What is the Average Salary for Graduates with a Master’s in Health Administration?

When future job seekers do their research to find industries with attractive growth rates and hiring trends, they often find that careers within the health care industry are highly ranked. These positions are found within allied health care organizations, the clinical health professions and health care administration. Health care administration is a popular one with those who enjoy working hard behind the scenes to improve the health care experience for all types of patients. Aspiring health care administrators often obtain Master of Science in Health Administration (MSHA) degrees with concentrations in areas that interest them and have great job growth potential. Here are some of those graduate level health administration degree concentrations, potential career paths related to the specializations and their associated salaries.

MSHA Clinical Management

The clinical management concentration found in most graduate level health administration degree programs prepares graduates for careers as hospital administrators. This degree program helps students develop keen business skills in management, accounting and finance as well as an understanding of the daily health care environment in which they hope to work. The primary career path of those holding a health administration degree in clinical management leads to the position of hospital administrator. The degree program focuses on producing health care professionals who can create and manage facility budgets and conduct long-term facility planning and policy making. According to an article by CNN Money, the median annual salary for an experienced hospital administrator is $98,000 and top pay is $180,000.

MSHA Health Information Systems

The study of the management and security of health care records and patient information falls within the Health Information Systems concentration. This is a quickly expanding field that is striving to keep pace with new health regulations concerning patient record privacy as well as the general overhauls in the national health care system. The industry seeks to standardize best practices in this area by employing health care professionals who are certified in record keeping management. Job opportunities within the record keeping and health information systems career field are available from entry-level to the executive ranks. However, a person with a graduate level degree in health information systems who has completed the required certifications to become a registered health information administrator can earn an annual salary of $100,000. Technical administrators are another type of health information systems professional who manage the software, hardware and networks of health care systems; they typically earn an average annual salary of $75,000.

MSHA Education

The graduate degree in health administration with a concentration in education is where the exciting disciplines of health care and education meet. Individuals who want to use their knowledge of health care systems, administrative skills and passion for teaching find employment in public health facilities, on private work sites and universities. They educate patients as well as health administration student about health and wellness programs, health fairs and other health outreach services. The salaries of these health administration professionals vary with the specific job chosen. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that general health administrators earn an annual median salary of just over $88,000.

Conclusion

While health administration careers are considered low profile in comparison with clinical professionals like doctors and nurses, those belonging to that career field are often rewarded with challenging work environments and competitive salaries. Work place experiences and salary profiles vary by career specialization, level of experience and job location.