CEO Sundays: 4 Reasons You’ll Love Working in Health IT for a Startup

Health IT startup funding has reached $956 million in 2014, according to HIT Consultant, leading to a boom in hiring. In fact, health IT has become one of the fastest growing career paths in the United States. Health IT professionals have the opportunity to earn a great salary, enjoy work-life balance, and experience a high level of job satisfaction. In fact, 80 percent of people who work in health IT are currently satisfied with their jobs. While there are opportunities with some of the ‘big names’ in the health IT space, and knowing those names can come with a sense of comfort, the opportunities within the startup space are definitely worth your consideration. Here are four reasons you’ll love working for a health IT startup:

1. Develop niche skills

Startups provide professionals with a variety of learning experience. In fact, 66 percent of health IT professionals say they enjoy working in this industry because of the opportunities to develop new skills. When you work for a startup, there are a variety of hard and soft industry skills you’ll obtain as a health IT professional that you may not get to in a larger organization. You’ll learn how to effectively communicate directly with healthcare professionals, learn new technologies, and improve your problem solving skills with a variety of projects and clients.

2. Grow fast

Because of the demand of healthcare services, the need for health IT professionals isn’t going away anytime soon. Add to that the high growth of startups, and you can see there are a variety of opportunities for career advancement. As a health IT professional at a startup, you’ll be able to grow with the company from the ground up. And with nearly two-thirds of health IT professionals already reporting they enjoy their profession because of the opportunities for career advancement, you’ll be putting yourself right where you need to be to further your career.

3. Easily increase your salary

Let’s be honest. In our careers, money is always a factor. While in some cases startups are viewed as less stable when looking at the rounds of funding they typically go through in the early years, there is still great potential for you to take some initiative and better serve yourself and entire team at the health focused startup. If you choose to earn certifications, you can potentially increase your salary by more than $10,000. In addition, if you gain experience with electronic medical record (EMR) software, you’re also more likely to see an increase. With the added skills on your resume, the entire startup is that much more credible and able to more competitively base their funding as your amazing work helps bring in even more clients!

4. Improved work-life balance

If you’re searching for a career path that allows you to create balance between your personal life and career, working for a startup can be a great option for you — if you choose the startup wisely. Generally, people love working in health IT because there is a great amount of work-life balance. In fact, 53 percent of health IT professionals say they enjoy their jobs because of the flexibility it provides. As the healthcare industry as a whole continues to grow, health IT positions will continue to open up. As you’re considering the best career path to follow, there are a number of benefits to working in health IT for a startup to keep in mind. Not only will you have the opportunity to experience higher job satisfaction and salary, but you can also count on a secure future for your career. Have you considered working in health IT for a startup? Tim Cannon is the vice president of product management and marketing at HealthITJobs.com, the largest free job search resource connecting busy health IT professionals with relevant opportunities in the health IT field with minimal effort. Connect with Tim and HealthITJobs.com on LinkedIn.