Medical Informatics

Types of Degrees Medical Informatics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical informatics graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,469
Bachelor’s Degree	170
Graduate Certificate	165
Basic Certificate	84
Doctor’s Degree	73
Associate Degree	43

What Medical Informatics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to medical informatics and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Medical Informatics Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Skills for Medical Informatics Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to medical informatics:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for Medical Informatics Majors

As a medical informatics major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Medical Informatics Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with medical informatics:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Computer and Information Research Scientists	19.0%	$118,370
Data Warehousing Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Database Architects	9.3%	$90,270
Software Developers, Applications	30.7%	$103,620

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Informatics?

This major is dominated by women with about 86% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical informatics majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	25
Black or African American	33
Hispanic or Latino	11
White	78
International Students	11
Other Races/Ethnicities	12

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Medical Informatics. About 6.5% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Medical Informatics Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $93,350 to $123,850 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to medical informatics. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Informatics

Some careers associated with medical informatics require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to medical informatics have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Some College Courses	2.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	64.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.7%
Master’s Degree	20.5%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.4%
Doctoral Degree	4.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.6%

Online Medical Informatics Programs

In 2020-2021, 156 schools offered a medical informatics program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	5	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	16	2
Bachelor’s Degree	48	19
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	94	38
Post-Master’s	16	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	20	2
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Medical Informatics Worth It?

The median salary for a medical informatics grad is $108,080 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 171% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,363,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Medical Informatics

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical informatics.

Major	Number of Grads
Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator	80
Other Medical Illustration and Informatics	5

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.