Paths in healthcare
Healthcare employs a lot of people, and the need does not look temporary. In June 2025 we cited figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: about 1.9 million openings a year in healthcare from 2023 to 2033, from new jobs and from workers leaving the field, and growth of about 13 percent from 2021 to 2031, on the order of 2 million new jobs over a decade. The same note cited a 2024 median annual wage of about $83,090 for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, compared with about $49,500 for all occupations.
An aging population is a large part of why. More workers retire, and more older adults need care. Those are labor-market facts, not a promise that any one student will be hired.
What you can do in high school
Look around. Volunteer, shadow, or join a health club so the options are concrete. Medicine is not the only clinical job.
Take the science. Biology, chemistry, and health science are the base. AP or dual-enrollment science, if your school offers it and you are ready, goes further.
Spend time in a real setting when a hospital, clinic, or nursing home will have a student. Many schools help arrange that.
Consider a certification you can earn while you are still in school, such as certified nursing assistant or medical scribe, if the program accepts your age. That is hands-on work, not a simulation of it.
Practice the thinking on purpose. The Explorer package teaches clinical reasoning, how to talk through a patient interaction, and foundational medical science. It is built for high school students and is also a fit for younger students who are ready for the same cases. Details are on the courses page.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook is the place to check current numbers. The figures above are the ones this note used in June 2025.
Academy stories explain how clinicians learn to think. They are not medical advice, and they are not a diagnosis.