Healthcare job salaries vary tremendously -- largely in part because there are so many different professions that fall under the healthcare umbrella. Some professions receive much higher healthcare compensation, such as doctor salaries. Other healthcare salaries may be lower, in part because they require fewer years of study to become employable. Additionally, there are specialities within each medical profession where the healthcare pay scale varies even more.

If you are interested in understanding healthcare salary information better, a great place to start is by learning where to access online healthcare salary tools basics. This article will provide information to help you better understand pay ranges of salaries for health care professionals, by discussing three areas that impact salary ranges. You will be better equipped to:

1. Understand the wide range of career options in the healthcare industry;

2. Compare medical doctor specialties and doctor salary ranges;

3. Learn about healthcare salary and employment trends.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Understand the wide array of healthcare employment options and consequent healthcare salaries

Everything from art therapy to veterinary technology falls under the healthcare industry umbrella. While the salary ranges for various positions are wide ranging, it is clear that entry-level salaries have the potential to almost double over time as experience is accumulated.

I recommend: The American Medical Association publishes salary range information for numerous professions in the healthcare industry. The Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania website lists occupational bulletins for many different healthcare occupations. Each bulletin includes a job description, educational requirements and salary ranges.

Compare physician specialties and doctor salaries

Studies show that physician salaries for certain medical specialties pay higher than others. Anesthesiologists and general surgeons appear to garner higher pay than family care practitioners and emergency room physicians.

I recommend: Allied Physicians and Physicians Search show salary ranges for physician specialties.

Understand health care trends and the potential impact on healthcare compensation

A job in healthcare is a smart move. According to U.S. government reports, seven of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are healthcare related. It is also anticipated that healthcare employment will generate almost 3 million jobs over the next decade or so.

I recommend: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections report referenced above also breaks down the particulars for outlook predictions related to the healthcare industry through 2016. Monster's Healthcare Salary Outlook discusses what those in the healthcare industry can expect in terms of yearly pay increases.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you are pursuing a career in nursing or pharmacology you may be able to negotiate an early farewell to student loans in addition to a generous entry-level healthcare salary. It is not uncommon for healthcare companies hiring for these positions to offer either full or partial student loan forgiveness.

Healthcare job salaries – like any salary – need to stay competitive in order to keep the employees you value and recruit new staff. But what is the average healthcare salary? Obviously, the pay for X-ray technicians will be less than doctor salaries, but it’s also important to determine average healthcare compensation for similar positions at other healthcare organizations in your area.

Many factors come into play when determining average medical job salaries. Use the following tips to help you come up with basic healthcare salary guidelines:

1. Use online healthcare salary tools to come up with fair salaries for healthcare professionals based on several variables.

2. Search job boards for examples of current healthcare job salaries based on job description, location and experience level.

3. Hire a consulting firm to evaluate your compensation package

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Determine a fair healthcare salary based on job description

If you don't have job descriptions for your medical positions, create them. Things to include are job duties, skills set and expectations. Then, use online salary tools to help you decipher the average medical salary for a person that matches the job description. Be sure to keep the number of years of experience and job location in mind.

I recommend: Advance offers an easy-to-use Salary Calculator to help healthcare organizations see how their salaries for healthcare professionals match up with others locally and around the country. Select an area of specialty on PhysicianSalary.net to find the base salary for the selected position. Add a zip code and years of experience to refine the results.

Compare healthcare salaries on national job boards

You can research all day long and find plenty of hypotheticals, but sometimes real-life examples provide the best information. Check out online healthcare job boards to find average healthcare salary information from real job postings. Keep a log for a few weeks to see if a pattern emerges.

I recommend: Find salaries within postings for Nursing Jobs, MD Jobs and Other Jobs at MedHunters. MedPage Today lets you search by keywords or job ID, plus job type and location to help you determine average medical job salaries.

Evaluate current healthcare compensation packages

A healthcare salary is not the only thing that will attract and keep employees. Compensation packages that include the basics like medical insurance and vacation pay plus added value such as flexible hours, tuition reimbursement and fitness benefits are a key factor for many workers. Keep all benefits in mind when coming up with salaries for healthcare professionals.

I recommend: Compensation Resources, Inc., works with healthcare organizations to establish compensation packages for all levels of medical staff, while keeping organizational goals and objectives in mind. Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service provides consulting services on salary administration and creates custom surveys to evaluate healthcare pay in various areas.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you need to hire a new healthcare professional, the same job boards you used to research medical job salaries are a great place to start your search.

If you've been assigned the task of setting healthcare job salaries for your company, rest assured that there are plenty of reliable salary surveys you can depend on. Most healthcare salary guides focus on a particular profession, such as nursing, physicians or medical device technicians. Before deciding on which one to use, it's worth your while to read testimonials and blog posts from HR professionals who have used these tools and comment upon their dependability and usefulness.

As you search for healthcare salary tools advice and ratings, check out some of the most popular Internet sources below:

1. Consider testimonials from customers who salary tools to set employees' healthcare pay.

2. Read articles in professional journals that offer advice on the most trustworthy and comprehensive healthcare salary tools. healthcare salary guide

3. Find credible surveys that rate tools used to set healthcare salaries.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find out what others have to say about medical job salaries tools

The first place you should check for healthcare salary tools advice and ratings are testimonials from customers who have past experience with a particular salary tool. Many times customers will explain any challenges they may have encountered and will offer tips on how others might handle these issues.

I recommend: Customers who have used Merritt Hawkins' healthcare salary tools give it high praise because of the company's experience and the time it commits to advising physicians about healthcare compensation. In addition to testimonials, consider the leading healthcare organizations who use Salary.com's healthcare tools. The blog discussion at MD Salary suggests dependable surveys of doctor salaries that you should be checking.

Access articles by HR professionals rating the quality of healthcare salary surveys

Find out what new information nursing salary surveys now contain that have improved their customers' ratings. You should also pay attention to the criteria that HR professionals use to rate these healthcare salary tools, such as factors that might have caused the data to change from year to year and how an increase in survey responses leads to more credible salary information.

I recommend: Articles in Advance for Nurse Practitioners detail changes in nursing salary surveys within the past decade that have improved the quality of those surveys. Consider advice in articles at Pharmacy Week that explain the factors that might cause changes in salary survey data over time. Read articles on DMA Online, which give advice on how to read the data in the company's yearly Salary and Benefits Survey. Depend on articles at Medical Device Link that caution medical professionals not to take the results of healthcare tool surveys too literally and that also offer advice on interpreting pay scale results.

Locate websites that post ratings on the most well known healthcare pay scale tools

A healthcare pay scale is only as good as the data it's based on. Use websites where medical HR professionals have gathered the most widely used healthcare salary tools and explain their comparative usefulness.

I recommend: Read the annotated list of healthcare salary tools on Pam Pohly Net Guide which points out reliable sources. Find out why MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey Report is considered one of the best in the business.