Public Health

Public health is not nearly as narrow of a field as it may sound. There are a few different career options, along with a variety of work environments within this sector. You can work helping underserved areas, or places affected by disaster. You may help cure diseases, or find homes for displaced people. Whether you are entering the industry with your high school diploma, or you’re attending the university for your doctorate, there is a public health career available to you.

What Is Public Health

In broad terms, public health offers care to patients outside of a medical facility. It also is defined as the effort of preventing global epidemics and keeping entire nations healthy. There is a weighty responsibility that falls into the laps of those pursuing a life of public health servitude.

Public health is managed by a group of agencies. Usually, something like a medical facility will work in conjunction with the local department of health, a school system, medical providers, and other related partners. Together, they will follow the ten guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, which are to:

• Identify and solve health problems within a community by monitoring health status.
• Health problems and health hazards in the community are investigated and diagnosed.
• Use your platform to inform, educate, and empower the community about various health issues.
• Encourage community partnerships to take action to identify and solve health problems.
• Aid in the development of policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts.
• Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
• Connect the community or individuals people with personal health services and make sure there are available resources for those who can’t afford the access.
• Work to make sure those who are providing the healthcare are competent. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services.
• Research and develop new and innovative healthcare solutions.

What Do Public Health Workers Do?

As the above list by the CDC states, health workers work to ensure the vast majority of the public is healthy, whether it is an individual or an entire community.

The actual job description will be determined by your career path. But, there are some commonalities among the majority of the public health careers. These are:

• Be a patient/client advocate, a voice for those who can’t use theirs.
• Work with the medical team to plan rehabilitative care for your patient.
• Aid in coordinating your patient’s healthcare facility discharge and follow-up care.
• Conduct studies or research.
• Provide or refer counseling services.

Public health workers focus on issues such as vaccinations, safety in the workplace, making sure infectious diseases don’t spread, and other issues facing the general population when it comes to health and safety.

Because there are so many different responsibilities associated with each career, as you gain more experience, job opportunities and promotions will not be uncommon.

Becoming A Public Health Worker

If you know you want to go into public health, that’s a good start. Next, you need to determine which aspect of it interests you: science, medicine, or statistician. Do you want to research, have boots on the ground, or work in a lab? Once you can answer that, it will help you pave your way toward your education process.

Most public health care workers have master’s degrees. That doesn’t mean you absolutely have to, it’s just become more of the gold standard in recent years. To begin your career in public health, you must:

• Graduate high school or get your GED.
• If you’re going to a community college, get some of those pre-requisites out of the way to ready yourself for transferring to a university.
• OR, get an associate degree in public health or a related field like registered nursing, or health education. It may be harder to find a job in public health with your associate degree, but it’s definitely a good starting point, especially if you decide to get your bachelor’s degree.
• Attend a university where you’ll major in public health. You can either get a Bachelor of Science, or Arts. There’s no wrong answer there.
• Depending on how far you want to go, if you want to teach, do research, or take a higher level position, you’ll now need your master’s degree. A Master of Science, or a Master of Arts will suffice. Your program will be tailored toward your career goals.
• Get a job in your chosen field.
• Consider getting your doctorate.
• Think about getting certifications relevant to your field.

Types Of Public Health Careers

There are many different career paths leading to a life in public health. Most nursing positions can take you there, as can social work, nutrition, biology degrees, and more. Below is just a sampling of the types of degrees you can get in order to start working in the public health sector.

Dietitian and Nutritionist: A bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition, dietetics, public health nutrition, or other related subjects is typically what will get you into an entry-level position. Most states will require you to have a license to practice. Average pay for dietitians and nutritionists was about $71,280 in 2023, with the top 10 percent making $98,830 or more (bls.gov).

Read: What a Nutritionist Does

Epidemiologist: You’ll investigate the reasons for diseases, their spread, and their cause and effect on humans. You’ll have to have a master’s degree through an accredited program to enter this field. In 2023, the average salary for epidemiologists was $90,430, with the top 10 percent making $132,230 or more.

Health Educator: You’ll teach the public about health-related issues, and ways to promote wellness. A bachelor’s degree plus a teaching certificate is how you’ll enter your position. In 2023, the average salary for health educators was $69,790 with the top 10 percent making $107,920 or more.

Microbiologist: You’ll study organisms and how they live, grow, and interact with the environment. For an entry-level position, a bachelor’s degree is required. If you are wanting to do your own research, or you want to work for a university, then you’ll need your Ph.D. The reported 2023 salary for microbiologists was $93,380 with the top 10 percent making $147,470 or more.

Biology Technologist: You’ll work in a lab where you’ll help the medical scientists conduct experiments. To begin your career, you’ll first need a bachelor’s degree in biology or a related field. In 2023, the average salary for biology technologists was reported at $56,540, with the top 10 percent making $80,330 or more.

Read: Careers in Biology

Public Health Nurse: Instead of taking care of one person, you oversee the health of communities when you’re a public health nurse. You need to first become an RN and advance your degrees from there. The average annual salary for public health nurses in 2023 was $94,480 with the top 10 percent making $132,680 or more.

Social Worker: You’ll be diagnosing and treating patients with a variety of mental, emotional, and behavioral issues, as well as helping them learn coping skills. At the very minimum, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree. However, if you are hoping to be a clinical social worker, you must have a master’s degree along with two years work experience. You must be licensed by your state in order to practice. In 2023, the reported salary for social workers was $67,430, with the top 10 percent making $97,790 or more.

Statistician: You solve healthcare problems through statistics. To do this, you’ll need to get your master’s degree in either mathematics or statistics. In 2023, the average salary for statisticians was reported at $109,190, with the top 10 percent making $163,360 or more.

Health Administrator: You will plan, direct, and coordination health and medical services. Employers prefer candidates with master’s degrees. In 2023, the average salary for health administrators was $134,440, with the top 10 percent making $216,750 or more.

Working in Public Health

As you can see, there are many directions you can take a career in public health. Some of these requiring certificates, bachelor's degrees, or even master's and doctoral degrees. Your salary can also vary depending on your experience in your industry, as well.

Most career opportunities in the public health sector are being projected to grow much faster than average. This is good news if you’re heading into this field, because there will likely be plenty of positions available to you once you have your degree and are ready to start working.

Job stats were found on bls.gov.