Becoming a Health Specialty Teacher in Utah
Good news, job hunters: There’s no shortage of opportunities in Utah. The Beehive State ranked first in the nation in job growth at 3.6%, according to the July 2019 employment figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Several high-paying jobs in Utah are expected to be plentiful in the coming years, and one of those careers is as a Post-Secondary Health Specialty Teacher.
The name of the job is probably a little confusing. What is a Health Specialty Teacher? These teachers are college and university professors who teach courses in fields like dentistry, pharmacy, public health, and veterinary medicine.
In Utah, job openings for this career field are expected to grow by nearly 5.7% statewide by 2024, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services. That growth rate is much higher than the national average of just 1.9%.
Becoming a Health Specialty Teacher will require advanced academic degrees, but the wages these professors earn make it worth the hard work. Health Specialty Teachers earn an average annual salary of $113,320 in Utah, which is also better than the national average of $97,870. In the Salt Lake City metro area, these professors earn an average annual salary of more than $134,000.
If you’re interested in pursuing this career, Empire Resume has laid out what it takes to become a Health Specialty Teacher in Utah:
What do Health Specialty Teachers do?
We’ve already explained this job is as a college or university professor. But what do these types of professors do exactly?
Other than teaching courses, giving lectures, and grading papers, Health Specialty Teachers also must stay up to date on developments in their field. Most of these professors do this by reading current academic literature, talking with colleagues, and attending professional conferences.
Empire Resume discovered that Health Specialty Teachers typically work more than 40 hours per week in an office environment and job satisfaction tends to be high. 83 percent of these teachers surveyed by OwlGuru.com said they were satisfied with their jobs and they found them meaningful.
Before you pursue this career field, it’s important to know what skills are most in-demand. According to another OwlGuru.com survey, Health Specialty Teachers said public speaking, reading and comprehension, instructing, active listening, and writing were the most important job skills.
In the same survey, the professors said the most important characteristics for someone to succeed as a Health Specialty Teacher were dependability, attention to detail, integrity, analytical thinking, and concern for others.
What Educational Degrees Are Required?
For the most part, universities and colleges that hire Health Specialty Teachers require them to have a doctoral degree. In some cases, a master’s degree may be enough to secure one of these jobs at a community college.
Becoming a Health Specialty Teacher isn’t easy by any means. These professors typically prepare students for careers that require a license or certification. As a result, Health Specialty Teachers may need to have the same license or certification in the field they’re teaching.
For example, a professor who teaches nursing may be required to obtain a nursing degree. As with any other teaching gig, this job will also require a teaching certification.
Which Utah Universities Are Best for This Career?
As for picking the best universities to attend, it depends. Empire Resume discovered that the career field of Health Specialties Teacher is an umbrella term that includes a wide variety of specialized fields, such as dentistry, public health, and pharmacy.
First, you’ll have to choose which specialized field you want to focus on and then pick your university based on that. Considering you’ll ultimately need a doctoral degree, remember you’ll have many years of schooling ahead of you.
For this article, Empire Resume will focus on the best universities and colleges in Utah for the types of specialized fields that most Health Specialty Teachers focus on.
When it comes to dentistry, the University of Utah is considered to have the top dental school in the state. The university currently offers bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in two dental programs.
The University of Utah also has more than 10 different public health programs available at its Salt Lake City campus. The other leading providers of public health education in Utah include Brigham Young University (BYU) and Westminster College.
If you’d like to teach pharmacology, Utah has 12 universities and colleges with Pharmacy and Pharmacology schools. Not surprisingly, the University of Utah is often named the state’s best university for pharmacy studies. Other universities and colleges with pharmacy schools include Utah State University, Snow College, and Provo College.
A Meaningful and Lucrative Profession
Once you complete your required education, careers as a Health Specialty Teacher will likely bring you right back to the world of higher education. Because this career is an umbrella term, your job search will depend largely on what field you’ve decided to specialize in.
In addition to colleges and universities, Empire Resume discovered that Health Specialty Teacher jobs can also be found at junior colleges, general medical and surgical hospitals, and technical and trade schools, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Utah System of Higher Education includes nine colleges and universities. Utah is also home to eight technical colleges, four private institutions (such as BYU), and ten institutions listed as “other” by Utah.gov, such as for-profit schools like Provo College. Any one of these colleges and universities could be places where you could land a Health Specialty Teacher job.
The three Utah metro areas that are expected to see the largest growth in Health Specialty Teacher jobs by 2024 are Ogden-Clearfield, Provo-Orem, and the Salt Lake City metro area. The Salt Lake City metro area currently employs 1,975 Health Specialty Teachers out of a total of 2,367 in the entire state.
The career path to becoming a Health Specialty Teacher can be long and arduous, as most employers will require a doctoral degree. But these professors are some of the most well-paid employees in all of Utah, and the profession is expected to see rapid growth in the future, especially in the Salt Lake City metro area.
After you’ve completed your extensive educational requirements and are ready to apply, you’ll want to ensure that you have a strong professionally written resume and equally impressive LinkedIn profile.
Whether you want to specialize in public health, dentistry, or veterinary medicine, becoming a Health Specialty Teacher may be a wise choice to secure your financial future and settle into a satisfying and meaningful job.
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Maria Gold is a Content Manager/Writer for Empire Resume. She is dedicated to helping educate and motivate people with the latest career articles and job search advice. Her interests range from writing to programming and design. She is also passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
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