Get Michelle Obama's Job. . .

. . .Or one like it, anyway. Many Americans are now familiar with Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s background as a lawyer and politician, as well as his wife Michelle's work as a lawyer, a mom, and at the University of Chicago. But many don’t realize that one of Michelle Obama’s most recent professional roles was as a hospital executive for University of Chicago Medical Center.

According to Barack Obama’s website, Michelle Obama served as the Vice President of Community and External Affairs for the university hospital. As such, she was responsible for community volunteer programs, encouraging hospital employees to volunteer in the community, and local members of the community to volunteer in the hospital.

Hospital executive roles vary greatly, based on the size of the facility, the location, the type of hospital, ownership, and management structure. As varied as the jobs are, so are the salaries. Annual executive salaries can range from $60,000 to over $1 Million for large facilities in major metropolitan areas.

Readers and candidates often ask me how to become a hospital executive or administrator. There are many different paths to working as a hospital executive, depending on your area of expertise, education level, and more. To learn more about how you too could work as a hospital executive, check out the hospital executive career profile.