Online Masters in Health Administration Programs

Once you have your masters in health administration, it’s time to start job hunting. With this advanced degree, you may find it easier to qualify for jobs, but that doesn’t meant that acing the interview to be offered the position is easy. Even if your interview and resume both shine, there will likely be stiff competition for each administrative role. If you’re flexible with your location, it could be easier to find a job, since you aren’t limited when applying in the first place.

One of the best ways to ensure that you receive plenty of job offers is to start you job search in states that have the most openings. With an MHA degree, you qualify for a number of positions, including hospital administrator, nursing home administrator, consultant, chief executive offer, chief operating officer, health information manager, program director, and more. Regardless of your career path, some of the states with the most health administration positions, as compared to general population, are as follows:

• District of Columbia: 1,920 (0.302 percent of the population)
• New York: 25,150 (0.291 percent of the population)
• Maryland: 6,870 (0.268 percent of the population)
• Iowa: 4,010 (0.267 percent of the population)
• Oklahoma: 4,060 (0.261 percent of the population)

Average salaries for medical-related administrators in these states ranges from $63,910 to $105,010, but keep in mind that these figures are for all healthcare administrators, regardless of degree. With your advanced MHA degree, you’ll face salaries that are higher than average, in general. If you’re looking for states with the highest salaries, look at administrative jobs in the following locations:

• Washington: $109,570
• Vermont: $107,810
• New York: $105,010
• Massachusetts: $104,520
• Rhode Island: $103,830

Again, this data is for all healthcare administrators, so with your advanced MHA degree, your salary will likely fall above the average mark.

Location depends on more than just moving from state to state. If you want to live and work in a rural area, there will not only be fewer jobs available, but you’ll also likely be offered lower salaries. By moving to a city, there will be more healthcare administrative positions available. As of 2008, the metropolitan areas hiring the most administrators in the medical industry were as follows:

• Shreveport – Bossier City, Louisiana
• Jackson, Tennessee
• Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Ames, Iowa
• Augusta – Richmond County, Georgia/South Carolina

You can also look to major cities for higher salaries. The metropolitan areas with the highest average salaries for healthcare administrators, as of 2008, were as follows:

• Salinas, California: $131,500
• Lawrence – Methuen – Salem, Massachusetts/New Hampshire: $126,860
• Panama City – Lynn Haven, Florida: $125,580
• Burlington – South Burlington, Vermont: $123,290
• Seattle – Bellevue – Everett, Washington: $118,680

If you aren’t able to be flexible with location, there are other ways to increase your chances of finding a job after graduation. When job-hunting, make sure that your resume highlights your best accomplishments, and take some time to prepare for each interview you receive.