HLTH 1015 Week 5 Two-Career Field Comparison Example

Same Five Questions, Two Fields: Medical and Health Services Manager Compared With Human Resources Specialist on Entry, Pay, Hours, Demand and Daily Work

Student Name

Walden University

HLTH 1015: Exploring Your Path: Foundations Across Fields

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Same Five Questions, Two Fields: Medical and Health Services Manager Compared With Human Resources Specialist on Entry, Pay, Hours, Demand and Daily Work

Why These Two and How They Are Compared

My self-assessment found two strengths with evidence behind them: solving recurring operational problems and training staff. Health services management uses both. Human resources, a field outside health care, also uses both, especially training. Comparing the two tests whether my interest is in health care specifically or in the kind of work managers and trainers do anywhere. To keep the comparison fair, both occupations answer one fixed set of five questions, always in one order, and each answer comes from the same kind of source: the Occupational Outlook Handbook for entry, pay, hours and demand, and O*NET for daily work. The occupations are medical and health services managers and human resources specialists, chosen because the second is the usual entry-level role in human resources, while I am comparing an entry point in one field with a management role in the other. I note that imbalance and return to it in the conclusion.

Question 1: How Do People Enter?

Medical and health services managers. The Handbook states that most have at least a bachelor's degree and that many positions also require work experience in an administrative or clinical role in a health care setting; some employers prefer a master's degree in health administration or a related field (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.-b). Nursing home administrators must also hold a state license.

Human resources specialists. The Handbook states that most have a bachelor's degree, often in human resources, business or a related field, and that some positions require related work experience (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.-a). Professional certifications are available and may be preferred but are generally not required.

Comparison. Both start from a bachelor's degree. The manager role adds an expectation of health care experience, which I have, and often a graduate degree. The specialist role is a more direct entry point.

Question 2: What Does It Pay?

The Handbook puts the typical (median) yearly pay of health services managers in six figures and a median for human resources specialists well below that, though above the median for all occupations. These figures change with each update, so I compare them by size rather than copying exact amounts. The gap is large, but it partly reflects the imbalance in the pairing: one is a management occupation and the other an entry-level specialist. Human resources managers, the next step up, are paid at a level closer to health services managers, according to the Handbook's related occupations section.

Question 3: What Are the Hours?

Medical and health services managers. Most work full time. The Handbook notes that managers in facilities that operate around the clock, such as hospitals and nursing homes, may work evenings and weekends and may be on call.

Human resources specialists. Most work full time during regular business hours, according to the Handbook, with some travel for recruiting.

Comparison. Human resources offers more predictable hours. After six years of pharmacy shifts, including weekends, this matters to me more than I expected.

Question 4: How Strong Is Demand?

The Handbook projects employment of medical and health services managers to rise far faster than total employment across the next ten years, linked to an aging population and growing demand for health care. It projects employment of human resources specialists to grow at a rate closer to average. Both fields will have openings each year from workers who retire or change jobs, but demand for health services managers is projected to be considerably stronger.

For my decision, the demand difference matters less than it might seem. Both occupations are large enough that a qualified applicant in a mid-sized metropolitan area should find openings. Strong projected demand helps most when it shortens the time between finishing a degree and finding the first job in the field, and the Handbook's projection suggests that health services management offers that advantage. It does not guarantee a management job to a new graduate, since openings at the management level still go to candidates with experience.

Question 5: What Is the Daily Work?

Medical and health services managers. O*NET lists tasks such as directing and evaluating the work of staff, developing and implementing organizational policies, monitoring budgets and spending, maintaining awareness of regulations and coordinating with medical staff and department heads (National Center for O*NET Development, n.d.-b).

Human resources specialists. O*NET lists tasks such as interviewing applicants, informing applicants about job duties and benefits, preparing and maintaining employment records, and addressing employee relations issues (National Center for O*NET Development, n.d.-a).

Comparison. The manager's work is closer to the operational problem solving I enjoy. The specialist's work involves more hiring and records and less redesign of how work gets done. Training appears in both, but as a central task in neither.

The Judgment

The comparison turns on question 5. On entry and hours, human resources has the advantage: a more direct start and predictable schedules. On pay and demand, health services management is stronger, though the pay gap shrinks once the imbalance in the pairing is considered. But the daily work is what I would do for forty hours a week, and the O*NET task lists show that management work matches the strength I have the most evidence for, solving recurring problems in how a service runs, while specialist work in human resources would use it only occasionally. My health care experience also makes the manager path's experience requirement an advantage for me rather than a barrier.

The imbalance in the pairing is a real limit. A fairer comparison would set health services managers against human resources managers, or entry-level health care administrative roles against human resources specialists. I chose the pairing because these are the two roles I could realistically pursue first, but the conclusion should be read as a judgment about my next step, not about the two fields overall. The hours finding also stays with me: if I pursue management, I should look first at settings that do not run all night, such as clinics and physician practices.

References

National Center for O*NET Development. (n.d.-a). 13-1071.00: Human resources specialists. O*NET OnLine. https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-1071.00

National Center for O*NET Development. (n.d.-b). 11-9111.00: Medical and health services managers. O*NET OnLine. https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9111.00

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.-a). Human resources specialists. Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/human-resources-specialists.htm

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.-b). Medical and health services managers. Occupational Outlook Handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm