Feature Image by PhotoMIX Company via Pexels
Healthcare technologies are a growing industry that has a large influence on the quality of life of the general population, thus the consumer base. The companies found within the industry usually aim to make certain aspects of healthcare more accessible as well as understandable, though there are brands that focus on B2C and take advantage of heavy consumer marketing.
Many individuals who don’t have much history within the tech industry have found success in health tech thanks to the nature of the job needing creativity as an important trait.
Why is health technology important?
Healthcare technology is tech that uses innovative approaches to facilitate general healthcare, including the jobs of healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses. Technology aiding in making diagnoses or monitoring conditions all are steps toward an elevated future in health and medicine.
Every medical procedure or thing we do nowadays involves technology, from heart rate monitors to scans, diagnosing, and so on. The influence digitalization has had on our healthcare system is ever growing and its importance has become rooted in keeping us healthy.
The positive effects health tech has had so far are decreased wait times thus decreasing the load that is put on healthcare systems, increased patient responsibility and self-care regarding health, increased less-invasive methods for healing, increased general prevention for ailments through campaigns and education, and increased accuracy.
Why consider health tech for your career?
Providing new perspectives in the industry
Even if you haven’t been tech-savvy your whole life, past experiences that have been versatile can give you an advantage over those who have become accustomed to the tech world’s workings.
Experience in health will be your ticket to finding success in health tech since a healthcare worker knows what patients need from hands-on experience, whereas a software engineer would be clueless about what a patient or doctor would need to facilitate their lives and jobs.
This industry also has many opportunities for growth and promotion thanks to it being a combination of two massive sectors. Both areas of the economy are expected to grow over 10% yearly, meaning information technology and healthcare are some of the best jobs for a career change.
With decreasing numbers of healthcare workers feeling the brunt of the systems falling upon their shoulders, technology is bound to pick up the slack to keep the whole system functioning efficiently without burning out healthcare workers any further.
Wages and further career opportunities
Your specific job in health tech heavily influences the wage and success you will receive in this industry, especially since, in the beginning, you won’t be earning any big bucks, especially when working at startups and so on. This industry is set to grow and keep growing, as mentioned above, giving this career choice high stability in the long-term of things.
In a sector focused on science, you also have to keep in mind how you will always continue learning new things no matter what. When commencing a new project, your first few weeks will be simply researching clinical papers and past studies to formulate a specific idea, understand a disease, run through interventions, and so on.
If you have a passion for biology and medicine, the constant learning curve you will find yourself pursuing will further inspire you and ignite a passion for this innovative field.
Image by Karolina Grabowska via Pexels
Emotional rewards and patient success stories
Health tech massively involves helping people, meaning this drive for innovation and helpfulness should be some of your prime motivators before even entering this industry. The devices and software that are produced by health tech are items that directly impact the lives of patients and healthcare professionals and can even save them.
The different forms of aid these devices provide range from smartwatches that monitor heart rates to notice asymptomatic arrhythmia to software for patient medical history to be easily organizable and accessible for workers. There are also bigger causes health tech is involved in, such as the opioid epidemic by addressing it and monitoring medicines for chronic pain.
Seeing a project you and your team worked on to reach market success is also a rewarding feeling that is hard to imitate.
Connections and relevance
Healthcare technologies comprise a tighter-knit community than other wings found in tech since it is a more specialized and passion-driven career. All workers within health tech tend to want to save lives or increase the quality of lives. Thanks to this, working in this industry is highly emotionally rewarding for most workers.
Mentoring
If you are a person who likes spreading correct information and nurturing other brains to succeed and become educated, health tech offers opportunities for mentoring newcomers as well as working together. You have the choice to encourage people working in either tech or healthcare to transition to your industry since many are scared of making the change.
Health tech summarized
If you are a driven, well-educated person who has an interest in better causes and has a strong sense of self, then going into health tech is the choice for you.