Higher ed marketing makes me roll my eyes

This a great use of informational interviews. See if you can set up some informal interviews with people who are doing the job you want or are managing the job you want. Find out how they regard these certificates and programs. I know in my non-health related internet I.T. world, I'd have a hard time recommending someone spend a lot of money on a certification.

Well, if my experience with Object Oriented Programming is any indication, by the time universities get wind of [some newish field] being a the next big thing and start pimping it out for enrollment's sake, the window of opportunity there is either rapidly closing or long closed already. By then people are flooding the field with what amounts to cheap and deeply indebted labor (see also, sharecropping) and if they think they're getting a tenured job, well, the invisible hand of the marketplace is going to smack some sense into them soon enough. If you're looking at a step up from a B.A, my advice is to cultivate your leadership and management skills and get yourself an MBA. Which aren't the same thing, but the sum of which amounts to "being a competent manager", and competent management is pretty much always in desperately short supply.

FWIW--I graduated from nursing school in a time much like now--there were a glut of people that had gotten into nursing. It was hard to find a job, but I didn't give up. I found many had gotten into the field because of the "great pay". It wasn't long until those students that got into nursing for the pay to get out of the field. This isn't a field you get into because of the money. You get into because you want to. Working weekends, handling body fluids and giving enemas isn't for everyone. You have to care about people.

Try to talk to students or recent graduates of the programs you're interested in. Seconding trying to do informational interviews with people where you want to work, and ask them to be brutally honest about your plan. People love love love to be asked for advice.

Well, if my experience with Object Oriented Programming is any indication, by the time universities get wind of [some newish field] being a the next big thing and start pimping it out for enrollment's sake, the window of opportunity there is either rapidly closing or long closed already. By then people are flooding the field with what amounts to cheap and deeply indebted labor (see also, sharecropping) and if they think they're getting a tenured job, well, the invisible hand of the marketplace is going to smack some sense into them soon enough. Exactly my experience, except I was hoodwinked into getting an MSLIS (library and information science). Got degree in 2007. Unemployed since 2008. Currently working as a mail handler at the post office.

It's strange, because the http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos103.htm talks about the health information field growing by 35,000 jobs in the next 8 years or so (using 2008 data), but it seems like the push to EHR has actually cost a lot of jobs, rather than gaining them, with people put more into technician or clerk roles than management. I would assume, then, that the degree and certification become a sort of gateway, the only way to get whatever positions are left. Still, it's a really interesting field, and hospitals can be great places to work...and there's always those 35,000 new openings to consider.

This is almost like trying to time the stock market -- basically impossible for ordinary mortals. To the extent that such needs are reliably predictable, they will be predicted by a great many people, and the boom times for any given skill set will end as fast as the market can make them end. I think you're right to worry about falling for hype and over-investing, but you could face that sort of risk with almost any field. Medicine is not the buggy-whip business, because science is not on the verge of discovering some fountain of permanent youth and health. It's probably a solid enough career choice so long as you don't enslave yourself with absurd amounts of debt.

Just as an extension to the informational interview idea, call the HR department at half a dozen major hospitals, and see whether you can talk to someone who hires at each. Ask questions not just about whether nurses and administrators will be hired in x years time, but also about what specialist sub-fields are likely to be in greatest demand. Then tailor your education to that.

I work in "Health Information Management". Every month, I'm getting about 5 or 6 networking requests from recent graduates. These are generally recent MBAs or graduate certificates. I took two of these calls on Friday. They all though there would be gobs of jobs, but really there aren't. While healthcare IT spending is reportedly up, headcount is flat to down. In my personal network I've heard about layoffs in all the big hospitals and health plans. Often these aren't big lay-offs, but consistent trimming of staff. Another factor is that people in health care administration are often "career" workers. Because the benefits tend to be excellent, you get in with one of the big companies and you're a lifer. In my office I know several 30 year employees. I'm here over 5 years and I'm still "new". There's some churn, but far less than in other industries. Additional degrees or certifications are great people for already have experience in health care technology. I support my staff in pursuing these degrees toward their professional development. However, a certification isn't a golden ticket in the door. There are plenty of experienced healthcare IT people out of jobs.