If you are considering a career change from healthcare to improve your well-being, work-life balance, and income, you can pursue roles in project management, HR, UX design, cybersecurity, and L&D.
These paths all leverage your transferable skills, so with a strong resume that showcases your competencies, you can make your switch seamlessly. Follow along as we look more closely at the alternatives and provide tips on how to change a healthcare career, manage expectations, and create a transition fund.
Key Takeaways
If you are always burned out, working long hours, feeling unappreciated, and barely earning what you deserve, a career change from healthcare is an option worth considering.
Skills like charting, using telehealth tools, communicating with others, staying calm in high-pressure situations, and multitasking are skills you can transfer to a new field.
You can easily transition into project management, HR, risk management, or pivot into UX design, cybersecurity, or L&D.
If you prefer entrepreneurial paths, it is possible to venture into the health coaching, health writing, and health tech fields.
To change careers smoothly, write a strong resume with quantified achievements, invest in upskilling, manage your salary expectations, and create a transition fund.
4 Top Signs It’s Time to Leave Your Healthcare Career
It may be time to explore new jobs for former healthcare workers if your pay is too low, you need to work long hours too often, you are always burned out, or your employers don’t appreciate you.
#1. Burnout
Are you always sleepy, running on empty, and feeling dissatisfied at work? These might be symptoms of workplace burnout, which is, unfortunately, quite common amongst healthcare professionals.
According to a 2023 well-being report, half of healthcare professionals experienced burnout. So, if you feel worn out all the time, a career switch from healthcare might be a good choice for you.
#2. Long Working Hours
Working long hours has many consequences, including a higher risk of heart disease. Yet, it is a standard in many hospitals and clinics for nurses to work up to twelve hours at a time. Physicians work an average of 50.8 hours per week, according to a study in 2023, and 40.7% of them work over 55 hours.
Even if you are not experiencing symptoms of poor heart health, long hours can disrupt your work-life balance and wear you down in other ways. It might be things you overlook, like skipping meals and workouts or delaying plans with your loved ones; over time, all these can take a serious toll on your well-being.
#3. No Recognition
It can be demotivating and disappointing when your hard work goes unnoticed; you might feel unfulfilled, cheated, and possibly even resentful. Instead of letting these feelings sour your mood every day, you can explore other fields and find positions that still align with your career goals.
You shouldn’t worry about “being the only one” to struggle with this. A Harris Poll survey of +1,500 healthcare professionals found that 84% feel underappreciated at work and 55% plan to leave in 2026.
#4. Low Salary
Low salary is another reason why you might not want to stay in healthcare. Despite working long hours and facing high risks every day, you don’t earn enough to not constantly worry about your finances.
5,000 professionals at Oregon’s Providence hospitals also felt this way in early 2025, when they went on an open-ended strike. If it doesn't seem like you will get a raise any time soon, or if you are tired of asking for a raise and being rejected every time, there are other career paths that you can take.
12 Transferable Skills from Healthcare That Work in Any Career
Your transferable skills can help you stand out in a new field, so let’s take a look at twelve common ones to include when writing your resume:
Hard Skills That Transfer Well
Here are some hard skills that transfer well:
Managing multiple patients, emergencies, procedures, and paperwork
Collecting, interpreting, and applying clinical findings
Taking notes, writing, and putting together reports
Understanding healthcare regulations and protocols
Using scheduling systems and telehealth tools
Charting and using electronic health record (EHR) systems
Soft Skills Developed in Healthcare
These soft skills developed in healthcare can also give you an edge in other fields:
Understanding others’ needs and emotions
Simplifying complex information for others
Making quick decisions and solving problems
Collaborating in cross-functional teams
Resolving conflicts with patients, families, and colleagues
Adapting in high-pressure situations
Quantifying Your Achievements
Quantifying your achievements in a career change resume helps hiring managers easily grasp your value.
Since you are pursuing a position that is likely quite different from what you have previously been doing in healthcare, numbers can make your impact clearer. The key is to tie them into universal metrics, such as:
Time
Efficiency
Quality
Accuracy
Growth
You can use percentages, ranges, and dollar values to demonstrate the scope and scale of your achievements.
For example, instead of “I take care of patients,” which focuses on your responsibility, say “I cared for 20 patients a day and raised satisfaction scores by 10%” to zoom in on your results. This way, hiring managers can envision you delivering and contributing tangibly if you were hired.
If you are tailoring your resume to a specific job listing, it helps to research the company, identify its goals and values, and match your results with those. For instance, if the company is dedicated to innovation, then you can talk about introducing new tools or procedures, like “I adjusted our workflow and improved efficiency by 10%.”
Best Alternative Careers for Healthcare Professionals
These are the best alternative options for a successful career change from healthcare:
Career Paths with the Easiest Transition
Below are career paths with the easiest transition for healthcare professionals:
Project management. Working in this field involves planning, organizing, and overseeing the completion of projects. Your existing communication skills and ability to multitask can help you become a great project management assistant, specialist, etc.
Human resources (HR). You can choose specializations, such as talent acquisition, employee relations, and compensation and benefits, depending on your strengths. Regardless of what you pick, your people skills from working in healthcare will help you stand out.
Risk management. Every industry needs people who can anticipate problems before they happen, so venturing into this field means you have the luxury of choice. Typical responsibilities involve analyzing processes, creating policies and procedures, and writing reports.
Complete Career Pivots
If you want to start fresh, these complete career pivots are worth considering:
User experience (UX) design. In this field, you make user-friendly digital products. This means it is all about understanding people and solving problems for them. Your empathy and listening skills translate into identifying pain points and motivations, and your attention to detail gives you an edge in noticing issues through UX testing.
Cybersecurity. Your transferable skills from healthcare to tech can also shine in this field. You can look for positions at firms, banks, universities, or government agencies. Your experience with following strict protocols and protecting confidentiality can help you excel in writing, enforcing, and auditing security policies, as well as managing compliance. Cybersecurity is a fast-growing field, so you won’t have to worry about not being able to find opportunities.
Learning & Development (L&D). You can become a corporate trainer or advisor, designing and delivering programs for employees, which is a great option if you are used to mentoring residents regularly. L&D positions are people-focused, as with healthcare, but they are not as physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding.
Entrepreneurial Paths for Ex-Healthcare Specialists
There are also entrepreneurial paths that you can take, leveraging your existing skills:
Health coaching. You can offer 1:1 meetings, group coaching programs, and online courses, or create a subscription-based community with scheduled live sessions. Plus, you can select the niche that best leverages your healthcare experience and expertise.
Health writing. This means creating content for brands and publishers, such as blog posts, eBooks, whitepapers, and guides. It is easy to start, and you can eventually scale up to establish your own agency or your own monetized platform via Substack or something similar.
Health tech. You can create or co-found a tech solution that solves pain points you have seen firsthand. Your credibility in healthcare makes it easier to attract investors, clients, and collaborators, and your understanding of HIPAA and other related regulatory requirements means you won’t have to spend time learning the compliance landscape.
Upskilling and Education: What Healthcare Professionals Should Know
Upskilling can help bridge any gaps you have between healthcare and your new chosen industry. It shows hiring managers you are committed to your career change, and not just doing so on a whim.
Do You Need Additional Degrees or Certifications?
Whether you need additional degrees or certifications depends on the career path you choose to take. Here is a breakdown of the options above:
Career Path | Degree Required? | Certification Recommended? | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
Project management | No | Yes | PMP, CAPM |
HR | No | Yes | SHRM-CP, CIPD |
Risk management | No | Yes | CRM, ISO 31000 |
UX design | No | Optional | Google UX Design, Interaction Design Foundation |
Cybersecurity | No | Yes | CompTIA Security+, ISC² CC, Google Cybersecurity |
L&D | No | Optional | ATD, CPTD |
Health coaching | No | Yes | NBHWC, Health Coach Institute |
Health writing | No | Optional | Portfolio-based |
Health tech | No | Optional | Short courses in entrepreneurship |
Self-Directed Learning Approaches
Self-directed learning approaches can help you upskill and reskill for your new career at your own pace. Options include:
E-learning platforms like Coursera, edX, LinkedIn Learning, and Alison
YouTube series and podcasts from industry experts
Blogs and newsletters from companies, thought leaders, and fellow professionals
Roundups and news on trends and tools in your chosen industry
Webinars and workshops hosted by universities, companies, and community groups
Coffee chats and online networking events with other professionals
Financial Planning Tips for a Career Change From Healthcare
To ensure your career change from healthcare is as smooth and seamless as possible, you need to manage your salary expectations and create a transition fund.
Salary Expectations During and After Transition
Managing your salary expectations during and after the transition can help you negotiate for yourself better, know when to write a counteroffer letter, and maintain momentum in the early stages of your new career.
You can do this by:
Looking at the salary ranges for your role, region, and industry at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Reviewing annual salary surveys and reports
Viewing the salary ranges listed on different job search sites
Asking your peers, mentors, career coaches, and other professionals in the field
Joining and asking groups on LinkedIn, Slack, and Reddit
It is important to have a rough idea of how much you should aim for at each stage of your career. Some industries will take longer to earn more than your previous career in healthcare. To gauge this, it also helps to research whether there is high demand in the industry and whether the industry is growing rapidly.
Creating a Transition Fund
Creating a transition fund prevents you from settling for any new career just because you need the money. It reduces stress, allows you to take time to upskill as needed, and find the right fit for yourself.
Follow these steps to create a transition fund:
Sum up all your fixed monthly expenses, which usually include mortgages, utilities, groceries, and insurance.
Add any costs for upskilling, like course fees and exam fees. If your chosen career requires buying new devices or tools, include the costs for those too.
Multiply the number above by six to set your savings goal. If you expect your job search to be longer, multiply it by a higher number.
Create a separate account for your transition fund. It is best to give yourself a “due date” for transferring the money in order to stay on track. If you are still working, you can automate a portion of your paycheck to be transferred.
Resume Builder and Templates for Career Changers
Once you have decided to change your career from healthcare, you will need a strong resume and cover letter. Our AI-powered resume builder and cover letter generator can help you craft these in minutes and bring you closer to landing the role of your dreams.
Simply choose a template, fill in the fields, and download the final, ATS-friendly file that does your professional experience justice. Additionally, you can also browse our collection of 100+ resume examples to see how others have made their career change.
Final Thoughts
Making a career change from healthcare to project management, HR, UX design, cybersecurity, L&D, or entrepreneurial paths, such as health coaching and health writing, can open new doors to flexibility, fulfillment, and growth.
Even though it might seem difficult to leave, it is worth considering if you are constantly feeling drained, undervalued, and financially strained. By preparing properly with a strong resume, upskilling, managing salary expectations, and creating a transition fund, you can shift into a career where you’ll be stress-free, happy, and healthy.
