Public health is a growing career field that includes those prepared to deal with medical issues like infectious disease and its spread in society, reducing environmental impacts on health, improving our pubic healthcare system and its costs, domestic abuse, causes of injury, and many other aspects of public health. Those pursuing this career are generally already employed in a number of fields and seek to pursue a graduate degree in public health. This is a field where you can really make a positive difference for the common good of people in your community.
Those with a degree in this diverse field can work in a number of different areas. Some very common areas are federal agencies, state health departments, private agencies like the Red Cross, and private companies like health insurance companies. There are many different jobs that fall under the broad public health umbrella. For example, you could get your advanced degree in health services administration, biostatics, epidemiology, environment health, nutrition, public health administration, biomedical laboratory degree, and other fields.
Employment Outlook for Public Health
The employment outlook for jobs in the public health arena is quite positive. For example, for those going into the health services administration field, job growth is expected to be around 16 percent as health care facilities and departments try to control costs, increase production, and increase the quality of health care. The field of epidemiology is expected to have job growth of around 40 percent as the federal government gives more money for medical research and more medical advances are made to further this important field. This information was gathered from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Strong Salary Expectations
As most of these fields require a graduate degree, the salaries offered in these medical fields are excellent. For example, in the epidemiology field in 2008, scientists in this field made between $51,000 and $101,000 annually. For those employed in the health services administration field, average salaries in 2008 were between $62,000 and $102,000 annually. This information was gathered from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Strong Degrees Offered in Public Health Field
Colleges and universities are currently offering excellent master's degrees (2 years after bachelor's degree) and bachelor's degree (4 years) in these fields. Some schools even offer doctorate degrees in some of these fields. These are very important careers that make a huge impact on our world. Be part of the difference.
