hDemand for healthcare services is up drastically across the board. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states demand for all healthcare jobs will rise by a healthy 18% through 2026 – much faster than average. There will be 2.4 million new jobs added in this time. In fact, all healthcare occupations will add more jobs than any other work group. The increase in demand is largely because of the aging US population and more technology available for advanced healthcare services.
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It is not just clinical healthcare workers that will see more demand for their skills. Professionals who earn an MBA in healthcare management or healthcare administration will have many good job opportunities. If you have earned your MBA in a healthcare-related concentration, below are some of the best entry level MBA jobs to shoot for.
#1 Healthcare Consultant
Some of the best jobs for MBAs overall is in consulting. Jobs in healthcare consulting can lead to very good salaries and promotion potential. Salaries in consulting actually offered some of the highest salaries for full time MBA graduates, according to US News and World Report. Graduates in healthcare consulting in particular had an average salary of $127,000, which was much higher than those who took a regular job with a healthcare employer – $102,200 was the average salary.
The deans of several MBA programs told US News in 2017 that many consulting companies are hiring more recent graduates in healthcare consulting. For example, 25% of graduates of the MBA program at the University of Minnesota try to get a job in healthcare or healthcare consulting. Some graduates of the University of Minnesota can score entry level healthcare consultant jobs with an MBA with a starting salary of $150,000.
#2 Strategic Project Manager
While healthcare consulting is a great entry level job for an MBA, not every professional wants the regular travel that that job usually entails. Some healthcare MBA graduates prefer to work in strategic project management for a healthcare organization. See also 4+ best project management degree programs.
This is a type of internal consultant that performs many of the same tasks as a healthcare consultant but for one organization. While it is true that working for a nonprofit healthcare organization as a project manager usually pays less than a healthcare consultant, some recent MBA grads prefer the work/life balance as a one-company project consultant.
#3 Hospital Administrator or Coordinator
MBA graduates in healthcare management or administration who want to work in a more altruistic career path may choose to become a hospital administrator. These students will often put less of a stress on compensation and are more interested in the type and quality of work they are doing.
More in this field tend to have a master’s degree in health administration or MHA, but there are growing numbers of MBAs in the field as well.
You are more likely to start in this role as a hospital coordinator if you have little work experience in the field and have an MBA. You would possibly be supervised by the hospital administrator or manager for the first few years.
#4 Pharmaceutical Brand Manager
For decades, a common path for the MBA going into healthcare would be to work as a brand manager for a big pharma company. This is still happening for many MBA grads. According to some MBA deans, an entry level MBA can make up to $125,000 per year as a brand or product manager for a pharmaceutical company. If you are a person who has interests in human population health or health sciences, this can be a very fulfilling career. See also 5+ best brand management degree programs.
#5 Corporate Development Manager
Students who are interested in working for private sector healthcare companies with an MBA may want to take a course in leadership development when they are in college. With the right skills and background, you may be able to land a job with a pharmaceutical or medical device company as a corporate development associate. In this role, you can rotate between product development and business strategy. Because of the constant changes in the healthcare sector, MBA grads are needed more for analytical skills and bridging cross functional teams.
#6 Pharmaceutical Project Manager or Coordinator
As a pharmaceutical project manager, you will oversee the development and sales of new drugs, including the launching of advertising campaigns and assembling teams to study side effects and benefits of drug therapies. Many pharmaceutical companies today will hire new graduates with an MBA who have healthcare management skills, IT abilities and abilities to work with many healthcare stakeholders, such as biochemical engineers, chemists, technicians, doctors and marketing professionals.
#7 Healthcare Policy Analyst
As a healthcare policy analyst or researcher, you can work with insurance companies, government agencies and private healthcare companies to test healthcare policies that help to make sound decisions in healthcare and to help to develop new programs and policies to keep pace with changing healthcare best practices, and new treatments and technologies. Healthcare policy analysts often help to create major shifts in how people pay for and receive healthcare. These healthcare professionals also curate and compile data from a multitude of sources to recommend design models and health policies that show consequences of changing healthcare programs for nonprofit organizations, large corporations and community groups.
#8 Healthcare Practice Manager
A healthcare practice manager usually deals with the operations and administration of small medical offices and private health clinics. These are often good positions for entry level healthcare MBAs because they operate largely in the same way as hospital administrators but on a much smaller scale. You can learn how to deal with practice administration, billing, hiring, scheduling, and orders. Then, after you gain experience, you may move into a larger management role, such as at a large healthcare facility.
#9 Healthcare Information Manager
You can find very good work with a healthcare MBA in a healthcare organization and manage the information flow, as well as computer coordination and data management. It also is very important to manage appropriately the electronic healthcare records of patients; this data commonly needs to be transferred between multiple providers and it must be done securely. See 5+ best health information management degree programs.
As a healthcare information manager, you also must stay up to date with evolving IT, current and proposed laws about health information systems, and the trends in managing large amounts of healthcare data. Also, you need to ensure that healthcare databases are complete, accurate and accessible only to people who are authorized.
#10 Clinical Manager
A clinical manager is responsible for the a specific department of a healthcare facility, such as physical therapy, nursing or surgery. They will have specific roles based upon that department’s job. Clinical managers are in charge of carrying out and setting goals, policies and procedures for the clinical department. They also must evaluate the quality of the work of the staff, and develop budgets.
#11 Healthcare HR Manager
The skills and duties that are related to a job in HR management are much like what are needed in hospital administration. HR managers are responsible for directing the many administrative functions of a healthcare facility, such as interviewing, hiring, recruiting, consulting with managers and serving as a vital link between the employees and the organization. See 5+ best healthcare management degree programs.
References
- Healthcare Occupations. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/home.htm
- 5 Top Jobs for MBA Grads in Healthcare. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2017-03-22/5-top-jobs-for-mba-grads-in-health-care
- Medical and Health Services Manager. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm#tab-2
