If you are interested in careers in medical field, you likely know that choosing a career in the medical field is one of the ways in which you can create some job security. The health field is always hiring, and pay is often on the rise.

Some of the most popular careers in the medical field include medical assistant, nurse and medical transcriptionists.

As hospitals and other facilities seek more ways to save money, often medical assistants are hired to replace nursing positions. While medical assistants can’t do the same work that nurses can, they can reduce the workload so a particular office can keep fewer (higher paid) nurses on staff.

Medical assistants might take a patient’s vital signs, input them into the computer, assistant with filing or other office duties and help the doctor or other medical professionals as needed. Medical assistants are on their feet a lot, so if you don’t like to be standing a lot, you might not like this kind of work.

Nurses are always in high demand and some hospitals and other medical facilities pay bonuses if you sign on to work for them. If you want to be a nurse, you might need to go to school for as many as four years or for as few as two. Much depends on what kind of nurse you want to be.

Nurses can often perform many medical duties that you might assume are a doctor’s job. Most nurses can do many of the same jobs as a doctor, but they can’t make official diagnoses and can’t write prescriptions. Again, this is a job that requires a lot of standing and physical movement. If you prefer more sedentary work, this might not be an ideal choice for you.

Finally, medical transcriptionists are in high demand. This is a sedentary job, which can be ideal for people who can’t be on their feet all day, but might not be ideal for people who need more physical activity. When you work as a medical transcriptionist, you type in the medical notes the doctor has dictated. You must go through a medical transcription training program, most of which last about a year.