Finance vs Healthcare Administration BS (skill, doctors, degrees, school)
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Using my brothers account so I may not get back to answers right away.
I am getting my degree from a Community college in Business Administration. Im about to transfer to a University (Either this fall or next spring so long as my Financial Aid comes through. My advisor told me that I could either transfer to the Finance program to the Healthcare Administration program. I am 24 (will be 25/26 when I graduate) and I really want to stay in the area. My Advisor recommends Healthcare administration because most healthcare careers are doing well.
I have also been told by my friends and parents (My parents work for the Federal Government, Mom is a comptroller) that Finance is the way to go because it is very versatile while still being employable. I would really like to work for the Federal Government and eventually want to go to Grad School after a couple of years in the field.
Well I am going for healthcare administration with a public health degree (or possibly one of the other fields related to my major, I'm not limiting myself) and I am taking a Finance course and they are by far very different.
I don't know how it is for Finance but for healthcare administration you have to have a Master's or they won't even consider you as an applicant. I've looked at internships around where I am from (Phoenix) and all the hospital administration jobs (and even long-term care, or nursing homes) all require Master's for even a fellowship. Undergraduate internships don't exist for healthcare administration. And Phoenix supposedly has a good job market right now... that should say about other areas. They are very rare to come by, and usually not even listed on job boards and that many people get experience in hospitals here with connections. Keep that in mind.
Most healthcare administration jobs want people with RN licenses. Some absolutely require it, and some are lax, but I see more require the license than not. Keep that in mind as well. It's not entirely impossible to get into administration without the RN license but it does hold you back because those with the license already have experience working in hospitals or other healthcare settings and how they are ran. You will be against odds without the RN license.
If you already know people in the federal government you should have no problem working for them. But to be frank, what healthcare administration jobs are there in the federal government? Veteran hospitals maybe? I can't even think of anything else. Closest to this are in public health with agencies like the CDC under public policy. I wouldn't consider them the same...
Some healthcare administration jobs will take other people with other majors, like Finance, if you have the experience to show for it. Or the application will say "Master's in Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Business Administration, or related degree with X amount of experience".
You should consider what is more interesting and what you feel you could excel in.
Well I am going for healthcare administration with a public health degree (or possibly one of the other fields related to my major, I'm not limiting myself) and I am taking a Finance course and they are by far very different.
I don't know how it is for Finance but for healthcare administration you have to have a Master's or they won't even consider you as an applicant. I've looked at internships around where I am from (Phoenix) and all the hospital administration jobs (and even long-term care, or nursing homes) all require Master's for even a fellowship. Undergraduate internships don't exist for healthcare administration. And Phoenix supposedly has a good job market right now... that should say about other areas. They are very rare to come by, and usually not even listed on job boards and that many people get experience in hospitals here with connections. Keep that in mind.
Most healthcare administration jobs want people with RN licenses. Some absolutely require it, and some are lax, but I see more require the license than not. Keep that in mind as well. It's not entirely impossible to get into administration without the RN license but it does hold you back because those with the license already have experience working in hospitals or other healthcare settings and how they are ran. You will be against odds without the RN license.
If you already know people in the federal government you should have no problem working for them. But to be frank, what healthcare administration jobs are there in the federal government? Veteran hospitals maybe? I can't even think of anything else. Closest to this are in public health with agencies like the CDC under public policy. I wouldn't consider them the same...
Some healthcare administration jobs will take other people with other majors, like Finance, if you have the experience to show for it. Or the application will say "Master's in Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Business Administration, or related degree with X amount of experience".
You should consider what is more interesting and what you feel you could excel in.
I was about to say the same about Finance, he'll be competing with people with MBA's. OP, what is it you'd like to actually do? Finance and healthcare admin are poles apart.
I was about to say the same about Finance, he'll be competing with people with MBA's. OP, what is it you'd like to actually do? Finance and healthcare admin are poles apart.
Yes, two VERY different career paths.
I would consider Accounting instead of Finance. It will open all of the doors a Finance degree would in addition to some more.
Well I am going for healthcare administration with a public health degree (or possibly one of the other fields related to my major, I'm not limiting myself) and I am taking a Finance course and they are by far very different.
I don't know how it is for Finance but for healthcare administration you have to have a Master's or they won't even consider you as an applicant. I've looked at internships around where I am from (Phoenix) and all the hospital administration jobs (and even long-term care, or nursing homes) all require Master's for even a fellowship. Undergraduate internships don't exist for healthcare administration. And Phoenix supposedly has a good job market right now... that should say about other areas. They are very rare to come by, and usually not even listed on job boards and that many people get experience in hospitals here with connections. Keep that in mind.
Most healthcare administration jobs want people with RN licenses. Some absolutely require it, and some are lax, but I see more require the license than not. Keep that in mind as well. It's not entirely impossible to get into administration without the RN license but it does hold you back because those with the license already have experience working in hospitals or other healthcare settings and how they are ran. You will be against odds without the RN license.
If you already know people in the federal government you should have no problem working for them. But to be frank, what healthcare administration jobs are there in the federal government? Veteran hospitals maybe? I can't even think of anything else. Closest to this are in public health with agencies like the CDC under public policy. I wouldn't consider them the same...
Some healthcare administration jobs will take other people with other majors, like Finance, if you have the experience to show for it. Or the application will say "Master's in Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Business Administration, or related degree with X amount of experience".
You should consider what is more interesting and what you feel you could excel in.
I'm not sure if that is accurate. I have worked as an auditor and later an attorney and dealt with many senior and mid-level administrators with hospitals and large physician practices on a variety of financial, legal, regulatory, real estate, IT and operational issues. I honestly can't remember any of them having a RN license. Some of the top folks had medical degrees and had in the past been more active in medical practice, but most just had similar business backgrounds you'd see in any corporation. The only difference is that there are a lot of particular industry quirks related to health care, a lot of it regulatory, insurance, and legal related, so having experience in health care gave you a huge advantage.
The thing about the health care industry is that is very fast growing (it weathered the recession because America is growing old need more and more health care as it ages), but also has a tremendous amount of administrative related tasks that are only peripherally related to actual medical care. The doctors and nurses have technical medical and nursing training, but do not like or are particularly skilled at the business, administrative, and legal side of things. But on the flip side, many hospitals are government owned, run by nonprofits or churches, mismanaged, or underfunded, so these jobs typically have not paid well compared to other industries. So the talent pool of good, experienced administrators is small and in very high demand. So if you want to get a decent, secure job, health care administration is a good field. But if you are ambitious and hard working, you probably could do better elsewhere and have a higher ceiling.
Last edited by slim04; 05-02-2014 at 09:57 AM..
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