Healthcare & Human Services (formerly two pages – Health Sciences and Human Services) includes many career opportunities that serve people. They range from clinical, technical, and administrative jobs performed in hospitals and nursing facilities to research, and all of the business functions performed in health-related sectors like the pharmaceuticals industry or your local drugstore, as well as childcare, elder care, and more. Learn more about the U.S. Department of Labor’s industry clusters and their economic outlook, and visit CareerOneStop’s healthcare & human services page to continue your career exploration.
Adults using these resources to help students explore careers may also find it helpful to use the Career Journeys Supplemental Materials we’ve prepared for teachers and counselors.
Helping organizations connect with community
Whether working with adults or kids, several jobs in the nonprofit sector helped Devon Taliaferro realize her passion was community.
Product management involves a little bit of everything
Product management gives Corrie Potter a chance to dabble in every aspect of her business, from the creative elements of product development to sales and training.
Critical care nursing takes team skills and empathy
Now an Improvement Specialist for UPMC, Omar Badran began his health career in critical care. He describes it as fast-paced and says it takes empathy and teamwork.
Public health depends on the environment
As a Women for a Healthy Environment Program Director, Kara Rubio combines her training in public health with an interest in the environment to help schools identify environmental problems and solutions.
Marketing is about messaging
As a marketer, it surprised Christian Kratsas to find it’s more important to get the message out often than to get it perfect every time.
Bringing new technology to health care
With her team at a medical technology startup company all working remotely across three time zones, communications is the top skill Sharon Tejada needs.
Health care is more than doctors and nurses
Malissa Seman is a Project Manager with Allegheny Health Network. Her unusual path to a position in the health sciences gives insight into careers behind the front lines.
Unlocking mysteries of the human brain
As a Systems Programmer & Analyst Lead for UPMC, Erica Tamburo is helping identify patterns in the human brain so that scientists can improve understanding of, and care for, depression, anxiety, dementia, and other neurocognitive problems.
Learning to take “no” for an answer and move forward
As Development Director for a federally supported community health center, Ashlee Carter is primarily a fundraiser, a job that requires outreach, relationship building, and accepting the word “no” as part of the professional vocabulary.
Combining music and technology to recover memory
For Rachel Francine, the road to entrepreneurship was paved with family talent and foresight–her brother’s in music therapy and her father’s vision for a technology that would give musical cues.
Taking a leap of career faith
With a background in psychology and experience in social services for hospitals, Heather Rommes did a bit of a pivot to become a corporate Director of Program Management for ConnectiveRx.
Being detail-oriented is a critical skill in research
As a Research Assistant at UPMC Children’s Hospital, Lauren Risser focuses on public health projects in youth violence prevention.
Marching to his own inner drummer
J.D. Waechter had no idea he’d become a Practice Manager with Allegheny Health Network when he started college. He shifted academic focus multiple times before finding his way into healthcare.
Following one passion and finding another
A quick-change artist, Heidi Peters dramatically switched her college major to follow her passion for fashion and retail. After a few years in the field and a graduate degree in business, she pivoted into procurement for a major medical equipment supplier.
Veterinarians and beyond
For Dr. Cynthia Maro, the path to owning and practicing in two holistic veterinary centers has been a “long and winding road” that began on her family’s farm.
Bridging education and pharmacology
Cole Wilder, PharmD always loved the sciences and wanted to be the best he could for his community. His position as a clinical assistant professor at University of Texas at Tyler blends his love of pharmacology and serving his community by providing people with the medications they need and passing on that passion for students completing their degrees.
Bringing DEI intro healthcare construction
Adrienne Miles, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager for UPMC Corporate Construction, advises young people searching for careers to try new things, be well-rounded, find what they’re good at, and look for mentors.
Achieving development without displacement
As Director of Community Initiatives with a community development organization, Tiffany Taulton focuses on engagement, outreach and grants.
Health depends on the environment
As a Program Manager for Women for a Healthy Environment, Kara Rubio combines her training in public health with her interest in the environment to help schools address environmental issues.
Developing relationships is key to developing young talent
As Vice President and Talent Program Manager for High School Programming at PNC Financial Services, Brianna McMeekin finds that developing relationships is the thing she likes most about her job, and communications are the most important skill.
Bringing advocacy skills to higher education
Chaz Kellem is Director at PittServes, a unit of the University of Pittsburgh’s Student Affairs division. Begun with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his career has taken him through the corporate, nonprofit, and higher education sectors.
Manager, farmer, and community builder, all in one
With a job that calls for administrative and hands-on skills, Raqueeb Bey works alone and as part of a team, staying “stubborn about goals, but flexible about methods.”
Social worker stays rooted in service as farm manager
Farming, social justice, sustainability, and racial equity may not all seem related, but in her role as Agriculture Innovation and Farm Manager for the Greater Washington County Food Bank, Morgan Livingston brings them together.
Helping organizations connect with community
Whether working with adults or kids, several jobs in the nonprofit sector helped Devon Taliaferro realize her passion was community.
What it takes to engage communities
A Community Engagement Manager for any organization will need to write and talk a lot. The job takes someone who is comfortable interacting with people regularly, which is exactly what Rose Flowers does in her work for Nine Mile Run Watershed Association.
Learning what a community needs and wants
The mantra of an Environmental Justice Organizer like Kat Bakrania is “Follow the money, confront the power, make the change!”
Strengthening connections between high school, higher ed, and community
As Director of Programs & Policy Implementation for Northern Illinois University’s Education Systems Center, Edith Njuguna works to strengthen the alignment between high schools and higher ed.
Transferrable skills can help redirect a career
Training and working as a librarian helped Alison Altemus build skills to move in an entirely different career direction. She’s now working as a Grants Manager for Eden Hall Foundation.
Promoting Race & Gender Equity
When she majored in dance, Barbara Johnson had no idea she’d find herself working in the fields of diversity and inclusion.
She’s not in the classroom, but teaching remains a part of her work
Trained as a teacher, Aimee LeFevers calls herself “The Accidental Executive Director.” But her role at Family Resources combines two of her interests–creating systems and working with vulnerable populations.
A political science major finds his way to nonprofit service
A chance encounter waiting tables at the Duquesne Club taught Jaron Paul the value of networking and led him to his job as an Operations Associate at APOST-United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Advocating for people and their environments
As Sustainable Communities Director for the Green Building Alliance, Alyssa Lyon is passionate about advancing environmental justice and ensuring that marginalized people and neighborhoods get the amenities and resources they need.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Click the button below to receive updates on all of our video content.
