Is Anyone making 100K+ with MHA

[dawn05]

Hi,
I have a dear friend who did his Masters in Health Administration from a pretty good school. He went into the field with a lot of passion and hope for a decent salary. However, he is not getting any offers larger than 55k/year. Plus he has a 70k debt from this good for nothing degree. His friends are making more with just undergrad degrees. He has been really down about this. Is anyone out there who has this same degree and making great money right out of school? If so, please let me know what you are doing or if you have any suggestions for maybe doing something else with this degree like a PhD, which would pay for itself so he wouldn't accumulate more debt. Any response from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
sincerely,
dawn

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[ben_loper]

Hi,
I have a dear friend who did his Masters in Health Administration from a pretty good school. He went into the field with a lot of passion and hope for a decent salary. However, he is not getting any offers larger than 55k/year. Plus he has a 70k debt from this good for nothing degree. His friends are making more with just undergrad degrees. He has been really down about this. Is anyone out there who has this same degree and making great money right out of school? If so, please let me know what you are doing or if you have any suggestions for maybe doing something else with this degree like a PhD, which would pay for itself so he wouldn't accumulate more debt. Any response from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
sincerely,
dawn

I guess it depends on where he got it, some people are making 55k for a 9 month stipend during residency at UAB. It may be that he isn't very good at his job, or he should just give it some time. Where it will really pay off is when senior management is up for grabs, and they want grad degrees. He'll be at a huge advantage.

 

[AspiringDoctor9]

Hi,
I have a dear friend who did his Masters in Health Administration from a pretty good school. He went into the field with a lot of passion and hope for a decent salary. However, he is not getting any offers larger than 55k/year. Plus he has a 70k debt from this good for nothing degree. His friends are making more with just undergrad degrees. He has been really down about this. Is anyone out there who has this same degree and making great money right out of school? If so, please let me know what you are doing or if you have any suggestions for maybe doing something else with this degree like a PhD, which would pay for itself so he wouldn't accumulate more debt. Any response from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
sincerely,
dawn

Hihi!

Well... there's lots of possible reasons for this. Yes, people do make more than $55k per year. Some factors might be:

1) Where he graduated from. Some schools are simply more respected and command a higher starting salary than others.

2) Location: Certain parts of the country pay more than others due to demand, cost of living, etc. Common sense would say that a place like New York City or San Francisco will pay more than in say, Kansas out of necessity so their employees can afford to survive. Other places might not be in such a situation. Example: Schools like Emory have much lower starting salaries simply because the Atlanta region is much more saturated with public health professionals.

3) Work Experience: Some people enter the degree program with work experience on their resume, and some don't. Those who do have some are likely to earn a higher salary even right after they get their new degree.

4) Type of Organization: Different organizations pay differently. For example, consulting firms typically pay much higher than many other jobs available to MHA degree holders. With this however, comes lots of travel and plenty of stress. Some other organizations simply might not pay as much (especially if they are community-focused or non-profits without large financial resources to back them).

5) Opportunity for growth: An MHA will offer many more opportunities for moving up the position-ladder than an undergrad degree regardless of the field. Of the alums in my school, 10% are currently CEOs in hospitals and health systems and/or managed care organizations around the country, and the majority who have been at work for 10+ years are in senior management positions (CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, Director of Human Resources, etc.). All of them easily make 100k or more.

Anyways, these things might help resolve the differences you stated above. It IS possible to earn 100k with an MHA, so don't let him get too down! If you need anything else, feel free to write back! I hope this helps!

 

[marbury]

Hello,

I am applying to MHA programs this fall and was wondering if anyone could give me any advice. I am a senior and applying straight from my undergrad. Thanks.

 

[Old_Mil]

Well, to be quite honest the question isn't "should I go to school to get an MHA" but rather "do I want - in a best case scenario be captain of the titanic?" Look almost all the job growth in the United States since the turn of the millenium has been in construction/real estate, government, and health care. 2008 collapsed construction/real estate. Obamacare is going to collapse health care. QE's multiple variants will eventually collapse the government gravy train. I'm not sure what sorts of undergraduate degrees you MHA applicants bring to the table, but I would be looking at entirely different sectors if I was targeting a career in industrial management.