Healthcare Administration Jobs: 10 Careers, What They Pay, and How to Get Hired

TL;DR

• Healthcare administration jobs are the business side of healthcare: running practices and hospital departments, billing, data, compliance, IT and consulting. BLS projects medical and health services manager jobs to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with a 2025 median pay of $123,860.

• This guide covers 10 non-clinical roles, from entry-level records and billing jobs to manager and analyst roles.

• You'll see 2025 pay by employer type. Insurers and hospitals pay the most, while nursing homes and physician offices pay less.

• You'll get a plan to land your first role or administrative internship, plus a list of programs to apply to.

Externships are short, remote professional experience programs where you work on real projects for real companies, with guidance from people in the field. The TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics Externship gives you hands-on healthcare data work you can show a hiring manager. Explore all Externships.

What Do Healthcare Administration Jobs Actually Involve?

Healthcare administration is the business side of healthcare. These jobs keep hospitals, clinics, insurers and nursing homes running: scheduling, billing, budgets, data, compliance, technology and staffing. You don't treat patients. You make sure the people who do have what they need.

That covers more employers than most students expect. Hospitals and physician practices are the obvious ones. But health insurers, nursing and home health companies, health tech firms, consulting firms and government agencies all hire for the same skills.

And demand is strong. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 640,400 medical and health services manager jobs in 2025 and projects 24% growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. The reason is simple, according to BLS: "an aging population will increase the demand for healthcare services."

Here's what we've noticed in thousands of one-on-one sessions with students who want to work in healthcare without becoming a doctor or nurse. Most of them don't know these jobs exist until junior or senior year. The ones who get hired early usually picked a lane (data, operations or finance) and built one project in it before they applied.

What Are the Best Healthcare Administration Jobs?

Here are 10 non-clinical roles that hire healthcare administration grads, plus business, finance and data majors. Pay figures come from BLS, including industry-level data from its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025).

Medical and Health Services Manager

Medical and health services managers plan and run the business side of a hospital department, clinic or entire facility. They manage budgets, staff schedules, quality goals and regulations. Titles include department manager, clinic manager and director of operations.

BLS lists a 2025 median of $123,860 and 24% projected growth through 2035, one of the fastest rates of any management job. A bachelor's degree is the typical entry requirement, though BLS notes some employers prefer a master's. Most people reach this role after a few years in an administrative or clinical support job.

Physician Practice Manager

Practice managers run the business of a doctor's office or group practice: hiring front-desk staff, managing billing, negotiating with vendors and keeping the schedule full. In a small practice, you're basically the COO.

Health services managers in physician offices earned a median of $105,770 in May 2025, according to BLS industry data. It's a strong path if you like variety and want responsibility fast, because practices are small enough that you see every part of the business.

Nursing Home and Long-Term Care Administrator

Long-term care administrators run nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They oversee staff, budgets, inspections and resident services. It's a demanding job, and the aging population means these facilities aren't going anywhere.

This is the one role on the list with a hard licensing rule. BLS states that "all states require licensure for nursing home administrators," with requirements that vary by state. Health services managers in nursing and residential care earned a median of $100,520 in May 2025.

Healthcare Data Analyst

Healthcare data analysts turn patient volumes, claims, costs and outcomes into decisions: which clinic needs more staff, which treatments cost too much, where patients drop off. SQL, Excel and a dashboard tool are the core kit.

BLS doesn't track a separate healthcare data analyst category, but data scientists earned a median of $101,520 in hospitals and $107,680 at insurance carriers in May 2025. Want a project to point to? The TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics Externship has you work with real healthcare data for a company that builds software for community hospitals.

Revenue Cycle and Healthcare Financial Analyst

Revenue cycle teams make sure a hospital actually gets paid: coding, billing, claims, denials and collections. Financial analysts sit on top of that, forecasting budgets and finding where money leaks out.

Billing and posting clerks in hospitals earned a median of $48,960 in May 2025, and it's one of the most common entry doors. Financial analysts in hospitals earned $92,520. So you can start in billing, learn how money moves through a health system, then move into analysis.

Medical Records and Health Information Specialist

Medical records specialists organize, code and protect patient files. Accuracy matters here, because these records drive billing, insurance claims and patient safety.

BLS reports a 2025 median of $51,140 for medical records specialists, with 8% projected growth through 2035 and about 14,000 openings a year. Hospitals pay more than average for this work ($59,120), and the typical entry requirement is a postsecondary certificate, not a four-year degree.

Healthcare Compliance Officer

Compliance officers make sure a healthcare organization follows the rules: privacy laws like HIPAA, billing regulations and accreditation standards. When something goes wrong, they lead the investigation.

Compliance officers in hospitals earned a median of $83,100 in May 2025, slightly above the all-industry median of $80,730. Most move into compliance after starting in billing, audit or health information roles.

Healthcare Consultant

Healthcare consultants help hospitals, insurers and life sciences companies fix problems like long wait times, rising costs or a messy merger. It's fast, project-based work with a lot of travel at some firms.

BLS groups this with management analysts, who earned a median of $101,860 in 2025 with 10% projected growth. If this is your lane, our healthcare consulting internships guide tracks which firms hire students and when.

Health IT and Informatics Analyst

Health IT analysts set up and improve the systems hospitals run on: electronic health records, scheduling tools and patient portals. They translate between clinical staff and software teams.

Computer systems analysts in hospitals earned a median of $102,310 in May 2025. Many start by learning one major records system, and Epic Systems is the name you'll see most in job posts.

Medical Administrative Assistant and Patient Services

Patient services and medical administrative roles are the front door of healthcare: scheduling, registration, insurance verification and answering patient questions. They're also the fastest way to get inside a health system.

Medical secretaries and administrative assistants earned a median of $45,930 in 2025. BLS projects 5% growth for them through 2035, while secretaries overall are projected to decline 2%. Healthcare is one of the few places where admin jobs are still growing.

How Much Do Healthcare Administration Jobs Pay?

Healthcare administration pay ranges from about $46,000 for administrative assistants to well over $120,000 for health services managers, based on 2025 BLS data. But where you work matters as much as what you do, and the employer type can swing pay by tens of thousands of dollars.

Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025 medians and 2025-35 projections) and BLS OEWS industry data, May 2025. "n/a" means BLS doesn't publish a projection for that exact category.

So here's the biggest surprise: the payer premium. Health services managers at insurance carriers earned a median of $166,120, about $33,000 more than in hospitals and $66,000 more than in nursing and residential care ($100,520). Insurers also pay more for records, billing and admin roles. If pay is your priority, don't only look at hospitals.

But there's a catch. Insurers employ far fewer health services managers (about 10,200) than hospitals (about 175,600), so there are fewer seats. And for data roles the pattern flips: data scientists earn less in hospitals than the all-industry median, which is worth knowing if you're choosing between a health system and a tech company.

Do You Need a Master's for Healthcare Administration Jobs?

No, not to start. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry requirement for health services managers, and several roles above need even less. A master's (usually an MHA or MBA) matters more later, when you're aiming for director and executive roles.

What a Bachelor's Gets You

• Entry-level roles right away. Patient services, billing, records, scheduling and coordinator jobs hire bachelor's grads, and some only need a certificate.

• Analyst roles with the right skills. Data, finance and IT analyst jobs care more about SQL, Excel and systems experience than about the name of your degree.

• A real shot at manager roles later. BLS notes that prospective managers "typically need work experience in an administrative or clinical role," which you can build in your first job.

When an MHA or Administrative Fellowship Pays Off

• For leadership tracks. BLS says some employers prefer a master's, and that preference gets stronger at large hospital systems.

• For administrative fellowships. These are paid, one- to two-year rotations for recent MHA or MBA grads, and many health systems use them to train future executives. The American College of Healthcare Executives keeps a directory of administrative fellowships.

• Not as a substitute for experience. A master's with zero work experience is a harder sell than a bachelor's plus two years in operations.

Still deciding between fields? Our public health degree guide covers the population-health side, which overlaps with administration at many employers.

How Do You Land an Entry-Level Healthcare Administration Job?

You land your first healthcare administration job by getting inside a healthcare organization in any business role, then moving toward the lane you want. Here's the order that works for most students.

1. Pick a lane. Operations, finance, data or IT. Each one leads to different first jobs and different skills.

2. Apply to administrative internships early. Health systems like Mayo Clinic and Emory run structured summer programs, and many fill in the fall or winter. Use the table below.

3. Take a foot-in-the-door role. Patient access, scheduling, billing and records jobs get you inside a health system, where internal transfers are common.

4. Build one healthcare project. A data analysis, a process map or a cost study shows you can do the work. The TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics Externship is built for exactly this.

5. Learn the systems. Basic familiarity with an electronic health record, medical terminology and HIPAA rules puts you ahead of other new grads.

6. Network with intent. Use informational interview questions to talk to people in the department you want, not just HR.

Ready to apply? These guides cover timelines, roles and application tips for the healthcare employers students ask us about most.

If you lean toward the drug and device side, our biotech and pharma internships guide covers the business roles there too.

Does one project really make a difference? The evidence points that way.

• Students want it. Data analytics was the top field Extern students said they want to explore next, chosen by 21.1% in our 2026 post-program survey.

• Skills travel. Erika completed the TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics Externship and went on to become an RME Planner at JLL, using the same data skills in a different industry.

• Employers ask for it. BLS notes that future managers typically need prior administrative or clinical work experience, so starting early compounds.

So the takeaway: a project you can show beats a degree you can only list.

Which Skills Get You Hired in Healthcare Administration?

Healthcare employers hire administration grads for data, finance, systems, compliance and communication skills. Knowing medical terminology helps, but it isn't what separates candidates. Proof that you can analyze, organize and explain is, and the table shows how to prove each skill as a student.

What about AI? It's already taking over routine scheduling, coding and paperwork, which is why the analysis and judgment skills above matter more each year. Our guide to whether AI will replace healthcare jobs breaks down which roles are most exposed.

And the good news is that none of these skills require a hospital job first. You can build them in class, in a campus role or in a remote project, then bring them to your first interview. If you want a head start before spring hiring, browse open Externships and pick one in the lane you chose.

FAQ: Healthcare Administration Jobs

What is the highest paying healthcare administration job?

Medical and health services manager is the highest paying common role, with a 2025 BLS median of $123,860. Where you work changes the number a lot: managers at insurance carriers earned $166,120 in May 2025, compared with $133,580 in hospitals and $100,520 in nursing and residential care.

Can you get a healthcare administration job with no experience?

Yes. Patient services, scheduling, billing and medical records roles hire people with little or no experience, and some only need a certificate. Use one of those jobs to get inside a health system, then add a data or operations project so you can move into analyst or coordinator roles.

Is a healthcare administration degree worth it?

It's worth it if you want the business side of healthcare and you'll pair it with real experience. BLS projects 24% growth for health services managers through 2035. But business, finance and data majors get hired for many of the same roles, so the degree helps without being required.

Do you need a master's degree for healthcare administration?

Not to start. BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry requirement for health services managers. A master's, usually an MHA or MBA, helps for director and executive roles and for administrative fellowships, which many large health systems use to train future leaders.

What entry-level healthcare administration jobs can I get?

Common first jobs include patient access representative, medical administrative assistant, billing specialist, medical records specialist, scheduling coordinator and administrative intern. Pay usually starts between about $45,000 and $60,000, based on 2025 BLS medians, and hospitals and insurers tend to pay more than physician offices.

Will AI replace healthcare administration jobs?

AI is replacing tasks more than whole jobs. Scheduling, coding and paperwork are being automated, while roles built on analysis, leadership and compliance are growing. BLS still projects 24% growth for health services managers through 2035, so the safest move is building data and judgment skills early.