Guide

Healthcare Tech Jobs You Can Land After a Coding Bootcamp

Nat Davis

Written By Nat Davis

Last updated on April 11, 2023

Course Report strives to create the most trust-worthy content about coding bootcamps. Read more about Course Report’s Editorial Policy and How We Make Money.

Over the past 30 years, the healthcare industry has become more tech-enabled: from medical record digitization to bespoke software for health insurance companies to virtual patient-doctor treatment platforms to the data analysis behind pharmaceuticals. According to a 2022 report from Accenture, more than 75% of medtech executives said that expanding their care settings will significantly reorient their company’s long-term strategy and business models. Many bootcamp graduates were once healthcare professionals, which makes them uniquely positioned to excel in healthcare tech roles! Learn the skills for these 4 healthcare tech jobs, plus invaluable insights from bootcampers on their career change experience. 

4 Healthcare Tech Jobs

These four healthcare tech roles can be done remotely, in-person, or in a hybrid work situation. They require experience in technical skills that is applied to the healthcare industry:

  1. Software Engineer
  2. Product Designer
  3. Data Engineer
  4. Data Scientist

Healthcare tech jobs tend to focus in one of the following three sectors:

  1. Healthtech (which promotes personal care)
  2. Medtech (which creates devices, instruments, and tools for improved treatment and diagnosis)
  3. Biotech (which synthesizes drugs for previously incurable diseases)

Tech professionals working in the healthcare tech field may also have a background in medicine. For example: Software Engineers or Data Scientists with previous medical experience may choose to work in biotech for companies that specialize in pharmaceutical development. 

1. Software Engineer 

A software engineer may support a startup specializing in a health app, like FitBit or Calm. They could also build provider-specific software, like patient management systems and internal reports tracking.

Key responsibilities:

  • Design, build, and test code for solutions to client problems 
  • Collaborate with engineers and product managers to ensure the right solutions are being made for the right problems 
  • Improve existing tech stack
  • Build reusable code for future use 

Languages to know as a software engineer working in healthcare: Java, JavaScript, Node.js, SQL, React, AWS, GraphQL

Skills needed as a software engineer working in healthcare:

  • Time and project management 
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Impeccable eye for detail

Average salary: $110,000

2. Product Designer

Product designers in healthtech make patients’ lives easier through features like: patient and provider connection, behavior tracking, and personalized user experiences in the treatment process. Product designers may thrive in medtech roles, creating user-friendly medical devices that ease lives. Product designers are also needed to help build out useful features for the latest health apps, like Clue and Talkspace.

Key responsibilities:

  • Oversee the entire product development process of creating a user-friendly product from end-to-end 
  • Problem-solve client issues in an aesthetically pleasing and functional way 
  • Code, prototype, and test products

Skills needed as a product designer working in healthcare:

  • Problem-solving, teamwork, thoughtfulness, and empathy 
  • Design skills, like sketching and an eye for color, patterns, and aesthetic 
  • Front-end programming is not necessary but helps 

Tools to know as a product designer working in healthcare: Figma, AdobeXD, InVision, Webflow

Average salary: $117,300

3. Data Engineer

Data engineers collect data, manipulate it for easier use, and store it in an analytical database. The healthcare industry benefits greatly from data engineers, as they translate data into usable insights to support businesses and customers alike. A data engineer might work at a healthtech startup, such as Curai Health, to empower patients to make smart health decisions. 

Key responsibilities:

  • Analyze and identify efficiencies for standard tasks 
  • Develop data models and backend processes
  • Automate data collection processes
  • Develop and interpret reports
  • Collaborate with teams 

Skills needed as a data engineer working in healthcare:

  • Data extraction tools, cloud computing tools, data orchestration tools
  • Research, analysis, problem-solving, and task prioritization
  • Strong back end skills 
  • Teamwork, communication, adaptability, and empathy

Languages to know as a data engineer working in healthcare: SQL, Python, AWS, Docker, Airflow, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI

Average salary: $112,000

4. Data Scientist

Data science combines computer science and statistics to gain insights about data. Data scientists support business decisions in specific data-driven healthtech platforms, like ClosedLoop and Tempus, and are also in high-demand in fitness and wellness platforms, like Peloton and Orangetheory.

Key responsibilities:

  • Analyze, organize, and interpret complex digital data
  • Translate company goals and visions into strategies and operations
  • Support business decisions through data insight 

Skills needed as a data scientist working in healthcare:

  • Degree in applied math and statistics
  • Thoughtful collaboration
  • Strong communication skills

Languages to know as a data engineer working in healthcare: SQL, Python, R, Spark

Average salary: $106,000

Who’s Hiring: Companies That Hire Healthcare Technologists

If you’re looking for work from home healthcare jobs, you’ll have a lot to choose from! From apps to software to internal business management, tech professionals are getting hired across the healthcare industry.

In IT, mobile and software development, analytics, sales, and biotech, BuiltIn reports that these top healthtech companies are hiring remote workers in healthtech roles this year: Headway, Arcadia, Helix, Particle Health, GoodRx, Elemy, Silvertree, Mason, Path, Podimetrics, Pearl Health, Cityblock Health, Doximity, and HealthJoy.

How to Make a Career Change into Healthcare Technology

Healthcare professionals make unparalleled technologists in the healthcare industry, thanks to their intimate working knowledge of the industry’s workload and pain points, work flows and internal systems, plus the physiological demands of the jobs. Doctors, nurses, practitioners, and medical assistants can apply their insights to improve the lives of healthcare providers through software development, data analysis, product development, UX design, and more. Their strong skills in communication, time management, adaptability, critical thinking, and team management equip past healthcare professionals to emerge into a tech career with ease. 

These coding bootcamp grads have applied their past experience in the medical field to launch new careers in tech:

From Nursing to Software Engineering

“Nursing was a very rewarding career, but was very strenuous on my body! The tasks involved moving patients, which included transferring and preventative care. Software engineering felt like a career in which I could utilize not only the critical thinking skills I gained from nursing, including teamwork, collaboration, and communications skills, but also make a lasting impression.” Coding Temple graduate Jordy

Jordy was a nurse at a hospital in New York City when he pivoted into full stack programming with Coding Temple. He still utilizes his previous nursing skills in critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and teamwork in the logic-driven field of software engineering. 

“My background as a nurse helps me everyday in my new tech job! Since I was once the manager of an Intensive Care Unit at a hospital, I'm really organized and know how to plan. I want everything to run smoothly. Those management skills and communication skills come in handy now as a software engineer.” Holberton School graduate Dani

Registered Nurse Dani was managing an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a hospital before learning software engineering at Holberton School. She still applies her skills in organization, communication, and management to support her career as a Software Engineer. 

“[At the bootcamp], I mainly worked on my final project, which was called Patient Prime. It was a one-stop shop for patients to look for a doctor and see subjective and objective reviews and health care information about doctors. I pulled from RateMD and wanted to later optimize my project by adding information from similar review sites like Yelp and HealthGrades. I wanted to visualize the data to help patients make the best choice about their care. As a nurse, I learned that there is a lot of information about doctors that the general public doesn't know is available to them and I wanted to expose more of that.” Hackbright Academy graduate Beverly

As a child of immigrants, Beverly was encouraged to become a doctor even though she dreamed of a tech career. After some time working in a hospital as an R.N., she transitioned to IT healthcare consulting where she supported hospitals with clinical information systems. She chose Hackbright Academy to learn software engineering. Beverely encourages other career changers to use their past work experience to support their career goals in the healthcare industry. 

From Dentistry to Healthtech Developer

“I was good at math and science, and in high school, I decided to go into healthcare because I enjoy being with people and I'm good at communicating. I loved dental school, but when I started working as a dentist at the age of 23, I found the actual job too stressful.” CodeOp graduate Beth

Beth applied her skills in math and science to the healthcare field of dentistry but was quickly burnt out by the position. She pivoted to software development with CodeOp — a coding bootcamp for women, trans, and non-binary folks — and says it was the best career decision she’s ever made! 

“The field of dental hygiene is great, but long-term, it can be potentially debilitating for the body. I started feeling the effects and I didn’t feel like I was being challenged enough as a dental hygienist. The job became monotonous and I didn’t have the potential to grow.” Software Guild graduate Judy

Judy hit a ceiling as a dental hygienist and embarked on a new career in full stack development. Attending Software Guild was one of her “best career choices”, thanks to a balanced professional and personal life, flexibility, and overall happiness. Judy says, “The beauty of working in tech is that you can move around” from skill sets and responsibilities to companies and industries. 

From Medicine to Medtech

“At that point in my career, it was scary to completely switch careers, but I saw a friend make a complete 180° with his life so I was convinced that a software engineering bootcamp was for me… Software engineering sounded like the ideal lifestyle I wanted, which was working remotely, so I could also travel and have a family. It's a relaxed lifestyle, which is exactly what I was seeking.” Hack Reactor graduate Victoria

Victoria was set on becoming a doctor from a young age but after spending time as a medical assistant realized it wasn’t the career path she would enjoy in the long-term. She started at Hack Reactor as a complete coding beginner and learned how to be a software engineer in 19 weeks! Victoria landed her first full stack engineering role at a clinical research software company, thanks in large part to her past medical experience that familiarized her with the data they work with.

“Before this job, I was able to earn what I'm earning now but it was much harder… Plus, there are also many more career prospects in this industry! There are countless paths to take with endless potential to increase my salary. That kind of freedom is a good feeling.” Springboard graduate Anna

After taking programming classes while enrolled in an undergraduate degree in biology and working in healthcare, Anna realized she needed to pivot into development full-time. She chose the self-paced Software Engineering Career Track from Springboard and landed her first tech job as a Junior Python Developer just three months after graduating!

“The salary I’m earning now is higher than what I was making in a clinical hospital. As an engineer, remote work offers great flexibility in my time and schedule. In the hospital, it was impossible to get time off. Now I can take a break to run to the grocery store or make it to an appointment easily.” Codesmith graduate Li

Registered dietician Li really loved her clinical work at the hospital, but she was quickly getting burned out by the long hours and often inflexible schedule. By enrolling at Codesmith, Li learned full stack programming, which landed her a remote job as an Integration Engineer at Thomson-Reuters!

Next Steps: 3 Helpful Links

About The Author

Nat Davis

Nat Davis

Nat Davis connects to writing to communicate stories, thoughts, ideas, and resources. When not jotting, Nat is a health coach, hiker, youth advocate, foodie, comedian, improviser, and karaoke singer.

Also on Course Report

Get our FREE Ultimate Guide to Paying for a Bootcamp

By submitting this form, you agree to receive email marketing from Course Report.

Get Matched in Minutes

Just tell us who you are and what you’re searching for, we’ll handle the rest.

Match Me