Health care administrators earn a good wage in a growing field

August 27, 2009

Health care administrators earn a good wage in a growing field

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Pay: The 1,640 health care administrators in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area in 2007 earned a median wage of $49.81 an hour or $103,600 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The job: These administrators plan, direct, coordinate and supervise the delivery of health care. Large facilities usually have several assistant administrators who aid the top administrator. In smaller facilities, top administrators handle more of the details of daily operations. For example, many nursing home administrators manage personnel, finances, facility operations and admissions while also providing resident care.

Medical and health services managers held about 262,000 jobs in 2006. About 37 percent worked in hospitals and 22 percent worked in offices of physicians or in nursing and residential care facilities. Most of the remainder worked for insurance carriers or in home health care services, federal government health care facilities, outpatient care centers and community care facilities for the elderly.

Demand: Employment is expected to grow faster than average. Job opportunities should be good, especially for applicants with work experience in the health care field and strong management skills. Employment will grow fastest in practitioners' offices and in home health care agencies.

Training: A master's degree in health services administration, long-term-care administration, health sciences, public health, public administration or business administration is the standard credential for most generalist positions in this field. A bachelor's degree is sometimes adequate for entry-level positions in smaller facilities and departments. In physician offices and some other facilities, on-the-job experience may substitute for formal education.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

This article was originally published in February 2009.