What is Public Health??
Public Health Community Services Manager
As a manager of community public health outreach, you may work with healthcare professionals and community members to assess the needs, plan the programs, and implement the public health initiatives in communities.
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Your responsibilities would likely include communicating and coordinating with representatives of the public as well as healthcare providers. You may also analyze data and write proposals for funding to provide public health services.
Completing your bachelors degree in public health may qualify you for a variety of jobs in this important field.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following jobs are related to public health and can be pursued with a bachelors degree. Epidemiologists, though, often require a masters. Experience is necessary for advancement to management and leadership positions.
| Careers | Annual Median Salary |
| Medical and Health Services Manager | $104,280 |
| Health and Safety Engineer | $94,240 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Specialist | $76,340 |
| Emergency Management Director | $76,250 |
| Epidemiologist | $74,560 |
| Social and Community Service Manager | $69,600 |
| Dietitian or Nutritionist | $63,090 |
| Health Education Specialist | $56,500 |
| Medical Records and Health Information Technician | $44,090 |
| Community Health Worker | $42,000 |
Public health jobs exist in governmental agencies, such as health departments, as well as in public and private settings, like public school systems and healthcare facilities. Public health jobs in disaster management organizations and NGOs even take workers all over the world.
What to Know About Getting a Public Health Degree
Students pursuing a public health degree learn how to promote and defend individual and community health using critical thinking and analysis. Public health careers are often service-based and can allow you to influence policy issues related to disease prevention, drug use, and emergency response.
Christopher Lee, who holds a master of public health (MPH) degree and has worked in startups, healthcare, and advocacy, notes that because the discipline is so broad, it can be difficult to make generalizations about whether a degree in public health is worth it — particularly from a financial angle.
“The type of work varies greatly, so the expected salaries (and earning potential as you advance) also vary greatly,” says Lee.
Still, there are a few things to keep in mind as you consider this education path.
Is Public Health a Good Major?
Yes, public health is a good major for many undergraduate students. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, community and social service jobs are set to grow at 12% over the next 10 years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Common public health careers in this field include medical and health services manager, dietitian, health education specialist, emergency management director, and community services manager.
With a degree in public health, you might work in a hospital, municipal health department, nonprofit organization, wellness facility, or private industry. A public health career is not the same as a direct patient care job, such as a nurse or doctor.
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Instead, public health professionals deal with creating and implementing policies and programs to protect the health of large or small populations of people. They gather data to assess the health needs of people in the community, and they perform outreach to educate citizens and carry out public health programs.
Courses in a public health program often prepare you to work with the public as well, recognizing that social, cultural, and behavioral factors influence the health of people in communities.
As with any bachelors program, public health degrees require the completion of a basic core curriculum that includes courses in math, English, history, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
You may then focus on courses in the public health major curriculum. Here is a list of courses you might take in a public health degree program:
This list represents a small sample of the challenging and interesting courses you might take as a public health major.
FAQ
Is a public health degree difficult?
Is public health a good major for med school?
What is the highest paying field of public health?
- Doctorate Degree Holders. $80,560.
- Emergency Management Director. $76,250.
- Environmental Scientists. $73,230.
- Epidemiologist. $74,560.
- Health and Safety Engineer. $94,240.
- Medical and Health Services Managers. $104,280.
- Public Health Attorney. $126,930.
- Social and Community Service Manager.