Strong employment outlook for students of health

Australia’s healthy health industry

There’s good news for students thinking of studying for a career in health in Australia. Not only will they find a broad range of courses to choose from, but job opportunities in Australia’s health sector will continue to grow over the coming years.

Why is Australia’s health industry growing?

There are two main reasons for the growth in Australia’s health sector. Firstly, Australia has an ageing population. As people live longer there’s a growing need for a range of different health services.

The second reason is that Australia has introduced a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This enables those with a disability to access health services they may not have been able to afford before. This will increase demand for a variety of health professionals.

Projected employment growth for a range of health professions

This table shows the projected employment growth to 2023 for six health professions. This data comes from the Australian Government Labour Market Information Portal. Here you’ll find projected employment growth for a wide range of health and other industry careers.

Disruption brings new opportunities

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) personalised medicine and nanorobotics are just some of the innovations changing healthcare and creating new opportunities which require new roles and skills. With this Australia is very keen to nurture and attract top talent.

Where a degree in health can take you

Cindy Tran is an Alumnus of University of Melbourne. She’s passionate about disease prevention and promoting health and wellbeing. Cindy works across various projects as a consultant at Australian Healthcare Associates (AHA).

Cindy completed a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne in 2014, majoring in pathology. During this time, she also developed her quantitative research skills as a research student at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

Then in 2016 completed her Masters of Public Health at the University of Melbourne. Cindy specialised in health policy and health promotion and built upon her strong interest in obesity and diabetes and how these are influenced by our cities and food system.

“I am part of the evaluation team working on health program evaluation for state and federal government. I have been involved with literature reviews, developing methods for evaluation and consulting with clients…. Every day in my role has been a new learning experience. One of the highlights has been travelling across Australia consulting with state governments and stakeholders."

Studying at the University of Melbourne provided Cindy with the opportunity to work for Moreland City Council producing a background report on the issue of food security within the municipality. Through an independent academic paper, she was able to make a difference to policy.

A growing number of pathways available to health graduates

There are many pathways for students considering a career in health and this will increase as innovation and technology become more pervasive in the industry. There are many opportunities to work with non-health related professionals. For example, careers in health may lead graduates to work with data scientists, platform engineers, software engineers and experts in artificial intelligence to name just a few.

Melbourne offers an immersive health education experience

Students choosing to study health in Melbourne will benefit from being in the hub of Melbourne’s Biomedical Precinct where there are many internship and research opportunities as well as the opportunity to be mentored by some of the best minds in the world. The University of Melbourne has a reputation second to none for medicine in Australia. This helps students when they’re looking for employment after they graduate.