When people talk about a career in healthcare, they’re often referring to nurses, physicians and other medical professionals. The healthcare industry is the leading employer in the United States with job growth that’s expected to continue to increase in the future. These organizations need a wide range of professionals to maintain the business continuity and help patients with all aspects of their care.
If you’re considering a career in the healthcare industry but don’t want to work directly with medical care, healthcare administration offers an exciting career path. Office and administrative professionals are in high demand in the healthcare industry, so job security and benefits are often excellent. It’s also a very rewarding field where your experience and contributions make a large difference to the many people you deal with throughout your day.
Healthcare is the largest industry in the country and that trend will continue for decades to come. Employment opportunities in the field are not strictly limited to medical professionals. Organizations also need administrators and professionals with an expertise in various business disciplines in order to flourish and serve their patients.
Here are a few benefits to a career as a healthcare administrator:
- Excellent Earning Potential. While there are a number of considerations when choosing a career path, earning potential is often prioritized. Healthcare administrators do have excellent earning potential with opportunities for growth and advancement throughout their career.
- An Abundance of Open Positions. Healthcare is expanding faster than professionals are entering the field to fill the open positions. This is true in all aspects of the industry, including administration.
- Lower Education Costs. To pursue a career as a healthcare administrator, a bachelor’s degree is often mandatory to enter the field. Many professionals will also gain experience through entry level positions while pursuing their degree to advance – an Administrative Assistant often only needs a high school diploma to start.
- Fulfilling Career Opportunities. Healthcare professionals often mention that their career path is fulfilling personally because they have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. This is also true for those on the administrative side. Depending on the type of position, your contributions can impact individual patients and the success of the organization.
- Variety of Types of Organizations. A career in healthcare administration might mean working in a hospital, but you can choose other types of facilities that suit you. Some possibilities include nursing homes, private practices, small or large clinics, and home healthcare agencies.
- Ability to Specialize in Set Departments. Many healthcare professionals specialize in a set field. For healthcare administrators, there’s the ability to choose a specific department that most suits your experience and skill set. Options might include legal, financial and IT.
- Versatility and Ability to Use Skills and Previous Experience. Not everyone who enters healthcare administration followed a straight career path to get there. Some people had a background in business administration but found that healthcare was a worthwhile industry that could use their expertise. Some professionals started in IT or marketing, while others started with a career in nursing or other medical related fields. Because healthcare administration combines business disciplines with healthcare, a variety of previous work experiences and education focuses can inform your growth in this field.
If you’re interested in a rewarding career in healthcare but don’t want to pursue a medical degree, administration might be just the right choice for you.