Exploring Careers in Public Health - Job Outlook High

October 22 2016 - In most specializations within the field of public health, the job outlook for the next few years is extremely high. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, there will be approximately one-quarter of a million new public health professionals needed by the year 2020. That is a huge number, considering the total population and just how many other industries there are with positions needing to be filled. If you are exploring a career in public health, especially by seeking a masters in public health, some of the positions which need to be filled have room for upward mobility. In other words, you'll be joining a profession with plenty of room for advancement. Let's look at a few of them here.

Public Health Education

When you think of public health, you think of educating the public on issues that can (and often do!) impact the general public. These include such things as flu epidemics, contaminated foods being distributed to large portions of the population through large chain supermarkets and restaurants and then there are diseases which can be prevented such as many types of cancer and diabetes. Some of these diseases can, at the very least, be controlled. Public health officials are educators who work on a local, regional, national or even international level. The projected rate of increase over the coming ten years is said to be at 26% which is a healthy increase to be sure.

Social Workers with an MPH Focus on Counseling

Some masters in public health online specializations focus on counseling the public, especially during times of crisis. When there is any major scare such as a pandemic or an outbreak of the Zika virus that threatens unborn children in their mothers' wombs, the general public is prone to panic. Also, social workers within the public health arena work on a local level to counsel unwed mothers, promote better hygiene and discuss such things as birth control and ways to avoid STDs. Social workers in the public health arena are going to increase by at least 18% in the coming decade.

Public Health Statisticians

Treating the general public, preventing diseases and finding cures are really all about numbers. Public health officials need an accurate count of who is at risk, who has contracted a given disease and the number, for example, of those exposed but not presenting illness. Public health statisticians play a huge roll in finding cures, treating infected populations as well as in finding figures that indicate how a given disease is spreading. These professionals often work in universities with that MPH degree online program they graduated with but they are also in great demand within Research and Development. The need for statisticians is well above average on a national level at a projected growth rate of a phenomenal 34%.

Of course anyone with a master in public health or a doctorate can always work as a public health administrator overseeing programs of any size and on any geographic level. There is always a need for administrators who have an eye on the health and welfare of the general population so on any level and for any job, the outlook in the near future is much better than the national average.

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