<p>After carefully debating what I want to do with my life I have narrowed down my graduate degree options to an MBA, MHMS (Master of Health Management Systems), MHA, or MSW.</p>
<p>The MBA, MHMS, or MHA would serve the purpose of getting me into a fairly well known Hospital Administration Fellowship or Physician Services Division Fellowship at a local (but nationally recognized, big health system). The fellowship prefers MBA, MHA and MPH students, but there are MHMS students because they will take a closely related graduate degree. They pay you a full salary and benefits while in the fellowship.</p>
<p>The MSW was my way of getting into some sort of clinical setting (LCSW in PA), but I hear the burnout rate for social work jobs is high and that there is really not much money in it. I would not get into social work for the money, I would do it for the rewarding aspect of helping people, but I don't want to be burnt out in a few years and struggling to pay bills.</p>
<p>Anyways, my original question: some MHA degrees are accredited by AACSB or CAHME. AACSB is what accredited my undergrad in business, but I can't tell what is more beneficial for an MHA...After speaking to the director for the fellowship programs he stated that the additional accreditations don't matter, just that the program is accredited in general.</p>
<p>Social workers don’t make a lot of money. They make enough to live a solid middle-class lifestyle - they average $44,200 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Services. Of course how much you make will depend on your years of experience and the actual position you’re in, as well as where you live. You won’t necessarily struggle to pay bills as long as you live within your means, but living within your means may be somewhat difficult in some places (like if you want to live in a big expensive city like New York or Los Angeles).</p>
<p>As for which degree to get…I think that the MBA and MHA are more widely recognizable, so were I making this decision I would focus on one of those two unless the MHMS is very widely recognizable in your region/area (and you plan to stay there). This is especially true if you are focused on a specific fellowship that prefers MHAs and MBAs; give yourself every advantage you can! MHAs are going to be more narrowly focused on healthcare, whereas as MBA will be more general (even if you can find one with a concentration on healthcare). I honestly don’t think it will matter for jobs within healthcare; both will be recognizable and desirable for admin type positions. If you know that you want your career to stay within healthcare organizational management and administration, then either will work for you but you might lean towards the MHA (or perhaps an MPH in health policy and management). If you think you might later want to branch out, then the MBA might be better.</p>
<p>Thanks juillet! I was leaning towards doing an MBA with a concentration in healthcare administration. I kind of want the AACSB accreditation, but those programs often times want experience before they will take me. Unfortunately the fellowship doesn’t specify if experience is necessary, making me believe it isn’t! And the people who finish these fellowships land pretty good jobs in the health system…such as VP or Directors of specific areas in the system.</p>