Started an MHA and now I’m scared I should’ve done an MBA instead
Context: I currently work in academic medicine/admin operations.
I’m currently in an MHA program and I genuinely enjoy the classes. I find healthcare systems, operations/policy interesting in a way I honestly don’t think I would with a traditional MBA. But I’m scared I’ll regret specializing with an MHA. I’m not someone who feels deeply emotionally tied to healthcare specifically. At the end of the day I care about stability, career growth and money, and I don’t want to accidentally pigeonhole myself into one industry forever. So now I’m having this crisis of “am I making myself less marketable by doing an MHA instead of an MBA?”
My current job is very administrative/operations based even though it’s within healthcare. Because of that, part of me feels like if I ever did switch industries, the transition wouldn’t be that dramatic in terms of me liking the actual work. I’m not trying to become a hospital CEO specifically. I’m more drawn to operations, coordination, systems, management, etc. generally— but have really enjoyed learning how all of that ties into healthcare (we recently discussed AI in healthcare and I was eating it up, so interesting).
At the same time, I have so many moving pieces in my life right now that the thought of changing programs feels genuinely dreadful. I already completed a semester, so switching would mean eating like $7k in non-transferable tuition, researching entirely new programs, applying all over again, and basically uprooting something I currently enjoy because it feels like the “smart” choice on paper (?). I don’t even think I’d enjoy MBA coursework as much.
So I guess I’m trying to figure out if I’m having a legitimate long-term career concern or if I’m overthinking because the internet acts like an MBA is the universal golden ticket lol. Like I really don’t want to switch but will if need be.