Employability for MHA w/o relevant health background

[jakegittes]

I'm a law student at a first-tier regional law school with slim job prospects. I'm almost ready to commit to a joint degree with my university's MHA program in hopes of finding a job as a hospital administrator. I am genuinely interested in the field, but I have no healthcare background apart from some volunteering and participating in a "health law" research activity at my law school.

The MHA program guarantees a relevant internship, and perhaps I will try to publish a health law-related article, but will that be enough to make myself marketable as an administrator? I'm afraid potential employers will only see my JD as a detriment; they will wonder why I don't want to be a lawyer instead. If i simply quit my JD program, well, I don't think that will look good either.

Basically, I want to know if most MHA programs have the pull to find entry-level employment for almost all graduates, even problematic ones like me. I don't want to out myself, but I'm talking about programs with what seem to be average reputations in the MHA field--something like Tulane, Iowa, or Ohio State.

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[lalluraja1]

Well if you want to do healthcare and not specifically healthcare law, then leave law school. You can always say you found that your passion was healthcare and took the necessary steps. What you don't want ito do is get a JD (~100K debt unless you're at a state school) + mha (~50-75k debt unless you're @ a state school) and then find a job that pays 50K-- which from my understanding is generally the amount you get for an administrative fellowship. Don't get backed into a corner by the debt.

Unless you have a sugar daddy/mommy taking care of the debt...

 

[Caolainn]

I think you should take a look at why your job prospects as a lawyer are slim before starting another graduate degree. I bet publishing health law-related articles would make you more marketable as a lawyer too.

If you definitely want to be a hospital administrator- then go for it and drop the JD path. But an MHA isn't a guarantee of a good job either.

 

[jakegittes]

My job prospects as a lawyer are slim because 1) I do not attend a top 10 law school, and 2) I'm not in the top 10% of the class at my mediocre law school. In this economy, there really aren't lawyer jobs for people like me. (Yes, I should have known better.)

The loans I would incur by getting an MHA don't really matter IF an MHA job reasonably leads to employment in the public sector (government or at a not-for-profit hospital). The 10-year public service loan forgiveness scheme incorporated in the College Cost Reduction Act makes it possible for most people in the health sector to get their loans wiped away after 10 years of minimum payments. This is a relatively new law; I think, as a result of this law, that jobless people with lots of federal educational debt will flock toward the health sector.

You say than an MHA isn't a guarantee of a good job. For me, a "good job" is a relatively stable job at a not-for-profit hospital or health system (that's most of them) regardless of pay. Will a seemingly respected MHA program at a large research university, ranked in the top 20 or so, usually lead to that type of job? Or are many MHA grads unemployed or unable to use their degrees at a healthcare institution?

BTW, I am at a state school, paying in-state tuition if you're curious. It's a large state flagship similar to Ohio State or Iowa.

 

[Stories]

My job prospects as a lawyer are slim because 1) I do not attend a top 10 law school, and 2) I'm not in the top 10% of the class at my mediocre law school. In this economy, there really aren't lawyer jobs for people like me. (Yes, I should have known better.)

The loans I would incur by getting an MHA don't really matter IF an MHA job reasonably leads to employment in the public sector (government or at a not-for-profit hospital). The 10-year public service loan forgiveness scheme incorporated in the College Cost Reduction Act makes it possible for most people in the health sector to get their loans wiped away after 10 years of minimum payments. This is a relatively new law; I think, as a result of this law, that jobless people with lots of federal educational debt will flock toward the health sector.

You say than an MHA isn't a guarantee of a good job. For me, a "good job" is a relatively stable job at a not-for-profit hospital or health system (that's most of them) regardless of pay. Will a seemingly respected MHA program at a large research university, ranked in the top 20 or so, usually lead to that type of job? Or are many MHA grads unemployed or unable to use their degrees at a healthcare institution?

BTW, I am at a state school, paying in-state tuition if you're curious. It's a large state flagship similar to Ohio State or Iowa.

Degrees such as the MHA and MPH aren't subject to the same level of scrutiny as the JD. You don't have to come out of a top 5 school to be competitive in the sector. That said, it definitely improve your network to come out of a bigger and well respected program, though.

 

[lalluraja1]

Well then--

consider Rush Univ MS-HSM program. Its a solid program, great reputation and excellent placement rates. Check out their site. It provides some good stats.

If you're interested in regulatory work, consider going into compliance.

 

[jakegittes]

Well then--

consider Rush Univ MS-HSM program. Its a solid program, great reputation and excellent placement rates. Check out their site. It provides some good stats.

If you're interested in regulatory work, consider going into compliance.

Thanks. I will check it out. The program offered by my school is ranked higher than the Rush University program by USNews, but I realize the rankings for these things are kind of meaningless. As for placement stats, I'm not sure if the school is the best source for those. My law school reports a 90+% employment rate and a ~$100k median salary, but nothing could be further from the truth if you ask this year's graduating class. Most of them are unemployed.

Did you do that program at Rush University? What sorts of jobs does that lead to? Do the jobs require previous patient-contact experience or work in a health setting?

There isn't much complaining on these boards re: MHA placement, so that's a good sign. But it seems like lots of people on this board talk about fairly elite programs, like Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, or even Minnesota because it's ranked so highly. I'm trying to get a handle on what prospects are like for people who get an MHA from programs that aren't talked about as much on here, like Ohio State or Tulane, etc.--especially for people like me who don't have a prior health background.

As for compliance work--isn't that handled by in-house counsel? To be in-house counsel, I think I'd have to work at a big firm first and then lateral in. Not happening if I can't get a big firm job in the first place.

 

[lalluraja1]

No, I have not attended Rush but have been considering it. Spent the past few weeks doing my due diligence. Its a 30 yr old program but takes in only ~18 ppl. Much much smaller than the rest of its competitor group. I've also spent the past few weeks speaking with alumni, students and hospital managers unaffiliated with Rush.

Not 1 has anything bad to say about it. I have found that unlike MBA and law, hc is about experience. Name brand isn't very important-- for e.g. UNC is considered a no 2 (us news) MHA school. Focus on a school that will give you experience. @ Rush you are required to do a part time internship during the school year for both yr 1 and 2. Internship is @ Rush, paid and provides exposure to senior managers and C-level execs. Rush is a top nursing program, and i believe they're a no1 teaching hospital (per modern healthcare). The classes are taught by practitioners. That is a huge plus. You're learning about ways to solve problems in practical ways. Not just an academic approach. Based on my research, their stats are on point. Its hard to lie about stats when you have 18 people in your class and put it on the official web site. I'm surprised that students at your schools aren't in full revolt if your school is blatently lying about placement stats. I know I would be if I were paying 100K+ and going through hell to get the JD

in the end, it is all based on fit. Do what works for you.