According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more than 422,000 people were employed as medical and health services managers in 2019. Add epidemiologists, dietitians, nutritionists, and medical scientists to the mix, and total public health employment is over half a million just in these select professions. Show
The sheer size and variety of the public health field means you have many possible career options, but is public health a good career path? Whether you seek to
lead health education programs in your community, build upon a career in nursing, or enter into health care administration, there’s likely a role in public health for you, and your work could ultimately touch countless lives. Careers in public healthPublic health expertise is in high demand. The BLS estimates that employment in health care occupations, which includes careers in public health, will increase 15% from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. That translates to almost 2.4 million new careers in public health. This growth is fueled in part by the need for public health workers who are adept at navigating major ongoing challenges that are affecting every part of the country, such as preventing disease outbreaks, protecting the food supply, and reducing opioid abuse. Regarding the latter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated there were more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12 months through May 2020. Becoming a public health professional puts you at the forefront of addressing these types of issues, with the opportunity to materially improve health outcomes through your work. Beyond making a large societal impact in an in-demand role, why else might you consider public health a good career choice? Some other motivations may include the following. A growing job marketThe expansion of public health careers is not limited to or driven by any single role. Indeed, multiple occupations are expected to far outpace overall U.S. employment growth. The job growth from 2019 to 2029 for medical and health services managers is projected to be a robust 32%. It’s 17% for social and human service assistants during that same time span, and 13% for health educators. All of these rates are also slightly higher than the BLS forecasts for health care professions in general. A variety of disciplinesPublic health encompasses many disparate disciplines, including epidemiology, statistics, data science, health administration, and fitness. You have immense choice in the type of work you will do. Let’s say you’re proficient in the R programming language, the most sought-after specialized skill among Master of Public Health (MPH) public health graduates. You could pursue a clinical data analyst role, in which you might help a provider optimize its electronic health records (EHR) systems. A 2019 Mayo Clinic Proceedings study found that the “usability of current EHR systems received a grade of F by physicians,” underscoring widespread demand for such expert assistance. Opportunities for high compensationSalaries vary considerably given the wide variety of public health jobs, but many offer relatively high entry-level pay that can rise over time. Per Burning Glass Technologies, clinical data managers can start at roughly $75,000 and rise to more than $100,000 with nine years of experience; median pay for the profession is $91,000. The expansive BLS category of medical and health services managers, which includes many managerial public health roles, had a median 2020 pay of $104,280. Different working environmentsAs expected from a field with many possible specializations, good public health careers offer varied working environments to choose from. In addition to settings such as hospitals and outpatient care centers, you could also realistically work in consulting, the public sector, or for a social advocacy organization. For example, you might help a local government agency design public health awareness campaigns, which are often highly effective in changing behavior. A study published in the npj Digital Medicine journal found that 48% of people who see public health ads promoting healthy dieting later search for weight loss information, compared to only 32% of the control
group. Industry trends in public healthWhen it comes to careers in public health, there are several information-centric trends that can help us understand the broader public health system and its priorities. Areas of opportunity and public health careers salariesThe BLS lists the following industries as
offering the highest levels of employment for selected public health careers.
Source: BLS These are the top industries as ranked by their average public health careers salary:
Source: BLS Public health career outlook: Where are the jobs?The metropolitan areas with the highest levels of employment for public health professionals are mostly the largest U.S. cities, with a few smaller ones on the list for certain professions. Average compensation for each area (per the BLS) is indicated in parentheses.
Source: BLS Health care organizationsHospitals, outpatient sites, and physician offices are the largest overall employers of public health professionals. For these organizations, you might perform tasks as varied as medical research, community health program evaluation, or nutritional counseling, depending on your role. Many public health professionals working for health care firms focus on curbing disease outbreaks — for instance, via vaccination campaigns. Although vaccines exist or are in development for many widespread conditions, ensuring that the public actually becomes vaccinated in sufficient numbers remains a challenge. According to the CDC, just over 50% of people in the U.S. (ages 6 months and up) received a vaccine for the 2019-2020 flu season, which means nearly half the public did not. This illustrates the ongoing need for concerted public health efforts. Federal, state, and local governmentsThe public sector is a significant employer of public health workers who bring their expertise to agencies like the CDC, and to state and local health departments. Conducting awareness campaigns is a major responsibility of public health professionals employed by these governmental bodies. The CDC oversees many such campaigns, including one dedicated to prediabetes that offers an online risk assessment. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) estimated that 84.1 million Americans have the condition. Accordingly, public health outreach is essential for helping at-risk individuals identify the actions they can take and the relevant resources to which they have access. Entry-level opportunitiesThe compensation website PayScale has compiled the following data. It shows what level of pay professionals in different public health careers can expect. Variables include levels of
experience, and different metro areas (noting their wage premiums). Numbers are based on PayScale’s most recent report, as of April 2021.
Source: PayScale Advanced job optionsThere are many viable public health degree options. An MPH, Master of Health Administration (MHA), or other master’s in a field like dietetics may help you compete for certain positions and improve your overall public health career outlook. You will also need sufficient working experience in most cases. Burning Glass Technologies found the share of entry-level postings in public health that require a master’s degree ranges from 2% for clinical dietitians to 19% for rehabilitation directors, indicating that many employers value experience at least as much as an advanced credential. At the same time, a master’s degree can help you acquire this needed experience. Most public health positions do not require a master’s degree, but some will. Here’s the percentage of job postings mentioning a master’s degree, along with their entry-level salaries.
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019 A master’s degree can also translate into a higher average salary for some occupations.
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019 Top skills and digital tools for public health professionalsThe skills needed for a career in public health will vary greatly based on your chosen specialization. That said, a blend of baseline skills, such as communication and problem-solving, and specialized skills (proficiency with specific programming languages or software, for example), is integral across all modern public health professions. Here’s a list of the skills you are most likely to need in the coming years when applying for MPH- and MHA-specific positions, as well as those in diet/nutrition and health informatics. Projected growth rates of these skills, in terms of their expected percentage increases in job postings from 2018 to 2023, is indicated in parentheses.
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019 Baseline skillsBurning Glass Technologies has identified the following baseline or soft skills as the most sought-after by public health employers, expressed as a percentage of all job postings that mention them.
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019 Specialized skillsCompared to baseline skills, these competencies are more technical. They often involve particular software other than the ubiquitous Microsoft Office suite, or advanced medical and/or fitness knowledge.
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019 Public health skillsThese are the top emerging public health skills, according to Burning Glass Technologies, with their projected job posting growth rate from 2018-2023. Public health/MPH
Health administration/MHA
Diet and nutrition
Health informatics
Is public health a good career path for you? Explore your optionsAs a public health professional, you will help more people live longer, healthier lives. A public health degree can help you find the right career, whether your interest lies in health informatics, nutrition, administration, or another related area. Compare programs or find a degree program that is tailored to your goals with the Pathways recommendation engine. Start developing the
public health skills you need to cultivate a better future. Find your path
Which type of occupation is expected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to be the fastest growing from 2016 to 2026?Occupational Employment
occupations (15.3 percent) are projected to be among the fastest growing occupational groups during the 2016–26 projections decade.
What jobs have the highest employment rate?Highest employment rates:. Computer science and information technology. While computer science jobs had higher unemployment rates four years ago, the industry is showing promising growth for this year and beyond. ... . Engineering. ... . Healthcare. ... . Business. ... . Finance. ... . Teaching.. What job has the highest growth rate?Fastest Growing Occupations. Which industry in the US has the highest rate of jobs associated with consumer services?As table 1 shows, retail salespersons topped the list of the largest occupations related to customer service in 2016, employing more than 4.6 million workers.
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According to the bureau of labor statistics, there is a high demand for service-related jobs.
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