What is a good healthcare field in Israel?

amother

Sun, Dec 24 2023, 4:12 pm

DD is getting ready to attend seminary in Israel. She is open to staying in Israel post seminary and making aliyah.

This would be contingent on her finding a suitable career that she can study for and work in. We are Chareidi lite (just to give a general idea). She won't go to sherut leumi.

While she will eventually learn Hebrew, I think she would like to attend a program that is mostly in English.

She is not interested in any IT/computer/STEM programs. Her primary interest is allied health--for example, PT/OT/Speech, psychology, ultrasound, phlebotomy, dental hygiene. She does not want nursing. An ideal job would be something that she can do part-time, is flexible, pays fairly well, and does not require mother tongue Hebrew. While she can technically come back to the US and train here, I'd rather her stay in Israel and train there.

I am looking for suggestions of practical fields that could work for her. NBN used to have great info on their website about all sorts of career options but they took off all the helpful, relevant info. :-(

LovesHashem

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 3:15 am

Even if she finds a program to study in English she is severely limiting her work options. Without a degree recognized by Israel, which you need to take a final exam in Hebrew for pretty much any degree she will have issues working.

A college will have ulpan on site for free in addition to extra ulpan classes specifically to help with the type of degree she is studying for. There's also more leeway with testing as well. If she wants to make aliyah college would be completely free also.

Judt a few things to think about.

DrMom

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 3:44 am

I'm not sure about the qualification process, but as far as working:

Maybe lab tech jobs can be done entirely in English, but I would assume that any role requiring patient contact would require at least basic Hebrew to be functional.

Unless she wants to limit herself to a very narrow range of neighborhoods.

I don't think she would need mother-tongue Hebrew for most jobs, though. She won't be writing essays of making complicated presentations, just speaking with patients about a limited range of topics. Plenty of people are gainfully employed in heathcare without having mother-tongue proficiency in the language their patients speak.

Last edited by DrMom on Mon, Dec 25 2023, 3:47 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Marigold

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 3:45 am

Because we have socialized medicine, while all those careers are stable incomes and there are jobs available, the salaries are not fantastic.

Of all the options I would recommend psychology, but only id she is very smart and motivated Psychology, is flexible, high paying, and she can easily practice in english, but it is very hard to get into the graduate schools ( I think 10% of the applicants get in) and many people are left with a useless bachelors. In the early years, when she is working in the system the salary ranges from 10k nis -15 nis if she is part time, but then she can open a private clinic and make really nice money.

The other direction I would recommend is PT or OT- dental hygienist's, and ultrasound technicians make pennies, I am making more then my friends at an entry level american job. Speech is out because she will be limited jobs wise if she wants to work in english. Not sure what Phlebotomy makes.
Keep in mind that both PT and OT are ok salaries - but not amazing. According to google search Ot averages about 10,000 nis and PT averages about 13,000 nis. They are both very flexible careers.

Would she be interested in Bio- Tech?
I have friends who chose that direction instead of the allied health because the salaries are so much better - if you get a job working in a bio-tech company. If you end up in the system, again salaries are much lower....

When it comes to colleges - look into the places with international- like Hebrew Universty, University of Tel Aviv, Bar Ilan, Technion.Type the name of the school international, and the website with the info will come up. There aren't really any options in english in the fields you mentioned, but bar ilan does have a psychology bachelors option ( you probably would need to do the masters in hebrew). She will need a very high SAT score to get in to HU, UT, or Technion, but Bar Ilan is a bit more flexible.

Also - you need to find out if she can use her aliya benefit of free tuiton if she does an english program - I am not sure about that.

amother

Starflower

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 3:55 am

Sounds like your daughter is planning to learn Hebrew over time (since she wants to live here) but would find it easier to study in Hebrew. I have several family members, who came on aliyah as adults, who studied in university here. They all went to Hebrew speaking programs but a lot of their books were in English so it made it a lot easier for them (in fact they may have had an easier time in some areas than the Hebrew speakers with weak English). My husband for example would read in English online about many of the concepts that were discussed in his science classes. Also, as another poster mentioned, there are high level ulpan classes in the universities.

Hatzlacha to your daughter!

amother

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 3:56 am

amother Marigold wrote:

Thank you, this is so helpful. As far as bio-tech, no. She really wants to be involved in patient care but not in a capacity where she will have to make life/death decisions, like a nurse or PA. (I know PA is not really recognized in Israel).

grivky

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:22 am

I am a physical therapist in Israel. I went to school in the US though. I currently work in the school system and love it bh. The pay in this field is not great (similar to teachers), but the lifestyle really works for me. I work close to home, have off when my kids have off and I enjoy the population with whom I work. There are jobs where I could make more money, but I enjoy my lifestyle working for the school system. Feel free to message me.

amother

NeonBlue

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:31 am

amother Slateblue wrote:

TOURO COLLEGE
Did everyone forget about that one?
It’s in English, located in yerushalayim pretty sure.
Ur daughter should go to seminary through touro Israel option and then continue through there.
She can absolutely do a BA in biology, psychology there etc
It’s full of Americans.

It's an American University with a branch in Israel. I dint think it is accepted as an Israeli degree. Some courses have to be done in America

Rappel

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:31 am

amother OP wrote:

Then it sounds like she's on the right track.

Once she has the Hebrew down, then Phlebotomy is easy - it's a course of a few weeks, through Sheba Hospital.

Some context for salaries: 10k is a comfortable income in Israel. 15k and up is a high income. OT, PT, or Speech will all earn her good salaries, and they're considered prestigious degrees in Israel. You only need a bachelor's, and it's more intensive than the States, but she'll come out of it with a career.

If she intends to pursue one of the above, then I strongly suggest that she do it through an Israeli university which has a mechina track. Basically, they have accommodations for olim: the first year, she would be studying in English and taking intensive ulpan. The years afterwards, she would be studying in Hebrew and advancing in her ulpan. This transitional system will set her up for success in both her academic life and her work life.

Last edited by Rappel on Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:32 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:31 am

amother Slateblue wrote:

https://medicine.ekmd.huji.ac.il/en/education/curriculumOT/Pages/MSC.aspx

This link for Hebrew University should be helpful. If she wants to do OT masters in Israel.

Thank you, this is very interesting. If I am reading it correctly, she could practice OT with a Bachelors Degree? In the US, you now need a Doctoral degree to practice OT.
It also says that admissions are competitive. We have that in the US also and the percentage of people who get in is very small. So frustrating.

Rappel

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:33 am

amother OP wrote:

Yes. Israel follows the European system - there arent "fluff" credits in a bachelor's. Almost all the courses are directed toward the profession of the degree.

amother

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:33 am

Rappel wrote:

That's amazing that you can practice OT, PT or Speech with just a Bachelors. I posted elsewhere, in the US, these programs are highly competitive to get accepted into. If it's the same in Israel, it sounds like an uphill battle for DD.

Rappel

Mon, Dec 25 2023, 4:37 am

amother OP wrote:

It is a country of Jewish caregivers, so entrance is competitive. But admissions gives preference to olim. I've never heard of an olah with the minimum requirements of a degree being rejected Smile