BSN or Health Information Administration?

[muman]

I want to get into health care, and have been going back and forth between getting a BSN and RHIA. I have a BA in a completely unrelated field, and have no health care experience to this point. My question for some of you who are better 'in the know' than me, which path would you take if you were me? I'm willing to relocate to pretty much anywhere, although I prefer the New York City area because of my (soon to be) wifes' job. Any opinions as to which would be a better degree in terms of actually landing a decent job following graduation in a couple of years?

[3rdcareerRN]

These two paths are both health careers, but are quite different.

RHIA = health info. mgt; see thread https://allnurses.com/nursing-informatics/health-information-mgt-380211.html for an excellent overview

BSN= nursing; see any of the hundreds of threads in this forum for details about what it is like to be a nurse.

Fundamentally the choice could be posed as "which do I prefer, people or paper?" (Yes, yes, I am _fully aware_ that both choices will involve both people and paper, and that HIM is moving away from paper...save your flaming.)

Both will have some opportunities for a new grad, and many more opportunities after gaining two years of experience. Both can lead to management within a few years. Both can have salaries in the $40K-60K range within two years. Both will involve a bachelor's degree. Both are portable, in that any healthcare organization can use the skills of either path.

As with any career choice, shadowing someone in the field for a day is a very good way to learn about what you want to do or want to avoid.