Discover Options

Discover Options: Clinical Healthcare

For complete information on assessing yourself, choosing majors, and exploring careers, review our starter tips to Discover Options in all careers as well as the specialized tips on this page.

Healing Humanity, One Patient at a Time

Have you always wanted to help heal others? 

Do you mind sacrificing significant portions of your time for the betterment of others, even if they may not fully appreciate your sacrifices? 

Are you fascinated by the human body and how to fix it when things go awry?

Are you a high achiever in your science and math courses and do these subjects interest you?

Are you interested in helping improve healthcare one patient at a time?

If your answer is “yes” to many of these questions, then a career in clinical healthcare may be right for you. There is a vast list of careers available in the clinical healthcare field, which can be intimidating to begin to explore. 

Some Clinical Healthcare professions include:

• Clinical Lab Scientist
• Chiropractor
• Dentist
• Genetic Counselor
• Medical Technologist (e.g. MRI Tech, X-Ray Tech, EEG Tech, etc.)
• Nurse
• Nurse Practitioner
• Occupational Therapist
• Optometrist
• Pharmacist
• Physical Therapist
• Physician
• Physician Assistant
• Podiatrist
• Respiratory Therapist
• Speech-Language Pathologist
• Veterinarian

Remember that this is nowhere near an exhaustive list of careers in the clinical healthcare field, therefore it is important to explore as many options as you can during your time at UCSB.

Many students are interested in becoming physicians, however it is important to note that the alluring aspects of this career path are shared by many other career paths in the Clinical Healthcare field. Most of the related paths demand less years in medical school and residency, therefore it is important to understand the entailments of various professions of interest before committing yourself to one. To begin researching careers in Clinical Healthcare, we recommend checking out ExploreHealthCareers.org. In addition, utilize the UCSB Pre-Health Advising department and website to educate yourself on some of the paths that interest you. Begin to consider the potential coursework and graduate training required for these paths, and whether or not that is something you see yourself enjoying. 

Academic Preparation

Careers in Clinical Healthcare do not require any specific majors for your undergraduate degree. However, most career paths in this field do have prerequisite coursework, thus it is helpful to pursue a major which encompasses these. Since prerequisites vary by career path, we recommend speaking to a pre-health advisor to understand what your prerequisites are. Some common pre-health majors at UCSB include: 

• Biochemistry
• Biological Sciences
• Biopsychology
• Cell & Developmental Biology
• Chemistry
• Pharmacology
• Psychological & Brain Sciences

Remember that your major is only part of your pre-health track; there are likely additional requirements outside of your major for you to complete. Because of this, it is important to regularly check in with a Pre-Health Advisor. For broader career preparation, we recommend making a Career Advising appointment with our Career Counselor for Science + Health.