Expert review by:If you’re interested in a healthcare administration career, we have great news for you: You’ve got a lot of options to choose from! The field of healthcare administration is extremely broad, with many specialties and lots of room for growth.
To help you navigate your healthcare career, we’ve broken down the different fields a degree in healthcare administration applies to, what you can expect, and what you will need to get there.
Part One Why Pursue a Career in Healthcare Administration?
There are a lot of reasons to choose a career in healthcare administration. You may be drawn to the healthcare field but not desire a role in hands-on patient care. Or, you may have strong managerial skills that can be utilized at the healthcare level.
Some pursue a healthcare administration degree for a more regular work-life balance. For instance, many healthcare administration roles offer a high salary, no weekend or holiday work (unlike other healthcare roles like nursing), benefits, and the opportunity for upward career growth.
Healthcare administration also offers the opportunity for many people to get involved in a role that makes a difference to both individuals and the community they serve. It can be a rewarding career path with the opportunity to work as a team leader.
Part Two Where Can You Work in Healthcare Administration?
With a degree in healthcare administration, there are many different areas you could find yourself working in. Workplaces range from small, private medical offices to hospitals to non-hospital settings with insurance or medical sales companies.
Healthcare administration degree holders also work in:
- Healthcare facilities
- Nursing homes
- Healthcare organizations
- Long-term care facilities
- Health information organizations
- Nonprofit organizations
- Pharmaceutical development or sales
- Health insurance agencies
- Ambulatory services
- Laboratories
Part Three How to Plan Your Healthcare Administration Career Path
There are many avenues in healthcare administration, each with multiple routes that you can take to get where you want to go.
For example, you could begin with an entry-level job as you pursue a bachelor's in healthcare administration. Or, you could transition from a position as a hands-on healthcare provider as a registered nurse into a manager.
Alternatively, you could work directly towards a healthcare administration degree and pursue management positions right after graduation.
As you decide how to plan your healthcare administration career path, consider the following.
- Your own healthcare interests
- Your skills and strengths
- Your weaknesses
- Personality traits
- Your ultimate career goals
- Your ideal workplace environment
Part Four Healthcare Administration Careers at Every Level
Wherever you are in your healthcare journey, there’s a healthcare career for you. From entry-level roles to get your foot in the door to higher-level positions for those looking to make a career move, check out what your healthcare career options are.
- Entry-level healthcare administration careers
- Mid-level healthcare administration careers
- Manager-level healthcare administration careers
- Top-level healthcare administration careers
Entry-Level Healthcare Administration Careers
Degree Required: Associate Degree or Certificate
If you’re just starting out in healthcare or looking to make a career change in the healthcare field, the following entry-level healthcare administration jobs would provide a great starting point for a career in healthcare administration.
Most of these careers only require an associate degree or training certificate and could be used as a building block to upward career mobility.
1. Medical Administrative Assistant
A medical administrative assistant, also commonly referred to as a medical secretary, performs secretarial duties for a medical office or healthcare facility, such as a doctor’s office, hospital, urgent care center, or private practice.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an administrative assistant or medical secretary can expect to make, on average, $38,500 annually, or $18.51/hr.
Outside of a high school diploma, there is no formal requirement to become a medical secretary or administrative assistant, but many earn a certificate.
2. Medical Assistant
Medical assistants perform basic healthcare-related tasks, such as bringing patients into a room to see a provider, taking vital signs, collecting lab specimens, and communicating with both providers and patients.
The BLS lists the average salary for medical assistants at $38,270 annually or $18.40/hr.
In order to become a medical assistant, you will need at least a high school diploma and to go through a certified medical assistant program.
3. Medical Billing & Coding
Medical billing and coding professionals translate healthcare provider’s diagnoses and treatments into standardized codes that get sent to insurance companies and government agencies.
Medical billers and coders are considered medical records and health information technicians and earn a median annual wage of $47,180 as of 2022, according to the BLS.
To enter this career field, you'll need to attend a medical billing and coding school and earn a certificate, diploma, or associate's degree.
4. Medical Records Technician/Health Information Technician
Health information technicians and medical records technicians are responsible for overseeing, managing, assessing, and evaluating the medical records of a medical practice or healthcare facility.
The BLS notes that the average salary for a person with the title of a medical record or health information technician is $47,180 annually or $22.69/hr.
You can become a Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) by taking an accredited program and certifying exam through the Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Association (AHIIMA).
5. Patient Services Representative
As a patient services representative, your role will be to work with patients who are receiving services at a healthcare facility, such as a hospital or surgical center.
The BLS lists the average salary for a customer service representative, a comparable position, as $37,780 annually or $18.16/hour.
You won’t need any official certification or program to become a patient service representative. Most of these positions are entry-level and require only a high school diploma with on-the-job training.
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Mid-Level Healthcare Administration Careers
Degree Required: Bachelor's Degree
Mid-level healthcare administration careers typically require a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, public health, business or management, or healthcare experience.
A mid-level healthcare administration career could serve as a stable career on its own or provide a stepping stone for career advancement.
Here are the top 5 mid-level healthcare administration careers:
1. Private Practice Office Manager
A private practice office manager is in charge of managing the business and administrative side of a medical practice. The benefit of a role like this is you could choose the type of work environment you’d like to be involved in, from a dermatology office to a women’s health office.
According to the BLS, medical and health services managers make an average salary of $104,830 annually or $50.40/hour.
Although you may not formally be required to have an official degree for this role, a bachelor’s degree and experience in managing a medical practice is preferred.
2. Healthcare Consultant
Healthcare consultants are hired by medical and healthcare practices to evaluate and recommend practices and strategies to implement to increase efficiency and care.
According to PayScale, you can expect to earn, on average, about $80,000 annually. However, earnings could be much higher depending on your experience.
3. Medical Reimbursement Specialist
Medical reimbursement specialists process the claims of a healthcare practice. People in this role must understand both the medical coding and medical billing aspects of healthcare practice and communicate directly with office staff and other administrators to coordinate reimbursement.
Glassdoor reports that the median salary for this role is $47,013 annually.
4. Healthcare Human Resources Manager
As a healthcare human resources manager, you would be in charge of human services and resources at medical facilities.
This is a role with significant responsibility and would require high-level managerial skills as well as experience in HR.
The BLS reports the median salary for human resources managers is $130,000 annually or $62.50 an hour.
5. Registered Nurse
Although earning your Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) won’t automatically place you in a healthcare administrator role, it can be a smart career move to pivot into more senior-level healthcare managerial positions.
As a registered nurse (RN), you will gain valuable, hands-on knowledge of the healthcare industry along with important skills such as communication and critical thinking skills. You also have the opportunity to choose flexible shifts that could allow you to pursue advanced degrees and take advantage of an employer’s possible tuition assistance.
To pursue a BSN, if you’re already an RN, enroll directly into an RN-BSN program, or if you already have a bachelor's degree in another field, you can earn an accelerated degree.
According to the BLS, full-time RNs make a median salary of $81,220 annually or $39.05 per hour.
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Manager-Level Healthcare Administration Careers
Degree Required: Bachelor's Degree + Experience or a Master's Degree
The manager-level healthcare administration careers are what you most likely think of health services administration. These roles include positions such as hospital administrator or nursing home director.
Most of these positions require at least a bachelor’s degree, if not a graduate degree, such as a master’s in healthcare administration (MHA), an MBA in healthcare management, or a doctorate. The primary difference between an MHA and an MBA is that MBAs prepare students for roles on the business side of healthcare, while MHAs are more appropriate for the clinical side.
Some of the top manager-level healthcare careers include:
1. Nursing Home Administrator
Nursing home administrators hold senior-level positions, managing other people in leadership roles and working on the business administration side of nursing home facilities.
For instance, a nursing home administrator might be responsible for overseeing nurses and staff and ensuring state-level updates and laws are being followed.
According to Salary.com, a nurse home administrator earns an annual median salary of $125,067.
2. Health Services Manager or Administrator
Health services managers or administrators include nurse managers who oversee a particular unit or floor of a hospital.
Many RNs who have earned their master's in nursing move into a managerial role.
According to the BLS, medical and health service managers earn a median salary of $104,830 annually or $50.40 per hour.
3. Insurance Company Administrator or Director
You may not need direct healthcare experience to move into this role, but you will need both education and experience working for a health insurance company.
ZipRecruiter lists the median salary of an insurance medical director as $118,207 annually or $57/hr.
4. Hospital Administrator
Like a nurse manager, hospital administrators oversee a specific floor of a hospital and may include the role of Director of Patient Services.
This management role oversees everything from patient services to employee services to food and sanitation.
According to ZipRecruiter, the median annual salary of a hospital administrator is $88,085 annually or $42/hr.
5. Administrative Services Manager
A healthcare administrative services manager would be someone in a role responsible for managing other administrators within a healthcare facility and performing duties such as planning, directing, and coordinating activities to help the organization run efficiently.
The BLS reports that the median annual salary for administrative service managers is $101,870 or $48.98 per hour.
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Top-Level Healthcare Administration Careers
Degree Required: Master’s + Experience, Doctorate
Rounding out our list of healthcare administration careers, we have top-level roles that include positions that would be at the top of the leadership chain, such as a hospital CEO or a Healthcare Facilities Director.
Here are some of the roles you can find at the top level of the healthcare administration career list:
1. Hospital Director/CEO
A hospital director or CEO is the person in charge of running a hospital’s business and care operations. Oftentimes, a hospital director will have extensive experience and education in business, as running a hospital will require a business background.
These healthcare professionals coordinate the fiscal operations of the hospital as well as oversee community relations and coordination of administrative staffing and services.
According to the Economic Research Institute, a hospital director makes a median salary of $346,310 or $166/hr. However, upper-level wages can easily reach over a million dollars for large hospital operations.
2. Hospital Executive
Hospital executives include Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to Food Services Directors. This role can vary quite widely within healthcare systems.
Choosing to become a hospital executive would mean being crystal-clear on what is available to you in your field. For instance, if you start with ancillary services and want to reach the top level in that field, you will want to gain the experience and education needed for that role. Conversely, a role as CFO may require financial experience and an accounting degree.
As an example of one type of salary in this role, ZipRecruiter reports an annual wage of over $145,949 or $70/hr for a hospital vice president.
3. Nursing Home Director
Similar to the role of a nursing home administrator, a nursing home director would be the top senior individual in charge of a nursing home or organization.
In an expanded role, a nursing home director can be expected to earn a higher salary. According to Salary.com, nursing home administrators in the US earn a median annual salary of $125,067. However, they also add that top earners can make over $152,019.
Many people in this role are physicians or hold doctoral degrees.
4. Clinical Manager
Clinical managers are often in senior-level administrative roles overseeing clinical staff. For instance, a Director of Nursing would be a type of clinical manager.
Clinical managers oversee other managers serving individual departments and are involved more closely with healthcare executives.
According to the BLS, medical and health services managers earn a median salary of $104,830 annually or $50.40 per hour.
5. Health Information Manager
A health information manager plays an important and very specialized role in the healthcare industry. They oversee other health informatics specialists who are responsible for working with medical records and data.
This role requires extensive experience as well as specialized training in health informatics.
According to the BLS, computer and information systems managers earn a median annual salary of $164,070 or $78.88 per hour.
Part Five Next Steps in Your Healthcare Administration Career
It is important to remember that while a career in healthcare administration certainly will keep you involved in the healthcare industry, many of the skills and responsibilities needed for a successful career in health administration will differ from one in hands-on healthcare.
You can certainly work your way to transition into an administrative career from a hands-on healthcare provider role, but it may take adding advanced degrees and skills to your resume.
Many healthcare administration roles require skills in business, management, leadership, and communication that may require an advanced degree as well as extensive experience in the field.
