Health care workers in all sectors of the industry are in high demand. But no matter how great the demand is (and it is only predicted to rise), it is always important to be smart about financial planning. As you narrow down your choices and choose which health care career best suits your talents and interests, it is important to account for how much it will cost to make your dream a reality.

This means weighing the job and salary outlooks for your future career with the cost of your education.  If you are going to go to health care school, make sure you research how much you will most likely be earning after graduation to ensure you can pay off your education. There are several websites you can visit to research salary projects, including Salary.com and Mint.org.

Thankfully for those considering careers in health care, many potentially lucrative jobs require one year or less of education. In addition, there are elements of the new government stimulus package either in place or soon to fall into place that will offer grant money and other funding to recently laid-off individuals looking for a new career. There are also traditional methods of financing your health care education such as work study, scholarships, loans and financial aid.

Experts recommend federal student loans in lieu of private loans which often have higher interest rates. They also recommend, particularly for the recently unemployed, that if you have been denied financial aid in the past from a college that you reapply after losing your job.

If all else fails, hope is not lost. Many health care fields require a minimum of on the job training. So, if you have some science courses under your belt and perhaps some volunteer work in the medical community, it might be worth applying for that medical assistant, pharmacy technician or phlebotomist job an exploring your on-the-job training options. For everyone else, be sure to have that calculator handy while perusing the college course catalogs. Anything is possible – as long as you plan ahead.