Analyst
Now it’s time to take a break from the healthcare profession, as there is a job that revolves around data management. To apply for the operations analyst position you need either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in computer science, analytics, or operational research. You also need to have strong analytical, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.
Your job will mainly focus on evaluating and solving problems in fields like business and logistics. Healthcare fields can also require an operational analyst. You will also need to collect and analyze data from various sources. Using simulation and predictive modeling, you will create solutions for certain problems, and present them to managers.
The job is quite interesting, but it’s demanding as well. It is also quite rewarding. And while you won’t be making close to $1 million like an occupational therapist with a master’s degree, you can make between $70,000 and $80,000 per year, which is quite a good income.