How To Become A Health Administrator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a health administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Bill McGinley

Health administrators control the overall operations of a healthcare facility. Be it a hospital, clinic, or any other medical facility, they are responsible for the services, staff, relationships with other businesses, and other high-level functions. They also work to improve the healthcare experiences of patients.

Some of the functions that they perform in this capacity include financial management of the facility, regulatory compliance with federal, state, and local laws, staff recruitment, streamlining systems to make sure they are efficient, writing grant proposals for funding, and keeping records. To be qualified for the position, applicants need a bachelor's degree and possibly a master's degree as well, depending on the employer. Fields relating to health administration, business management, or nursing should suffice. Moreover, prior work experience in a similar position is also required, the number of years depending on the employer.

The average hourly pay for the position is $28.97, which amounts to $60,254 annually. The career is projected to grow substantially in the near future, resulting in new opportunities emerging across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a health administrator?

Bill McGinley

President & CEO, American College of Health Care Administrators

LTC administrators should have at least a bachelor's degree in business or a healthcare-related field. A well-rounded internship that exposes the future administrator to all aspects of the operation is essential. Needed skills include business, marketing, finance, operations, management and leadership.
Post pandemic opportunities will be nationwide in this field with a greater need in rural areas.
Technology will continue to play a big role in the field. Computerized medical records, census management, and all clinical areas will continue to dominate. Online meetings are liable to continue as well, as employers realize that there is a savings to be gained by not having people travel to meetings and conferences.

ScoreHealth AdministratorUS Average

Salary

5.4

Avg. Salary $68,603

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.85%

Black or African American 11.75%

Hispanic or Latino 14.09%

Unknown 4.26%

White 61.34%

Gender

female 65.19%

male 34.81%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a health administrator

Explore health administrator education requirements

Most common health administrator degrees

Bachelor's

53.7 %

Master's

17.6 %

Associate

16.6 %

Start to develop specific health administrator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	16.28%
Home Health	15.53%
Patient Care	6.10%
Social Work	5.98%
OSHA	4.59%

Complete relevant health administrator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health administrators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a health administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health administrator resumes.

Research health administrator duties and responsibilities

Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable activities using QuickBooks and online banking applications.
Complete administrative tasks and utilize EMR / EHR computer software.
Serve as a liaison between the MCH and WIC programs.
Research insurance reimbursements, as well as icd-9 and icd-10 codes.

Prepare your health administrator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health administrator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a health administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable health administrator resume templates

Build a professional health administrator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your health administrator resume.