Everybody wants to be healthy, and the field of healthcare is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. Obviously, physician positions are very high paid jobs, not in the least because of the years of education someone needs to complete in order to hold such a position and the tremendous responsibilities that come with it. However, you don’t have to be a doctor to earn a significant living by working in the field of healthcare.
Leaders, managers, and administrators are also needed in the field of healthcare. Jobs exist in hospitals, private clinics, medical offices, and more. If you hold an MBA (master of business administration) with healthcare concentration, an MPA (master of public health), or MHA (Master of health administration) degree, there are some very good jobs out there for you, and salaries can be significant. Below are what we believe to be 25 of the highest paying health care jobs.
#1 Director of Nursing
The Director of Nursing position exists for those who manage the full nursing department of a large hospital. It is a particularly suitable position for those who have a background in nursing and then went on to complete a master’s degree. The MHA degree is often a requirement, although the MSN (master of science in nursing) may also be suitable. While the starting salary is very interesting, growth is particularly good if you also have a lot of experience. The average salary for this position is $173,000 per year.
#2 Health Care Consultant
As a health care consultant, you will visit different facilities and help them to see what key issues are affecting them and stopping them from growing and operating in a financially sound manner. You could design new products and software packages, for instance, that boost patient satisfaction. You may also devise systems to increase financial efficiency, cut down on billing time, improve patient care, and more. The average salary for this particular position is $96,000 per year.
#3 Hospital CFO
The chief financial officer of a hospital is responsible for the full financial operations of the organization. This person’s role is to make sure that a hospital runs in a cost-efficient manner, without compromising on quality of care. All the financial risks must be managed and balanced, in other words. You also have to keep financial records, plan budgets, report to the Board of Directors and the CEO, and more. The salary for a hospital CFO varies a lot depending on where you work, and for what type of health care organization. As such, this may range from $95,000 to $300,000.
#4 Pharmaceutical Product Manager
This role is particularly suitable for someone with an MBA with a healthcare management concentration. Pharmaceutical careers are incredibly lucrative and salaries usually start at around $92,000 per year. You will analyze investments, market data, and product promotions. Those who have consultancy and leadership experience are in particularly high demand.
#5 Health Informatics Manager
In this role, you will be the overseeing officer for all clinical information that comes into the organization you work for. You will collect data, handle it, process it, make sure it is accurate, and focus on its safety and security. This data, in turn, is used for a range of different things, which you will also oversee. Data comes from billings, patients, medical quality reports, government, and more. You must be well-versed in data analytics as you will be responsible for making decisions based on the information you have available to you. The data you collect must be translated into a language that can be understood by other managers, who will make decisions on finances, patient care, medical tools, and more. Finally, you will be responsible for the management of all hardware and software as well. The average annual salary for a health informatics manager is $93,000 per year.
#6 Talent Acquisition Consultant
This role is becoming increasingly important, as there is a strong drive to improve the quality of the healthcare workforce. Your focus is on developing human relations strategies, ensuring that any available position is filled by the right person at the right time. You can expect to earn around $55,481 per year for this role.
#7 Oncology Coordinator
In this role, you will make sure that the various oncology programs and specialties properly integrate with one another. You will focus on delivering the highest possible quality of care, in a way that is cost efficient and meets the budget limitations. If you hold an MBA degree, you can earn around $63,000 per year as a starting salary in this role.
#8 Revenue Management Analyst
In this role, you will work together with the various departments in a hospital to make sure that their clinical information and other accounts are managed properly. The role is important as it lowers the number of denials that can come in. Average earnings of $55,825 can be expected.
#9 Physician Relations Liaison Officer
In this role, you will be the point of contact between physicians and patients. You will promote the services of the healthcare institution you work for and advocate the importance to the community. The average salary for a physician relations liaison officer is $59,000 per year.
#10 Pharmaceutical Project Manager
In this role, you will manage the finances and administration of a pharmaceutical project. Your role is to make sure the project runs efficiently. This could be related to the development of a new product, research into medical condition, promoting a new product, handling legal issues, and more. The average salary for a pharmaceutical project manager is $93,000.
#11 Chief Healthcare Technology Officer
As a chief healthcare technology officer, you will hold a very important role in the overall healthcare industry. The healthcare industry uses increasingly complex software, including electronic medical records databases and diagnostic software. This means that there is a large demand for those who have not just leadership and management skills, but also strong technical and IT skills. Someone with an MBA with a healthcare informatics concentration, for instance, will be in high demand here. An average salary of $121,000 per year can be expected.
#12 Medical and Health Services Manager
In this role, you will supervise, coordinate, direct, and plan the delivery of healthcare to the different patients. You will usually be in charge of a single department, although smaller healthcare organizations look for generalists who oversee the entire system. Growth in demand is particularly strong in this field, and even more so for those who hold an MBA. The average salary is $73,660 per year.
#13 Administrator for Medical Equipment Manufacturer
People often don’t think about medical equipment when they think about healthcare, but it is hugely important. It is the equipment, from the surgery beds to the rubber gloves, and from the medical stirrups to hypodermic needles, that help keep people alive, in the competent hands of highly qualified clinicians. The two cannot exist without each other, essentially. You will be responsible, in this role, for studying new scientific methods and products. You will deal with the marketing and patenting process. A strong focus is on legal considerations as well. You can expect to earn about $98,000 per year.
#14 Administrator for Public Care Health Facility
In this role, you will work for the federal government, which has been providing special healthcare solutions for specific members of our society (like veterans) throughout history. As an administrator in this field, you will understand which population groups require special attention, and how this can mix with the services offered by the private sector. You will be responsible for shaping new healthcare policy, working for organizations such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alternatively, you can work outside of the federal world, opting for jobs with the American Hospital Association or the Red Cross, for instance. An average salary of $115,000 per year can be expected, particularly for those who hold an MPA degree.
#15 Human Resource Manager
As a human resource manager, you can work in any type of healthcare setting or organization. You will be responsible for making sure the right people are hired and retained, that training is available, that workforce development is managed properly, that disputes are handled, that salaries are paid, and more. An MBA with a human resource concentration is the best possible degree for this role. If you do hold a more advanced degree, it is also more likely that you will be part of the top 10% of earners as determined by the BLS. This top 10% earn $99,920 and above.
#16 Medical Practice Manager
As the name suggests, you will manage a medical practice in this role. This means dealing with the front desk, bookkeeping, and personal functions within that practice. You will usually have to report to the director and lead a team of staff on office initiatives. Your role is to make sure both the regulatory and financial policies are followed. The role is not dissimilar to that of a hospital administrator, but it is done on a smaller scale. You will manage schedules, order supplies, comply with legal and HIPAA regulations, hire and manage staff, run budgets, and more. The average salary for a medical practice manager is $80,000 per year.
#17 Social and Community Services Manager
In this role, you will work alongside various healthcare professionals, and also with community organizers, social workers, and others. Your role is to create programs that improve communities as a whole, as well as help to implement and monitor these. As a social and community services manager, your focus is on the community, the family, and on the individual. You can expect to earn around $65,750 per year.
#18 Training and Development Manager
As a training and development manager, you will work within healthcare organizations to make sure all staff are able to access the relevant and necessary training. Many positions in the healthcare industry require continuous education in order for certifications and licenses to remain valid, which is a strong point of focus for you as a training and development manager. You will also have to make sure that the training that is procured is relevant and that it offers excellent value for money, as well as ensuring that participants feel they benefited from it. If you hold a master’s degree, you can expect to earn as much as $180,360 per year, if not more.
#19 Wellness Director
As a wellness director, you will generally work in huge networks that have various facilities in place to support both wellness and health. You will be responsible for the proper management of the program, increasing productivity, lower dependence on health insurance, and driving costs down, all the while improving health outcomes. You can expect an average salary of $65,000 in this role.
#20 Administrative Services Manager
The administration of the healthcare industry is a very behind the scenes element, but one of huge importance. Everything has to be administered, from the information that comes into the patients that go out. Larger hospitals usually employ various administrative managers across their different departments. You can expect to earn around $153,570 per year if you hold a master’s degree.
#21 Health Care Analyst
In this role, you will be employed by self-insured medical groups, or by insurance companies directly. Your role will be to make sure the financial risks are minimized as much as possible. You will make sure that insurance plans are properly priced, by making statistical calculations of external risk factors and more. The average salary for a health care analyst is $114,000 per year.
#22 Ambulatory Services Executive
Ambulatory services executives manage a very specific department in the healthcare industry. Ambulatory care is hugely important, as it is the frontline response element of the industry as whole. Salaries vary widely, ranging from $131,599 to $210,280 per year.
#23 Hospital CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of a hospital oversees the entire operation and management of a hospital. You will usually report to the board of directors and you will have to make sure that care delivery is of the highest possible standard, while also being cost effective. You will essentially oversee everything within the hospital itself, from deciding how often halls need to be cleaned, to how the budget is being monitored. Depending on the size of the organization you work for, you can have direct responsibility for this, or you will oversee the directors of different departments. The salary expectations for a hospital CEO are between $92,000 and $260,000 per year.
#24 Discharge Coordinator
As a discharge coordinator, you will be responsible for making sure that patients have been properly discharged by their physician, or that they complete the relevant forms if they discharge themselves. They also deal with the administration of this element, including the proper completion of paperwork. You will also liaise with the finance department and with insurance companies, to make sure that individual patient payments have been made. The average salary for a discharge coordinator is $70,977 per year.
#25 Hospital Administrator
This is a largely behind the scenes role. You will make sure the management of the facility you work for runs smoothly and efficiently. Hospital administrators recruit physicians and doctors, develop and implement new patient services and quality assurance policies and procedure, promote new types of treatment, make sure government guidelines are complied with, and so on. You can expect an entry level salary of $96,030. However, this field is growing incredibly quickly and there is such a high demand for experts that salaries are likely to rise very quickly as well.
Resources and References:
- Top Paying Healthcare Jobs of the Future – List of highest paid healthcare jobs. (MHA Degree)
- Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs for Healthcare MBAs – List of best jobs for people with MBA in healthcare degrees. (MBA Healthcare Management)
- 6 High-Paying Healthcare Management Careers – Top paying jobs in healthcare management. (Concordia University)
