The “Smartest” Healthcare Careers to Pursue Right Now: Where Cost, Time, Growth, and Workforce Need Meet

Choosing a healthcare career used to sound relatively straightforward: earn the degree, enter a respected profession, and build a stable career.

Today, students have more to consider.

The cost of higher education has madehow much education a career requires—and how quickly that education can translate into employment—an increasingly important part of the decision.

At the same time, America's healthcare workforce is facing another challenge: making sure there are enough trained professionals to care for a growing and aging population.

That creates an interesting question for prospective students:

Which healthcare professions offer a compelling combination of educational cost, time to completion, employment opportunity, job growth, and genuine workforce need?

At Landmark University of Health Sciences, we believe that's a better way to think about the value of healthcare education.

And data from both the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) help illuminate where some of those opportunities may be.

Healthcare Doesn't Just Need More Workers. It Needs the Right Workers.

BLS projects approximately 1.9 million openings in healthcare occupations each year from 2025 through 2035, reflecting both employment growth and the need to replace people leaving occupations. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

HRSA examines the issue differently.

Through its Health Workforce Simulation Model, HRSA projects the supply and demand for healthcare professionals. Its newest national projections extend from 2023 through 2038 and attempt to answer an important question:

Will the number of professionals entering and remaining in an occupation be enough to meet the country's need for their services?(Bureau of Health Workforce)

The answer for a number of healthcare professions is no.

HRSA currently projects 2038 national shortages including approximately 60,610 physical therapists, 30,400 pharmacists, 12,770 respiratory therapists, 14,840 chiropractors, and 5,310 podiatrists, expressed as full-time equivalents (FTEs). (Bureau of Health Workforce)

Nursing presents an even more dramatic example. HRSA projects a shortage of approximately 108,960 registered-nurse FTEs by 2038 and a shortage of approximately 245,950 licensed practical/vocational nurse FTEs. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

Those workforce projections add another dimension to how students might evaluate a healthcare career.

It's not just:

“How much does this career pay?”

It's also:

“How long will it take me to get there, what will that education cost, and will my skills be needed when I graduate?”

Several professions deserve particular attention when viewed through that lens.

Physical Therapist Assistant: A Shorter Route Into a High-Growth Field

Physical therapy provides one of the clearest examples of the difference educational pathway can make.

Becoming a physical therapist requires earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. BLS reports a 2025 median wage of $102,760 for physical therapists. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

A physical therapist assistant, however, typically enters the profession with an associate degree from an accredited program, followed by applicable licensure or certification.

The median annual wage for PTAs was $68,380 in 2025, and BLS projects PTA employment to grow an impressive 23% between 2025 and 2035. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

There is another important piece of the picture.

HRSA projects a national shortage of approximately 60,610 physical therapists by 2038. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

That does not mean HRSA projects the same shortage for PTAs, and the two occupations shouldn't be treated interchangeably. But it does demonstrate the substantial projected need within the physical therapy workforce. BLS similarly expects providers—particularly in outpatient and long-term-care settings—to rely on PTAs as demand for rehabilitation services increases. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

For students interested in rehabilitation, mobility, and direct patient care, the PTA pathway illustrates the potential of an associate-level healthcare profession.

Occupational Therapy Assistant: Strong Growth Without Graduate School

Occupational therapy presents a similar opportunity.

Occupational therapy assistants typically need an associate degree from an accredited OTA program, along with applicable state licensure. Their median annual wage was $72,300 in 2025. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

BLS projects OTA employment to grow 21% from 2025 to 2035—seven times the 3% projected growth rate for all occupations. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The aging population is an important driver. Older adults are more likely to experience strokes, arthritis, and other conditions that can make everyday activities difficult, increasing the need for occupational therapy services. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

HRSA's long-term-services-and-support projections reinforce the larger demographic story. For example, it projects demand for occupational therapists working in LTSS settings to increase from 26,660 FTEs in 2023 to 35,890 in 2038—a 35% increase. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

For students seeking direct patient interaction and a comparatively short educational pathway, occupational therapy assisting warrants a close look.

Respiratory Therapy: Where BLS Growth and HRSA Shortages Converge

Respiratory therapy becomes particularly interesting when BLS and HRSA data are considered together.

Respiratory therapists typically need an associate degree, although some employers prefer bachelor's-level preparation. The profession had a 2025 median annual wage of $82,280. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

BLS projects 9% employment growth between 2025 and 2035 and approximately 8,600 openings per year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

HRSA goes a step further: it projects a national shortage of approximately 12,770 respiratory therapist FTEs in 2038. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

Why?

An aging population is expected to increase the prevalence of pneumonia, COPD, and other conditions that affect lung function. Respiratory therapists also play important roles in hospitals, emergency care, long-term care, and increasingly outpatient settings. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

That combination—associate-level entry, specialized clinical skills, solid earnings, projected employment growth, and an HRSA-projected workforce shortage—makes respiratory therapy particularly noteworthy for prospective healthcare students.

Diagnostic Medical Sonography: Technology Meets Patient Care

Diagnostic medical sonography offers another compelling combination.

Sonographers typically need at least an associate degree or postsecondary certificate. Their median annual wage was$96,590 in May 2025. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

BLS projects employment to grow 14% between 2025 and 2035, with approximately 6,000 openings each year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Demand is expected to grow partly because an aging population will require more diagnostic services, while ultrasound technology continues to have applications across multiple medical specialties. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

For students who enjoy anatomy, technology, diagnostic medicine, and patient interaction, sonography demonstrates that a healthcare career with strong earning potential does not necessarily require medical school—or even a traditional four-year pathway.

Dental Hygiene: Strong Earnings With a Shorter Educational Path

Dental hygiene provides another interesting comparison between education and earnings.

BLS reports that dental hygiene programs typically take about three years to complete. The median annual wage was $98,100 in 2025, and employment is projected to increase 8% through 2035, with approximately 15,000 openings each year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Demand for preventive dental services is expected to continue as the population ages and more Americans retain their natural teeth later in life. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

For students comparing the financial investment required for different healthcare careers, dental hygiene illustrates why years of education and expected earnings should be considered together.

LPN/LVN: Workforce Need Can Matter as Much as Growth Rate

Licensed practical and vocational nursing demonstrates why job-growth percentages alone don't tell the whole story.

BLS projects LPN/LVN employment to grow a relatively modest 3% between 2025 and 2035.

At first glance, that might make the profession appear less compelling than a field growing 15% or 20%.

But look deeper.

LPN/LVN programs typically take about one year to complete. Median annual pay was $64,400 in 2025, and BLS still projects approximately 51,800 openings every year over the coming decade. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Then consider HRSA's supply-and-demand analysis.

HRSA projects demand for LPNs to grow faster than supply, producing a national shortage of approximately 245,950 LPN FTEs by 2038. Under HRSA's model, projected supply would satisfy only about 70% of demand in 2038. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

That's a powerful illustration of why students shouldn't evaluate a career solely by its projected percentage growth.

A mature, large occupation can have enormous workforce demand without posting the highest growth percentage.

The Long-Term-Care Challenge Makes These Careers Even More Important

One of the most important forces shaping healthcare employment isn't a new technology.

It's demographics.

America is aging, and HRSA projects substantial increases in demand for healthcare professionals working in long-term services and supports (LTSS).

For example, HRSA projects LTSS demand for registered nurses to increase 39% between 2023 and 2038, while demand for LPNs in those settings increases 41%. Combined demand for nurses in LTSS is projected to rise from about 625,140 FTEs in 2023 to 875,680 in 2038. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

That trend has implications across nursing, rehabilitation, respiratory care, nutrition, behavioral health, and other allied-health disciplines.

The healthcare workforce of the future won't simply need more physicians.

It will need teams of healthcare professionals at multiple educational levels.

So, What Makes a Healthcare Career “Smart”?

There isn't one profession that is the right choice for every student.

Instead, students should consider four factors together.

1. Cost of education.
How much will completing the required credential actually cost—and how much will need to be financed?

2. Time to workforce entry.
Can you begin earning after one or two years, or will the profession require six, seven, or eight years of higher education?

3. Employment opportunity.
How many jobs and replacement openings are expected to exist?

4. Future workforce need.
Will enough professionals be available to meet demand—or does HRSA project shortages in the broader workforce?

Looking at all four can produce a very different picture than simply comparing salaries.

A profession paying $100,000 after seven years of higher education and significant debt presents a different financial equation from one paying $70,000–$90,000 after an associate-level pathway.

Neither is automatically the better choice.

The important thing is that students understand the whole equation before making the investment.

This Is the Opportunity Landmark Sees in Allied Health Education

At Landmark University of Health Sciences, these workforce trends are helping shape how we think about building allied health degree pathways.

Healthcare education shouldn't be designed in isolation from healthcare workforce needs.

And it shouldn't be designed without considering the financial realities facing students.

We believe universities should be asking:

Where does the healthcare system most need trained professionals?

Which careers offer students realistic employment opportunities?

How efficiently can students be prepared to meet rigorous professional standards?

And how can we reduce unnecessary time and cost between enrollment and entering the workforce?

That means exploring educational pathways aligned with genuine workforce demand while remaining focused on affordability, academic quality, licensure and accreditation requirements, and career readiness.

It can also mean thinking differently about the traditional educational ladder.

For some students, the right pathway may begin with a certificate or associate-level credential that allows them to enter healthcare sooner. From there, thoughtfully designed degree pathways can create opportunities to continue advancing academically and professionally while working.

In other words:

Start a career. Build experience. Continue your education. Advance.

Rather than requiring students to accumulate years of education—and potentially years of debt—before they can participate meaningfully in the healthcare workforce, higher education has an opportunity to build more efficient pathways into professions where people are genuinely needed.

The Future of Healthcare Education Should Follow the Future of Healthcare

HRSA's workforce projections tell us something important.

The healthcare workforce challenge isn't coming someday.

It's already taking shape.

By 2038, the United States could face significant shortages across nursing, rehabilitation, respiratory care, pharmacy, and other healthcare disciplines if workforce supply does not keep pace with demand. (Bureau of Health Workforce)

At the same time, students are increasingly conscious of tuition, debt, and the number of years required before they can begin earning.

Those two challenges create an opportunity.

What if we designed healthcare education around both?

At Landmark University of Health Sciences, that's the conversation we're interested in leading: creating rigorous, affordable, workforce-responsive pathways that prepare students for careers communities actually need.

Because the smartest healthcare education isn't simply about earning a degree.

It's about creating the shortest responsible distance between a student's ambition and a community's need.

Data note: BLS employment projections and HRSA workforce projections measure different concepts and use different projection periods and methodologies. BLS primarily projects occupational employment and openings, while HRSA's Health Workforce Simulation Model estimates healthcare workforce supply and demand in full-time equivalents. HRSA notes that its projections depend on assumptions about factors including workforce participation, entrants and exits, demographics, healthcare utilization, and care-delivery patterns. The figures should therefore be interpreted as projections rather than guarantees of future employment or shortages.(Bureau of Health Workforce)

Explore HRSA's Health Workforce Projections
Explore the BLS Healthcare Occupational Outlook