Careers Beyond Doctors: Non-Physician Jobs Shaping the Global Health Industry
Nursing and advanced nursing roles
Registered nurses (RNs) are the backbone of clinical care: wards, ICU, emergency, oncology infusion, community/home health, etc. Many countries also have advanced practice roles (nurse practitioner / clinical nurse specialist), but the title and autonomy vary widely by country.
Pay reality check (example anchor: U.S.)
In the United States, the median RN pay was $93,600/year (May 2024).
That's a strong income, but it often comes with shift work, nights, weekends, and emotional load.
Career length & retention
Healthcare needs nurses desperately, yet retention is a known challenge. Research has found that new RNs can leave the profession within the first two years at rates reported as high as 33% (varies by setting and cohort).
On the employer side, one widely cited U.S. hospital retention report shows RN turnover around the low-20% range (again, varies by hospital).
In plain terms: nursing can be a long career, but it's also one of the professions where burnout and early exits are common if conditions are poor.
Allied health (PT/OT/SLP/respiratory, etc.)
These roles are often less "chaotic shift-based" than nursing (depending on setting), and can be great for people who want patient contact without being on the ward treadmill.
Physical therapists (PTs): rehab, MSK, neuro, post-op, sports, geriatrics.
In the U.S., median pay was $101,020/year (May 2024).Occupational therapists (OTs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs), respiratory therapists: salaries and demand vary a lot by country and licensing pathway, but in many systems these roles have relatively stable schedules compared with acute inpatient nursing.
Career length tends to be solid (especially outpatient rehab), but can be limited by physical strain (hands-on work) and reimbursement pressures in certain systems.
Pharmacy and medication systems
Pharmacists sit at the intersection of clinical care, safety, and operations: inpatient clinical pharmacy, community/retail, oncology, compounding, regulatory, pharmacovigilance.
In the U.S., the median pharmacist pay was $137,480/year (May 2024).
Pharmacy can be financially strong, but in some countries it's a saturated field; and in others, pharmacists are in short supply.
Imaging, lab, and "diagnostics backbone" roles
Radiologic technologists, sonographers, MRI techs
Medical laboratory scientists/technologists, pathology lab staff
These jobs are often underrated: they're essential, relatively portable internationally (but still licensing-heavy), and can offer predictable career ladders. The main tradeoff is that many of these roles still involve shift work and staffing pressures.
Health administration, operations, and management
This includes medical and health services managers, clinic/hospital operations, quality improvement, compliance, revenue cycle, patient access, and program management.
In the U.S., the median pay for medical and health services managers was $117,960/year (May 2024).
These jobs often scale well with experience and can offer "normal-ish" hours, but in real hospital life the workload can spike during crises, audits, or major operational changes.
Health tech and data (informatics, product, analytics)
If you're non-clinical but want healthcare impact, this is one of the fastest-growing arenas:
EHR / clinical systems analysts
Health informatics, interoperability, data engineering
Product managers for digital health tools
Cybersecurity for hospitals
AI/analytics in imaging, triage, claims, or ops
Salaries here depend more on the tech market in that country than the health system itself - and remote/hybrid opportunities can change the "best country" question entirely.
Clinical research and life sciences (trials, biotech, pharma)
Roles: CRA, clinical trial coordinator, regulatory affairs, medical writing, biostats, pharmacovigilance, quality systems.
The "best countries" here often align with strong life sciences ecosystems (U.S., Switzerland, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Singapore), but pay vs. cost-of-living can vary wildly by city.
So, where is the best country to work?
Instead of naming one winner, it's more honest (and more useful) to rank countries by what they're best at. Here are common "top picks", with concrete anchors you can use.
If you want the highest absolute pay: United States
For many healthcare roles, U.S. pay is hard to beat in raw numbers (RN, pharmacist, managers, PT - see the BLS medians above).
Tradeoffs: variable benefits, higher personal costs (insurance, childcare), and in many settings, high intensity.
If you want high pay with strong overall quality-of-life: Switzerland
Switzerland is famous for high wages, and even "standard" healthcare roles can pay well. One Swiss salary tracker reports an average nurse salary around CHF ~83k/year (2024-2026 range shown).
Tradeoffs: cost of living, language requirements (often German/French/Italian depending on canton), and a more complex foreign credential pathway.
If you want a strong balance of pay + lifestyle + demand: Australia
Australia tends to combine: consistent demand, clear professional frameworks, and solid pay structures in many roles. Australia's Fair Work Nurses Award pay guide sets structured minimum rates (updated Sept 2025).
Tradeoffs: geography (big distances), and you still need registration and often local experience.
If you want stable systems and shorter average working hours: parts of Western/Northern Europe
Countries like Germany and the Netherlands often have fewer average annual hours worked than the U.S., which can matter a lot if "best" means having a life. The OECD tracks "average annual hours actually worked per worker", and these differences can be substantial across countries.
Tradeoffs: salaries may be lower than the U.S. in absolute terms, taxes higher, and language/licensing can be a major hurdle in patient-facing roles.
If you want a clear public pay scale and predictable progression: United Kingdom (NHS)
Many non-physician clinical roles sit on the NHS "Agenda for Change" bands. NHS Employers lists 2025/26 pay scales (for example, Band 5 starts around £31k and progresses upward).
Tradeoffs: pay is often the pain point (and a political issue), workload pressure is real, but the structure is transparent.
If you want stability and decent pay with a big need for staff: Canada
Canada's Job Bank shows RN wages commonly in the ~$30-$54/hour range (varies by province).
Tradeoffs: licensing timelines can be slow; some provinces/cities are extremely expensive.
"How long do they usually work in the profession?"
This depends more on conditions than on the profession title. Still, there are patterns:
High attrition early in nursing: leaving within the first two years has been reported as high as ~33% in some contexts.
Ongoing turnover pressure in hospitals: U.S. hospital RN turnover has been reported in the low-20% range in some national benchmarking reports.
Many roles have long careers when the job is sustainable: outpatient rehab (many PT/OT paths), lab careers, imaging, health IT, and administration can be "30-year careers" when work conditions are reasonable and there's a clear ladder.
A useful way to think about career longevity is:
the more physically punishing + understaffed + shift-heavy the setting, the higher the burnout risk.
That's why the same profession can have wildly different career length outcomes depending on whether someone works in a well-staffed outpatient clinic vs. an understaffed acute ward.
A practical decision framework (what "best" usually comes down to)
When people relocate internationally for healthcare work, they usually succeed when they score well on these five questions:
Licensing friction: Can you get registered without repeating years of education?
Language & culture: Patient-facing roles are rarely "English-only" outside a few countries.
Pay vs. cost of living: High salary can still feel tight in high-rent cities.
Working time and staffing norms: This is where OECD "hours worked" differences matter.
Career ladder: Are advanced roles, leadership pathways, or specialization financially rewarded?
My "best countries" shortlist (depending on your priority)
Max pay: United States
High pay + high quality-of-life (but harder entry): Switzerland
Strong overall package + demand + lifestyle: Australia
Structured public system + transparency: UK (NHS bands)
Stability + decent wages + demand: Canada
Work-life balance culture (often fewer annual hours): many Western/Northern European countries
